The Alberta election has just hit the halfway point, and health care has again become a lightning rod. The rival parties are facing off on reform, promising changes running the gamut from more privatization to more public care.

A new fact sheet from the Parkland Institute says that contracting out infrastructure maintenance to the private sector in Alberta has resulted in reduced accountability and transparency, misleading figures on the condition of infrastructure, and increased risk to tax dollars.

A new report from the Parkland Institute says that supporting private health facilities with public health dollars costs more, damages the public system, and puts tax dollars and patient care at risk.

A new report from the U of A’s Parkland Institute says that despite a provincial deficit, the Alberta government will forego some $55 billion in potential revenue over the next three years as a result of overly generous royalty cuts and the government’s failure to meet even the modest targets set by previous administrations.

A new fact sheet released this morning, on the eve of International Women’s Day, by the U of A’s Parkland Institute in conjunction with the Alberta College of Social Workers shows that Alberta continues to lag behind the rest of the country in terms of women’s equality, wages, and family-related benefits and services.

A new fact sheet released this morning by the U of A’s Parkland Institute points to a direct link between the ownership of residential long-term care facilities and the quality of service delivery.

A new fact sheet released on the eve of the Family Day weekend by the U of A’s Parkland Institute highlights that Albertans are spending less time with their families than anyone else in the country and most countries in the OECD.

A new report released this morning by the U of A’s Parkland Institute says an expansion of water markets in Alberta would have adverse effects on the environment, people’s access to water, and First Nations communities.  It also recommends alternatives for dealing with Alberta’s current water crisis that would be more in keeping with Albertans’ values, and the values that underlie Alberta’s historical water laws.

The past year has seen numerous attacks on public services, democracy, and the rights of workers all under the guise of austerity and with the economic crisis as a backdrop. We have also seen mass mobilizations and organized actions in response to these attacks.

In recent months both the Premier’s Council for Economic Strategy and former Premier Peter Lougheed have emphasized the need for Alberta to stop relying on volatile energy revenues to fund public services and infrastructure.  A new report released today by the U of A’s Parkland Institute takes the conversation to the next level by discussing how we can change our tax system to accomplish that goal.