Ricardo Acuña

Selling Fiction as Fact: Alberta Pension Plan report built on invented numbers and a false premise

When launching its report on an Alberta Pension Plan (APP), the government asked Albertans to “look at the facts” and engage in the discussion. But “facts” are sorely missing in the report—and the invitation to discuss the APP excludes the most important question: do Albertans really want out of the CPP?

• pensions

But Roller Coasters Are Fun!: Will the Party Platforms End Fiscal Volatility in Alberta?

One of the key promises made during this election by both the NDP and the UCP has been to get Alberta off the resource revenue roller coaster, reduce volatility, and bring fiscal stability to the province. In essence, what the parties are promising is that, under their watch, adequate funding for the services and infrastructure Albertans rely upon will no longer depend on the global price of oil and gas. This is an important and laudable goal. The question is whether the suite of policy planks being put forward by either of the two contenders will actually help achieve the promised stability.

Subsidizing Profit: UCP Quietly Changes Rules for Post-Secondary Funding

On March 30, via an Order in Council, the provincial government made an important policy change in the area of post-secondary funding: for the first time anywhere in Canada, the UCP has made it possible for a private for-profit educational institution to receive public dollars. This decision — made with no public discussion and no debate in the Alberta legislature — hurts affordability, damages accessibility, and is a direct subsidy of private profiteering.

• PSE

Anger and Angst: Jason Kenney’s Legacy and Alberta’s Right

Anger and Angst: Jason Kenney’s Legacy and Alberta’s Right analyzes the UCP’s governance of Alberta, the driving forces behind their agenda, and the personalities behind them. Co-edited by Ricardo Acuña (Parkland Institute’s executive director) and Trevor Harrison (former director of Parkland Institute), the book critically examines the extraordinary years of the UCP's time in office up until 2023, a period that is arguably the most chaotic in Alberta’s political history.

Better Way Alberta: Parkland Contributes Research to Provincewide Initiative

Recently Parkland Institute had the opportunity to work with our friends at the Alberta Federation of Labour, Public Interest Alberta, and Friends of Medicare on a campaign called Better Way Alberta. We have produced five short research reports that included clear, implementable, and evidence-based policy recommendations on areas of public policy that are of critical importance today.

Path to balance or road to perdition?

The “path to balance” has become a major platform plank for all parties in this election. Parkland Institute Executive Director Ricardo Acuña looks at the key differences and potential impacts of the path to balance proposals, and assesses their credibility and feasibility.

• public services
• Alberta Election 2019
• taxation

Fact-checking Jason Kenney’s wait-list strategy

United Conservative Party leader Jason Kenney has presented his plans for dealing with wait times for surgery in Alberta, including allowing private clinics to bid for publicly-funded procedures. Ricardo Acuña looks at the evidence and history to show that we've already been there and done that.

• public services
• Alberta Election 2019
• health care
• privatization

Seven questions about the oil production cut

Parkland Institute executive director Ricardo Acuña asks seven questions about the Alberta government's plan to mandate production cuts in response to the oil price differential.

• oil & gas
• tar sands
• economy
• climate change
• energy policy
• royalites
• Corporate Mapping Project

The value of Alberta's value-added strategy

For more than a decade Parkland Institute has been recommending a value-added strategy for Alberta. Executive Director Ricardo Acuña looks at how the Notley government's Energy Diversification Act measures up.

• royalties
• climate change
• oil & gas
• energy policy

Let's share actual facts about the Trans Mountain pipeline

Do claims by the Alberta government that the Trans Mountain pipeline would generate $18.5 billion for “roads, schools, and hospitals,” 15,000 jobs during construction, and 37,000 jobs per year stand up to scrutiny?

• climate change
• energy policy
• tar sands