
Ricardo Acuña
Ricardo Acuña has been executive director of Parkland Institute since 2002. He has a degree in Political Science and History from the University of Alberta, and has almost 30 years of experience as a volunteer, staffer and consultant for various non-government and non-profit organizations around the province. He has spoken and written extensively on energy policy, democracy, privatization, and the Alberta economy, and is a regular media commentator on public policy issues.
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Twitter: @RicAcuna
Better Way Alberta: Parkland Contributes Research to Provincewide Initiative
blog | Dec 07, 2022Recently 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?
blog | Apr 05, 2019The “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.
Fact-checking Jason Kenney’s wait-list strategy
blog | Apr 01, 2019United 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.
Seven questions about the oil production cut
blog | Dec 06, 2018Parkland 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.
The value of Alberta's value-added strategy
blog | Mar 15, 2018For 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.
Let's share actual facts about the Trans Mountain pipeline
blog | Feb 09, 2018Do 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?
Has Alberta's new royalty framework achieved its aims?
blog | Jan 30, 2017One year after the Notley government announced its new royalty framework, Parkland Institute's Ricardo Acuña looks at whether the changes have accomplished the stated goals.
The good, the bad, and the ugly of Alberta's new royalty framework
blog | Feb 01, 2016The anti-climactic nature of Alberta's new royalty framework should not be taken to mean that it is without significance or that it will be without impact going forward. This blog provides a brief overview of the good, the bad, and the ugly of the new royalty framework.
Making mincemeat out of Mintz’s politicized numbers
blog | Apr 27, 2015One of the most frequently cited numbers during this election is the claim that Alberta's economy will shed 9,000 jobs for every 1% increase in the corporate tax. But does this claim, made by economist Jack Mintz and repeated by both the Wildrose and Progressive Conservatives, really hold up to scrutiny?
Klein’s policies got us into this mess: Budget cuts of 1990s did lasting damage
media | Feb 23, 2015It’s curious how the proponents of the “cut first and ask questions later” approach to provincial budgeting continue trying to spread the myth Ralph Klein’s cuts in the 1990s were necessary, and that somehow Alberta and Albertans are better off because of them. It’s as if they believe that singing the same refrains over and over will make them true. But the reality is that these claims are as false today as they were back in 1993.