Ricardo Acuna
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. He is co-editor, with Trevor Harrison, of the 2023 book Anger and Angst: Jason Kenney's Legacy and Alberta's Right, available from Black Rose Books.
Twitter: @RicAcuna
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.
Social Impact Bonds: An investment in the wrong direction
media | Mar 05, 2014Do you have $5 million burning a hole in your pocket? If so, have we got a deal for you. The Government of Alberta will soon be allowing you to invest that money in the misery and poverty of fellow Albertans, and pay you a 10 to 20 per cent rate of return to do so.