Media Releases

As the Alberta government launches its Alberta 2030 review of the post-secondary education system, a new report from the Corporate Mapping Project and the Parkland Institute raises big questions related to universities’ fulfillment of their public interest mandate. Authored by Laurie Adkin, a political economist at the University of Alberta, Knowledge for an Ecologically Sustainable Future? Innovation Policy and Alberta Universities examines the implications of the research funding priorities of the federal and provincial governments for the production of the knowledge needed for an ecologically sustainable economy and society.

As details emerge about the working and living conditions of immigrant and temporary foreign workers in Alberta’s meatpacking industry and their link to COVID-19 outbreaks in those plants, a new report by the Parkland Institute highlights the even greater challenges faced by migrant workers in Alberta who have lost their status.

As debate continues to rage over pipelines for Alberta’s oil, a new Corporate Mapping Project report analyzes how the oil sands industry, in the early years of the mature phase of its business lifecycle, is producing more bitumen with less capital and fewer jobs.

Despite growing popularity for the idea, providing a “basic income” as a way to deal with emerging societal challenges—the rise of the gig economy, artificial intelligence and other technological changes in the workplace, and high levels of unemployment and precarity—is unlikely to be a panacea in the absence of a well-funded social safety net, according to a new report released today by the University of Alberta’s Parkland Institute.

A new report released today by the University of Alberta’s Parkland Institute argues that Alberta’s approach to handling the accelerated phase-out of the province’s coal-fired electricity generation offers an important case study as jurisdictions around the world grapple with ways to ensure a “just transition” to a low-carbon economy.

On the eve of the United Conservative Party’s first provincial budget, a new report by the University of Alberta’s Parkland Institute challenges the contention that the size and compensation levels of Alberta’s public sector are higher than in other provinces and should be addressed through significant reductions.

With less than a week remaining in a federal election campaign that has once again seen abortion rights emerge as a key issue of debate, a new report released today by the University of Alberta’s Parkland Institute looks at the range of contemporary challenges to abortion access and reproductive health services in Canada, with a specific focus on southern Alberta.

Tonight, a panel of experts from across Canada will explore the question of whether Premier Kenney’s announcements of a $30-million “war room,” a $2.5-million public inquiry into environmental advocacy activity, and threats of possible defamation suits against critics of the Alberta oil and gas industry are legitimate government initiatives or actions that chill free expression and undermine democracy.

An alternative—and more balanced—analysis of Alberta’s finances released today by the University of Alberta’s Parkland Institute concludes that long-term fiscal stability in the province cannot be achieved without addressing Alberta’s long-standing revenue problem.

In response to today’s release of the Report and Recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Panel on Alberta’s Finances, two Parkland Institute research associates who are currently finalizing an alternative report on the state of Alberta’s financial picture had the following initial reactions to the MacKinnon report, and are available for further comment.