“He also shared a few bold predictions. Investors, he said, would have to spend $400 billion to realize the Liberal plan, but there would be a net benefit to Canadians of $29 billion by 2050. He also put out on social media a claim by the Canadian Climate Institute that
Continue readingTag: economic policy
52 Ideas: Grande Cache and UCP coal extraction policy is going to cause more problems than it will solve
Over the next few decades, as we push towards decarbonizing everything, every new project is going to be asked one question: can this good or service that you are offering be done without fossil fuels? This is a question that has permeated many places, but it has not seemed to
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Canada is facing a grave crisis, and it needs courageous leaders, but brutal street-clearing operations won’t help
There’s no question Canada is facing a grave social crisis on multiple fronts. Howard Anglin (Photo: Twitter/Howard Anglin). The homeless crisis, the housing crisis, the deadly drug poisoning crisis, and the crisis of our overburdened health care system are all real, and they share a common cause. Forty years of
Continue reading52 Ideas: Alberta is missing the transition window
When Alberta’s Premier, the Hon. Danielle Smith, gave her election victory speech; she made it clear that she believed that she could protect Alberta’s Oil and Gas industry from the Global Energy Transition. Or as she put it, “We need to come together no matter how we voted to stand
Continue reading52 Ideas: Alberta’s latest economic threat: Thanks to China, Saudi Arabia and Iran are beginning to normalise relations
It might seem odd for an Albertan to point to Saudi Arabia, Iran and the Middle East and say that it has an effect on us. However, it does. History tells us that Alberta’s oil is most desired when another major oil producing country (usually a member of the Organization
Continue reading52 Ideas: Has the Alberta Legislature noticed what the 5th largest economy is doing?
If Albertans want to understand how economically viable our Natural Gas and Oil sector is, all we need to do is look towards California. California has the largest economy in the US. Its economic size is about twice the size of the next largest rival – Texas – and its
Continue reading52 Ideas: And the World moves on…. (or why Alberta needs to pay attention to the way other people are getting their energy)
When I was a child, I was privileged in that I got to travel to Jamaica and Barbados to see my relatives. The trips were amazing; and, each time I went down, I learned more about the Caribbean. At some point, in the 1980s and 1990s, my education about my
Continue reading52 Ideas: Within the decade, Electrification Technology will quickly impact the Alberta Economy & Athabascan Oil Sands
If I were the Mayor of Calgary, an Alberta MLA who goes to Edmonton or a MP for a riding in Alberta, the thing that would terrify me the most is the decreasing cost and improving efficiency of Electric Vehicle (EV) battery back technology. In reading OilPrice.com – a leading
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Building on our successes #nlpoli
“First and foremost, be totally honest with the electorate,” former Premier Clyde Wells told Anthony Germain on CBC’s Sunday Edition last weekend. He was giving some general advice to the next Premier on how to handle the provincial government’s enormous financial problems. “Don’t go sugar-coating anything. Fully disclose what you’re
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Jason Kenney lays out the bad news on COVID-19 capably enough, then wanders into the economic weeds
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney actually sounded pretty good on TV last night as he laid out the hard facts about COVID-19, what it’ll probably do, and what might do if too many of us act like jackasses and don’t stay close to home for the next couple of months. Mr.
Continue reading52 Ideas: What does Alberta Future Look like?
In 2018, an Alberta Government Department – called Alberta Economic and Development and Trade developed a pamphlet. Entitled the “2017 Highlights of the Alberta Economy”, it noted that Alberta had “one of the world’s most productive agricultural economies, with a total farm area of 50.3 million acres or 20.3 million hectares”.
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Trump’s anti-Canadian antics are good news for Alberta pipeline advocates – whether or not that was the plan
U.S. President Donald Trump may not actually have intended to deliver a blow to West Coast environmentalists opposed to the completion of the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Project, but he has done so with his recent dubious allegations about Canada’s trading practices. Building a pipeline capable of carrying diluted bitumen
Continue reading52 Ideas: Who will pay the cost for Digital Security? On the regulation of Uber and large digital companies
In 2006, when I came to Calgary, Identity Thief was something that we all heard about. While, I did not have RFID sleeves for my credit cards yet, I was able to take precautions. When I took a cab in 2006 from the Airport to Downtown Calgary, I could take
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Canada needs more Jeremy Corbyn, less Justin Trudeau, 21st annual Parkland Institute conference is advised
PHOTOS: Guardian journalist Martin Lukacs, moments before his remarks to the 21st annual Parkland Institute Conference in Edmonton yesterday morning. Below: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau; British Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn and Prime Minister Theresa May (U.K. Photos: Wikimedia Commons); and bestselling Canadian author Linda McQuaig before her keynote
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Afraid of a second moratorium #nlpoli
During the filibuster in the last session of the House of Assembly, education minister Dale Kirby reminded everyone of why the current administration is following its financial policy.Didn’t want to create a second moratorium, Kirby said. o…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Continuing continuity #nlpoli
In the face of thousands of well-informed people telling Dwight Ball that the provincial government must change direction to survive, in the face of mountains of evidence that the province has been on the wrong course since 2005 or so, and lately, in t…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Hard truth from the Parkland Institute: New pipelines won’t much improve the price fetched by Alberta oil from Bitumen
PHOTOS: An oil tanker, floating in “tidewater” – in this case the balmy Persian Gulf. Below: Earth scientist David Hughes, and a caribou strolling along a pipeline, this one in Alaska. That’s tonight’s harvest of royalty-free photographs. My …
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Put The Money Where It Will Do the Most Good
That’s the advice of Dylan Marando, who, like many others, has come to the conclusion that tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations just means greater wealth accrual and dividend payouts, not job growth. The fact that corporations are currently sitt…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Process Question #nlpoli
Finance minister Cathy Bennett told CBC that “everything is on the table and we have to make sure that we don’t leave anything that potentially could help us move to the destination that we all want to get to…So, my answer would be everything is on t…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Fearless champion of the corporate overdog snarls at CCPA’s eye-popping New Year CEO salary tally
PHOTOS: Beggars and bazillionaires, not really as far apart as you think, the Fraser Institute insists. Top 100 Canadian corporate executives may not appear exactly as illustrated. Minimum wage workers, though? Not so different. Below: CCPA researcher …
Continue reading