Ricardo Acuña is Executive Director of the Parkland Institute, a non-partisan public policy research institute housed at the University of Alberta.
by Ricardo Acuña
In the last few months, the Alberta Government has been working very hard to present itself as being tough with those people and organizations that do not toe the government line, and has not hesitated to slap down threats and fines for anyone who doesn't comply. But not always.
by Ricardo Acuña
Somewhere at Edmonton's city hall there is a document that everyone in Edmonton should read. The document is called Southeast to West LRT P3 Business Case and it was prepared by the city's administration. Within it is the detailed financial and risk analysis for Edmonton's new southeast LRT line, which is to be built as a public-private partnership (P3).
P3s come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but in the case of the southeast LRT it means that a private for-profit company or consortium will be handed responsibility for all aspects of the project, from design and building to operation and maintenance, for a 30-year period.
by Ricardo Acuña
Who's running this show? That question has been uttered countless times by countless Albertans in the two months since the release of Alberta's provincial budget. The show in question, of course, is the provincial government. Most folks in Alberta probably have very little sense of what the Premier's job entails on a day-to-day basis, and for the most part, they probably don't care to know. What they want to know is that their Premier is actually exercising leadership, making the big-picture decisions and remaining accountable to them for those decisions.
by Ricardo Acuña
Don't let the provincial government's talk of bitumen bubbles, belt-tightening and revenue shortfalls fool you. Alberta's economy is not hurting. It is also not in a holding pattern. In fact, according to a report released last week by the Parkland Institute, we are in a growth pattern and heading full-speed into another bitumen-fuelled boom.
by Ricardo Acuña
In his speech delivering Alberta's 2013 budget, Minister of Finance Doug Horner referred to this budget as a "once-in-a-generation restructuring". He also said the budget was based on the priorities and wishes of the people of Alberta who told the government "they expect a budget that is responsible, balanced and facilitates economic growth." After hours of digging through the budget documents in-depth, however, there is no evidence to support either of these statements.
by Ricardo Acuña
Three hundred Albertans, ostensibly from all walks of life, got together on February 9 at an invitation-only summit to discuss Alberta's economic future. Although a significant majority of those present came from corporate-funded right-wing think tanks, industry groups, large corporations, and Alberta's academic right, there were also a handful of union leaders, non-profit organizations and community groups represented.
by Ricardo Acuña
Despite the ongoing problems with Alberta's economy and the series of scandals exposed in the Alberta Legislature in the fall, Alison Redford continues to be seen in Alberta as someone who is smart, thoughtful and articulate. There was a moment during her televised speech to Albertans last week, however, which called all of that into question.
As Redford explained how we will move the province forward in a more economically stable way, she clearly identified the heart of the problem: "A province as prosperous as Alberta should not be as susceptible as we are to swings in the price of oil and gas."
For more than four years, Albertans have been waiting for the government's promised consultation on water allocation in the province. But a leaked government document, released publicly last week by Our Water Is Not For Sale (OWINFS), suggests that what we will actually get will be much more a one-sided conversation.
Billed as a big, important announcement, the Alberta government finally announced how it will move forward to deal with the problem of inadequate environmental monitoring in the province's north — something Albertans have been waiting for since the government first acknowledged the problem two years ago.
