And help Albertans cope with the scary roller coaster that is the economy
Albertans received the pleasant news that their deficit-plagued provincial government might bank a surplus for their concluding fiscal year and could very well experience the same this year. The reason for this happy state of financial affairs is the elevated price levels of oil and natural gas – coming just as a resurgence in the…
Looking to Ontario for clues on how to turn its fortunes around fraught with uncertainties
Imagine a provincial premier who is wildly unpopular with voters. An election is still some time away, but pundits are already speculating the incumbent conservative party could suffer a bloodbath. As the conservative government lunges from one fumble to the next, their leader just can’t stop putting his foot in his mouth. The NDP opposition…
Conservative activists set impossible standards for politicians and abandon them when they're not met
For more than three decades, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has been one of the leading political figures in Canada’s conservative movement. The 53-year-old headed the Canadian Taxpayers Federation in the 1990s and has been a strong advocate for low taxes, limited government and fiscal responsibility ever since. He served as a Reform Party, Canadian Alliance…
Focus on sustainable solutions rather than on short-term ones with strings-attached
The Alberta government stopped collecting its fuel tax at the beginning of April in an effort to provide “real relief” to Albertans impacted by rising fuel and inflationary costs. The tax cut saves motorists up to 13 cents per litre on gasoline and diesel but reduces the provincial revenues by approximately $1.3 billion (nearly three per…
Alberta needs to seize this opportunity; as history has shown, it may not last
Under the backdrop of rising provincial oil revenues, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s speech to the Alberta Municipal Leaders caucus in March and the debate around it mark the start of what will be the dominating discussion in provincial politics from now until the election. The question is, what do we do with this new revenue?…
Enough with the political excuses and inaction
If you’ve had to drive your kids to hockey, go grocery shopping or commute to work, you’ve likely cursed every time you saw the price at the pump. Gas prices have now reached a high of over $1.50 per litre. That’s the highest level since Statistics Canada started tracking this data in 1990. Higher gas…
It certainly isn't any sense of national purpose
As long as I’ve been following politics (which is almost as long as I’ve been alive), the question of what defines Canada has provided unsatisfying answers. Polls typically tell us that some combination of the Charter of Rights, our health care system, and the fact that we are not American top the list. Canadians generally…
Bit by bit, politicians will be taking more money from your family this year
Another year and another New Year’s dominated by COVID-19. Restrictions on hockey games, travel and even community gatherings lead the news. While that diverts our attention, politicians are nickel and diming us with higher taxes. In 2022, we’ll pay higher income taxes, carbon taxes, property taxes and even higher taxes for a bottle of booze.…
Without that trust, public officials lose their social licence to govern
The heartbreaking death of Nathanael Spitzer, the cancer-stricken boy from Ponoka, exposed a most callous streak in Alberta’s medical bureaucracy. There’s no forgiving how Alberta Health Services appallingly used a child’s death to promote yet more COVID-19 fear. However, one should dismiss the promise from Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, Deena Hinshaw, to process…
Without a plan, the government is flying blind
It’s ironic to procrastinate on planning. Sure, things will change, and any plan will have to change too, but it’s still essential to have some ideas about where to go and how to get there. There will never be a better time to make a plan. Yet Alberta is putting off its financial planning. It…