Expand Taxpayer Protection Act to prevent any future carbon tax burden on Albertans Albertans have an advantage: they have lower taxes protected by law. The Taxpayer Protection Act is one of the strongest laws protecting taxpayers in North America. It’s the reason Albertans don’t have a provincial sales tax. While our neighbours in Saskatchewan and…
Adding it to the Taxpayer Protection Act will ensure Albertans never have to pay an Alberta carbon tax again There’s bad news, good news and hope for the future. The bad news is that Albertans are paying more to drive to work, heat their homes, and buy groceries, thanks to the latest federal carbon tax…
By throttling questions she doesn't like, Smith is forgetting that the media plays a critical role in ensuring democracy works It’s called “discursive closure”. And it’s hard at work on Alberta’s hustings specifically and the provincial landscape more generally. Discourses are the way we talk about things. Things like politics and elections and how the…
Any plan of any substance needs to be a plan in which Albertans see a reflection of themselves and the energy future they want Ever hear an energy cricket chirp? Not likely, because “hearing crickets” is a semantical stand-in for deafening silence. And it’s silence of that magnitude which may be puzzling Albertans about what…
The Smith government may have had good intentions when purchasing the medication. But ... Last fall, in response to a diminished supply of children’s Tylenol, the United Conservative Party (UCP) government announced it would purchase acetaminophen from a manufacturer in Turkey. The plan was to get the much-needed medication to pharmacies by Christmas. Although Alberta…
Cleaning up inactive assets continues to hang over the energy sector like a dark cloud Bad policy happens to good people. Like Albertans. But bad policy, paradoxically, can often start in a good place. Here’s an example. Alberta’s UCP government recently floated a trial balloon entitled the Liability Management Incentive Program (LMIP). In a nutshell,…
While the 2023 budget may be an election budget, taxpayers have a lot to be happy about Counting on another oil boom to balance Alberta’s future budgets is like counting on winning the lottery to pay your mortgage. Being able to write a budget shopping list with a $12.3 billion surplus is a fortunate blessing…
Premier Smith’s retread energy panel seemingly out to please only one particular constituency It’s a pretty tall order, one that will define much in terms of how Albertans see themselves – and how the rest of Canada sees Alberta. After all, who knows what energy life will be like in, say, 2033? 2039? 2044? How…
Where are the wind players, the solar players, the geothermal players, the First Nation communities, the young professionals? So close. Yet so far away. That’s the paradox in Alberta premier Danielle Smith’s latest advisory pronouncement, via which five oilpatch veterans are charged with a weighty task: mapping Alberta’s energy future. Whew. That’s a big ask,…
The Liability Management Incentive Program is both bad politics and bad policy Psssst. Ms. Premier... Quick question: have you lost your ever-loving mind? I had always figured you to be more astute than the average bear, but yeesh, this one ought to have you rethinking your internal advisory team and how you act on their…
Expand Taxpayer Protection Act to prevent any future carbon tax burden on Albertans Albertans have an advantage: they have lower taxes protected by law. The Taxpayer Protection Act is one of the strongest laws protecting taxpayers in North America. It’s the reason Albertans don’t have a provincial sales tax. While our neighbours in Saskatchewan and…
Adding it to the Taxpayer Protection Act will ensure Albertans never have to pay an Alberta carbon tax again There’s bad news, good news and hope for the future. The bad news is that Albertans are paying more to drive to work, heat their homes, and buy groceries, thanks to the latest federal carbon tax…
By throttling questions she doesn't like, Smith is forgetting that the media plays a critical role in ensuring democracy works It’s called “discursive closure”. And it’s hard at work on Alberta’s hustings specifically and the provincial landscape more generally. Discourses are the way we talk about things. Things like politics and elections and how the…
The Smith government may have had good intentions when purchasing the medication. But ... Last fall, in response to a diminished supply of children’s Tylenol, the United Conservative Party (UCP) government announced it would purchase acetaminophen from a manufacturer in Turkey. The plan was to get the much-needed medication to pharmacies by Christmas. Although Alberta…
Cleaning up inactive assets continues to hang over the energy sector like a dark cloud Bad policy happens to good people. Like Albertans. But bad policy, paradoxically, can often start in a good place. Here’s an example. Alberta’s UCP government recently floated a trial balloon entitled the Liability Management Incentive Program (LMIP). In a nutshell,…
While the 2023 budget may be an election budget, taxpayers have a lot to be happy about Counting on another oil boom to balance Alberta’s future budgets is like counting on winning the lottery to pay your mortgage. Being able to write a budget shopping list with a $12.3 billion surplus is a fortunate blessing…
Premier Smith’s retread energy panel seemingly out to please only one particular constituency It’s a pretty tall order, one that will define much in terms of how Albertans see themselves – and how the rest of Canada sees Alberta. After all, who knows what energy life will be like in, say, 2033? 2039? 2044? How…
Where are the wind players, the solar players, the geothermal players, the First Nation communities, the young professionals? So close. Yet so far away. That’s the paradox in Alberta premier Danielle Smith’s latest advisory pronouncement, via which five oilpatch veterans are charged with a weighty task: mapping Alberta’s energy future. Whew. That’s a big ask,…
The Liability Management Incentive Program is both bad politics and bad policy Psssst. Ms. Premier... Quick question: have you lost your ever-loving mind? I had always figured you to be more astute than the average bear, but yeesh, this one ought to have you rethinking your internal advisory team and how you act on their…