The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the vital importance of collective responses via governments at all levels. The Canadian context of federalism, with a division of powers between federal and provincial/territorial governments, also highlights key differences in approaches to the pandemic. At its best, federalism is an advantageous arrangement, with the…
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The COVID-19 pandemic and associated policy response has caused an unprecedented economic shock in Canada. Millions of workers have lost their jobs, schools and workplaces have closed and everyone who can is staying home. One consequence of this precipitous decline in economic activity has been a reduction in air pollution….
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The 2020-21 Alberta budget was tabled on February 27, just four months after the previous post-election budget. Jason Kenney’s United Conservative government is cutting public spending while also cutting corporate taxes, and thousands of public sector jobs are expected to be lost over the remainder of his term. Here are…
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The decision by Vancouver-based Teck Resources, announced on Sunday, to withdraw its application for the Frontier oil sands mine was both unexpected and foreseeable. Unexpected because the decision about whether or not the project would move forward had been framed solely as a federal government judgment, rather than being determined…
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On February 27, Jason Kenney’s UCP government will table its second budget. With that in mind, here are 10 things to know about income support for low-income households in Alberta: 1. Low income is associated with lower food expenditures, including fewer purchases of milk, fruits and vegetables. Low income is…
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Alberta Education Minister Adriana LaGrange is very concerned that teachers in classrooms across the province are turning students into anti-oil zealots. Her evidence? Two multiple-choice questions from a grade 10 Social Studies test, reportedly sent by a parent, that appear to cast aspersions on oilsands development (the offending options have…
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On October 24 (halfway through the fiscal year) Alberta finance minister Travis Toews tabled the 2019-20 Alberta budget. The first provincial budget of Jason Kenney’s UCP government, it announced substantial spending cuts—specifically, a 2.8% reduction in nominal spending by 2022 (or 0.7% per year on average between now and then)….
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People without affordable housing suffer from poor health outcomes, have difficulty finding and sustaining employment and are at greater risk of having their children removed by child welfare authorities. Here are 10 things to know about affordable housing in Alberta specifically: 1. The previous provincial government undertook important initiatives pertaining to affordable housing….
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The Alberta Alternative Budget (AAB) is an annual exercise whose working group consists of researchers, economists, and members of civil society (full disclosure: I’m the Editor). Our general mandate is to create a progressive vision for Alberta to boost economic growth and reduce income inequality. This year’s document was released…
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The urgency of the global climate crisis could not be more obvious than in India right now, where a 50ºC heatwave is causing “heavy casualties” both directly through heat-related deaths and indirectly through water and food shortages. Canadians have been spared that kind of heat so far, but it’s little…
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