Something is Seriously Wrong
How fitting. The UCP will close 2017 with yet another bozo eruption. Bozo eruptions were mildly entertaining in the past, but they’re occurring with increasing regularity and have taken on…
andrew leach
The Winter of Discontent over the Carbon Tax
Alberta’s carbon tax, lauded by economists and experts and derided by opposition conservatives, came into force on January 1, 2017. From photo-ops at gas pumps to outright climate change denial,…
New column day
Here, on how Brad Wall’s call for Canada to stop funding international climate change adaptation and mitigation reflects just one more example of his government’s tendency to kick down at…
PPAs and the Master Narrative in Alberta
The American Press Institute (API) describes pack journalism,” now known as “the master narrative,” as a story line the press corps en masse is telling or repeating. The API warns…
Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week.- Andrew Leach's after-the-fact addendum to his review of Alberta's climate change policy offers an important reminder as to the costs of inaction on climate…
Notley NDP make pigs fly again with support for Climate Leadership Plan
When the Alberta government released its Climate Leadership plan in November 2015, I said that Premier Rachel Notley and Environment and Parks Minister Shannon Phillips had made pigs fly by…
2015 was a great year for Progressive Politics in Alberta
It was an exciting year to be a progressive in Alberta. May 5, 2015 marked the first time since the 1930s that a conservative party did not win a provincial…
Who said what about the NDP’s ambitious Made-in-Alberta Climate Change Plan
Pigs continued to fly in Alberta politics today as energy industry leaders and environmental groups joined Premier Rachel Notley and Environment and Parks Minister Shannon Phillips at a press conference…
Notley strikes a collaborative tone in Canada’s pipeline debate
This week’s Council of the Federation meeting in St. John’s, Newfoundland marked Alberta Premier Rachel Notley’s first appearance on the national stage since the NDP won a stunning victory in…
Daveberta wins two awards at the Yeggies
I was honoured to be the recipient of the Best in Political/Current Affairs Award and a Special Lifetime Achievement Award at last night’s Yeggies celebration at La Cité Francophone. The…
Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Paul Krugman highlights the policy areas where we need to look to the public sector for leadership – including those such as…
Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – David Macdonald studies Canada’s massive (and growing) wealth gap, and proposes some thoughtful solutions to ensure that growth in wealth results in…
Sunday Morning Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Dean Starkman writes about the media’s failure to see and report on the culture of corruption and manipulation that led to the…
Thursday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Chris Hall notes that Brad Butt’s admitted fabrications can only hurt the Cons’ already-lacking credibility when it comes to forcing through their…
Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Don Lenihan is the latest to highlight the difference between citizens and consumers – as well as why we should want to act…
On shortsighted assumptions
Time for a true or false pop quiz. Is the following a self-evident statement of economic fact? “A capital asset which is not currently being exploited has a value of…
Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Don Braid comments on Alberta’s complete lack of credibility when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental issues. And Andrew…
Andrew Leach Lays Out The Odds
“We see Northern Gateway as the most vulnerable,” Samir Kayande, vice-president at ITG Investments, said during a panel discussion on the Financial Post website this week. “ Energy East and…
New column day
Here, on how “we must increase stock prices!” – or worse yet, “we must increase company X’s stock prices!” – makes for a thoroughly regressive public policy goal. For further…