Albertans have tried to work within the system but it is stacked against them
For many Albertans, it is 1775. A year later, as every American knows, the Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia. At the time the Colonies were still part of the British Empire; it is, therefore, a British as much as an American document, which is why its logic has such a wide appeal today…
Dave Yager has spent nearly half a century in Alberta’s oil and natural gas industry and 40 years in journalism, notably with the oilfield trade magazine, The Roughneck. His first book, From Miracle to Menace: Alberta, A Carbon Story, combines his extensive experience in a well-written and fact-centred analysis of the economics, politics and history…
Separation has become a real possibility thanks to the abuses and injustices imposed by Ottawa
In the past couple of weeks, a retired senior oil executive, Gwyn Morgan, a former premier of Saskatchewan, Brad Wall, and a veteran journalist, Don Braid, all commented publicly on the current position of Alberta in Canada. They agreed on the nature of the problem, but stopped short of suggesting the obvious response. It’s not…
The fed's Bill Morneau and Alberta's Joe Ceci say their budgets are realistic, but they’ve provided no evidence that they’re even plausible
When finance ministers table their budgets, they’re asking citizens to trust that they will spend our money prudently. Both Bill Morneau, the federal minister, and Joe Ceci, the Alberta minister, say their recent budgets are realistic, but they’ve provided no evidence that they’re even plausible. This is a serious blunder because lack of plausibility undermines trust, a…
U of C's "cultural engagement" guidelines bear little resemblance to the complex relationship that existed between aboriginals and immigrants
A ceremony at the University of Calgary a short while ago invited all faculty members of the Royal Society of Canada to welcome newly-elected fellows into the ranks. It was presided over by one of the university’s vice-presidents. Other members of the senior leadership team were also present. The VP began the evening with the…
It is becoming “routine” for union bosses to be appointed to public bodies
In the federal election last fall 60 per cent of Albertans voted Conservative. Twelve per cent voted NDP. The provincial NDP was unimpressed. They have continued to govern as if they actually won the election last spring, not that the PCs lost it. Alberta now enjoys a $3 billion carbon tax, which was unmentioned in…
University of PEI contemplating legal action against one of its professors for writing about how mediocre today’s universities are
ISIS and the delegates to COP21 are all purveyors of apocalyptic ideologies
Oliver Tickell, website editor of the British magazine The Ecologist, wondered whether the ISIS attacks in Paris were motivated by a desire to undermine the UN climate summit opening next week, the 21st in the series of Conferences of Parties meetings – COP21 for short. Reducing oil production, one of the goals of COP21, would…
Everything the administration has done has been damage control
Interesting times have returned to the University of Calgary in a very negative way. The unsatisfactory nature of student experiences at the university is exemplified by the dispute between the Students’ Union (SU) and the Administration over the ownership of MacEwan Hall, “a central focus for student life on campus,” as Board of Governors Chair…
Fear and loathing of Harper trumped fear of leaving the country hostage to profound inexperience
Last week, several colleagues at the University undertook a post mortem of the federal election. Two of our recent PhD graduates, David Coletto (2010), now CEO of Abacus Data, and Paul Fairie (2013), a principal with Centrality Data Science, provided a fine-grained analysis of what had been a two-part campaign. Part one, Canadians decided that…