Referendums have been the source of high anxiety and popular uprisings in recent years. Whether they’re a truly democratic way to make vital decisions that best serve the public interest is a matter of great debate. However, there really should be no debate – nine times out of 10, they’re a bad idea. Alberta Premier…
The Fair Deal Panel’s report had two key takeaways: Albertans are tired of being treated as the cash cow for politicians in other provinces, and there is no fair deal for Albertans until we tackle equalization. About two thirds of Albertans think we aren’t getting our fair share from Confederation, according to an Ipsos poll…
The gap between richer and poorer provinces has shrunk, yet program costs keep rising: Fraser Institute
By Troy Media Canada’s equalization program has cost taxpayers – including those in ‘have’ provinces such as Alberta – $2.1 billion more in payments since 2017 due to a program design flaw, according to a report released on Thursday by public policy think-tank the Fraser Institute. The equalization program transfers federal tax dollars to lower-income…
Study finds no link between the circumstances in the local economy, student unemployment and the level of subsidies handed out. So is it all political?
Those who argue that the Canadian federation exhibits plenty of fiscal and program biases against Prairie Canadians will see further evidence in a recent study from the Halifax-based Atlantic Institute for Market Studies (AIMS). The study, Rethinking Student Job Subsidies, authored by David Murrell and Alan Chan, is subtitled The Case for Regional Equity in…
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…
Even in the depths of recession, the province sent Ottawa $92 billion more than it received between 2014 and 2017: Fraser Institute
The federal government’s deficit in 2017 would have reached a staggering $39 billion – instead of the $19 billion recorded – if not for the disproportionate net revenue contributions from Alberta, according to a new study released Thursday by the Fraser Institute. The study, How Albertans Continue to keep Federal Finances Afloat, said that between…
Alberta paid $27.9 billion more into the Canada Pension Plan than what they received in CPP payments over the past 10 years.
A report from the Fraser Institute says Alberta workers paid $27.9 billion into the Canada Pension Plan over and above what retirees in the province received in CPP payments over the past 10-year period. The report - Albertans Make Disproportionate Contributions to National Programs: The Canada Pension Plan as a Case Study - released Wednesday…
Encouraging short-term stability at the expense of economic performance and fairness is folly when alternatives are available
In recent years, equalization and other regional subsidies have captured the attention of many Albertans. Much useful research has been done at the University of Calgary and by the former Wildrose Party. There has been extensive comment in Alberta’s media on Canada’s fiscal arrangements, including equalization. Issues connected with regional subsidies are important to all…
Atlantic Canada enjoys a level of public spending that far outreaches that of the provinces that contribute most to equalization payments
It is time for a fundamental course change by Atlantic Canadians with respect to equalization and other regional subsidies. I recently made a presentation to independent senators in Ottawa on this subject in which I said that Canada’s regional subsidies were ineffective. We've had a half-century of remarkably large subsidies to Quebec and Atlantic Canada,…
We are weeks away from a systemic collapse of large parts of the energy industry in Canada. We need to act quickly and decisively
Just how close is the Alberta oil patch to catastrophic failure? In an informal and I admit very unscientific review of sentiment in Calgary's oil patch conducted by Alberta Council of Technologies (ABCtech) officers last week, a chilling tale of fear emerged. With Western Canada Select crude (WCS) bottoming out at less than $10 a…