The government of British Columbia has introduced the first real carbon tax in Canada. While I am no hardcore believer in climate change science and an am advocate of adaptation instead of “re-engineering” the atmosphere, I must congratulate Gordon Campbell and his government for taking this step. If one believes in climate change and believes …
Category Archive: Provincial
Feb
22
Feb
22
The 2008 Alberta Election
The province of Alberta is holding a general election on 3 March 2008, and there are five parties competing for the opportunity to run the province. Alberta has only had four different parties in power since 1905 and once a party is voted out of the office they have never returned (to date). The Progressive …
Jun
16
On Affordable Housing
Recently, there have been many news stories on radio, television and in print regarding the lack of affordable housing in Alberta (and Calgary in particular – although it applies to most large municipalities). The news stories have also covered the proposals of various groups and governments to deal with this problem. First, I agree that …
May
22
Stupid idea #3 from the Stelmach government
Carbon Intensity caps and penalties OK – this story is three months old – but I’ve been busy. The problem with this is that they gave companies 9 MONTHS to meet the commitment. Impossible considering it would take at least that long to do the engineering, let alone buy eqiupment and construct anything to abate …
May
22
Stupid idea #2 from the Stelmach government
Royalty Review This process is simply going to cause grief for everyone. Most Albertans are happy with the level of taxation the province receives from the oil industry. Oil sands in particular are not a super-attractive business. Returns are generally <15%. This is because the capital investments are huge, energy input costs are huge and …
May
22
Stupid idea #1 from the Stelmach government
Well, Ed Stelmach and his government have come up with some doozies for bad ideas. Most of them are clearly those espoused by “red tories”, people who believe in growing government for the sake of government… Stupid Idea #1 High Speed Rail Link I admit that driving the QE2 (Highway 2) between Calgary and Edmonton …
Apr
30
Proof that Equalization is Broken
M. Charest is going to cut taxes in Quebec based on increased monies from Ottawa. Quebec currently spends more per capita on programs than any other province, with the possible exception of Alberta (where the government never saw a dime it wouldn’t spend). And the federal government continues to pour money into Quebec to ostensibly …
Mar
20
Why I don’t like the 2007 Federal Budget
I am not a big fan of the federal budget that Mr. Flaherty presented on Monday. It is not libertarian enough for my tastes. The massive increases in spending, even if most of them are transfers to the provinces, simply grow the influence “the state” has over the lives of individual Canadians. There was clearly …
Nov
01
The Quebec Question and Demographics
Demographics are very important when analyzing the demographics of Canada. Currently, Quebec constitutes approximately 23.3% of the Canadian population. More importantly, people who claim their mother tongue is French constitute 20.5% of the Canadian population, according to Statistics Canada (estimates for 2005). The problem with recognizing Quebec as a “nation” within Canada is that in …
Sep
27
Why Alberta doesn’t need school boards
The Calgary Board of Education is appealling a decision by the courts in Alberta. In this decision, the Court ruled that two formerly private schools that have a religious affiliation may become publicly funded charter schools under the Palliser Board of Education (Lethbridge Region). This comes after the CBE denied the request of these schools …