Intergovernmental Archives

Alberta Government finally decides to shake up AIMCo- is more politicization on the agenda?

11Nov

By Bob AscahNo Comments

Financial Institutions, Government Finances, Intergovernmental, Opinion/Research, Politics

Alberta Government finally decides to shake up AIMCo- is more politicization on the agenda?

Updated 11 November 2024 On Thursday 7 November, the President of Treasury Board and Minister of Finance Nate Horner finally said “enough is enough” for the status quo at the Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo). The Minister cited “significant increases in operating costs, management fees and staffing without a corresponding increase to return on investment” including rising staff salary and benefit costs. Horner properly asked the question” why are we paying remarkably high salaries when the organization was not delivering higher returns?” Also identified were rising staffing costs alongside rising external fees. The whole concept of AIMCo was to bring in house expertise and thereby drive down external fees. Horner also removed the 10-member board (this URL was s...

Democracy in Alberta – Continued- Opinion

31May

By Bob AscahNo Comments

Intergovernmental, Opinion/Research, Politics, Uncategorized

Democracy in Alberta – Continued- Opinion

I commend to readers the article by Elizabeth Smythe, my former intergovernmental colleague in Wednesday’s Edmonton Journal. Opeds by Dr. Smythe and Jared Wesley in The Tyee are honest attempts by political scientists to do what they are trained for- to provide objectively-based warnings about how fragile our democratic institutions have become. Recent moves by the Smith government to smother dissent in municipal councils is another worrying sign (Bills 18 and 20). As Wesley states in the Tyee "There’s no hard-and-fast line between democracy and authoritarianism. Just ask people from autocracies: you don’t simply wake up one day under arbitrary rule." A 30-minute interview between Jared and I can be found at this link The State of Democracy in Alberta- A conversa...

The State of Democracy in Alberta- A conversation with Jared Wesley

18May

By Bob AscahNo Comments

Intergovernmental, Politics

The State of Democracy in Alberta- A conversation with Jared Wesley

On 6 May, Professor Jared Wesley wrote a piece in The Tyee about the dangers of creeping authoritarianism in Alberta. I reached out to Wesley last week to invite him to chat with me about this threat. We talked on Thursday 16 May. What I particularly liked about his online piece was both warning of the dangers of creeping authoritarianism and the need for citizens to raise their voices about questionable overreach by the provincial government in number of areas discussed in the interview. In “Why the UCP is a Threat to Democracy“ Professor Wesley lists four key traits or pillar values of democratic societies – 1. Rule of law; 2. Checks and Balances; 3. Electoral integrity; and 4. Distribution of power. He then proceeds to define key attributes of these pillars and where these values or...

Exclusive Interview with M.P. Heather McPherson- CPP Act amendments

5May

By Bob AscahNo Comments

Demographics, Employment, Intergovernmental, Politics

Exclusive Interview with M.P. Heather McPherson- CPP Act amendments

On Tuesday 30 April Edmonton Strathcona M.P. Heather McPherson introduced Bill C-387 a simple amendment to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) Act. The one page bill, introduced as a Private Member's Bill would change the current requirement for a province to withdraw from the CPP. At present, withdrawal can occur when the Minister of Employment and Social Development, with the approval of the federal cabinet, has entered into an agreement with the government of a province providing a comprehensive pension plan comparable with the CPP Act's benefits. As Ms. McPherson pointed out during this interview, with the prospect of a majority Conservative government under Pierre Poilievre increasingly probable, other provincial governments would have no say on whether Alberta leaves under the current legi...

21Apr

By Bob AscahNo Comments

Energy, Environment, Financial Institutions, Intergovernmental, Opinion/Research, Politics

Smith and the Free Alberta Strategy- An assessment

Overview and Context Premier Danielle Smith has been in office for 19 months and provides an opportunity to evaluate how Smith is proceeding in implementing the Free Alberta Strategy (FAS). I found that many boxes have been checked by the premier but her biggest test is ahead- how to prevent the federal from weakening Alberta's largest industry in its bid to lower CO2 and other emissions. Smith is closely associated with one of the FAS authors, Rob Anderson. Rob Anderson is now the Executive Director of the Office of the Premier which places him at the apex of policy-making in Alberta. His acquaintance with Smith goes back to at least 2010 when, as a former Progressive Conservative (Airdrie -Chestermere), he crossed over to join the Wildrose Alliance party becoming deputy leader. In...

7Apr

By Bob AscahNo Comments

Demographics, Economic Data, Government Finances, Intergovernmental, Investment, Opinion/Research, Politics

The Frustrations of a FOIPP applicant- the case of the APP (Part 2)

Updated 8 April 2023 Key Takeaways By January 2023 all the technical work had been completed for a launch of the APP plan four months before the UCP campaign made no mention of reviving this policy recommendation of the "Fair Deal" Panel. The public service relied on the expertise of outside parties due to lack of in house actuarial expertise. This FOIPP disclosure did not reveal how much the government ultimately paid even though Smith provided the $1.8-million figure to her 630 CHED Saturday call-in radio show. Existing administrative structures aren't conducive for sharing information as the onus is on the deputy head to decide what to disclose making it very difficult for senior officials to offer advice contrary to the preference of their political masters. The "Fa...

Frustrations of a FOIPP applicant- the case of the Alberta Pension Plan (Part 1)

24Mar

By Bob AscahNo Comments

Government Finances, Intergovernmental, Opinion/Research, Politics

Frustrations of a FOIPP applicant- the case of the Alberta Pension Plan (Part 1)

Updated 25 March 2024 Last summer the Globe and Mail ran a series of important articles about the failure of Canada’s freedom of information legislation to provide meaningful information to the public. While this issue is endemic across provincial and federal governments, the series singled out Alberta’s FOIPP (Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy) system as being especially vexatious. Specifically, The Globe initially sought basic information about the tracking system requests for “data fields from each ministry’s FOI tracking system, such as when requests were received and completed and whether any information was provided.” The Alberta government, unlike every other jurisdiction in Canada, denied The Globe’s requests, claiming “no records” existed – even thoug...

22Nov

By Bob AscahNo Comments

Energy, Environment, Intergovernmental, Politics

Where is Brian Jean? Alberta Energy and Mines Minister Missing in Action

Updated 2 December 2023 I receive about two to three dozen emails from the Government of Alberta news service (Alberta.ca/News) each week. These emails keep me up to speed with what is going on with the Government of Alberta. Perhaps half of these releases are not significant recognizing special holidays or special days or weeks that government ministers or departments wish to acknowledge. Some are for junkets of MLAs travelling to various conferences. Perhaps 10 per cent are substantive and feature the premier and the relevant minister issuing statements which are picked up by the media. Many coincide with major news conferences such as the recent one on health care reforms. Most unusual these past six months has been the virtual non-presence of the Minister of Energy and Mi...

16Nov

By Bob AscahNo Comments

Economic Data, Energy, Environment, Intergovernmental, Opinion/Research, Politics

Alberta 5, Ottawa 2- Re. Impact Assessment Act (Part 2)

Before turning to the dissenting opinion, it may be instructive to note some of the key points made by the Alberta Court of Appeal (ABCA) in their 10 May 2022 reference decision. The reference opinion may be found at CanLit. ABCA Majority In the majority ABCA opinion, considerable space was devoted to the history, purpose and scope, of the section 92A resource amendment (paras 74-83). The majority contended Provincial governments should not be faulted for focussing their attention on matters important to their citizens. That includes not only the environment but also the economy. It is a false dichotomy to suggest that the two are mutually exclusive. Without a strong economy, a province’s ability to respond to the needs of its citizens, including meeting the challenges of climate chang...

Alberta Pension Plan- conversation with retired professors at UofA

6Nov

By Bob AscahNo Comments

Demographics, Economic Data, Employment, Financial Institutions, Intergovernmental, Opinion/Research, Politics

Alberta Pension Plan- conversation with retired professors at UofA

I was excited to present to retired professors from the University of Alberta last Thursday my views on the marketing campaign by the Alberta government to "engage" the public on the supposed benefits of an Alberta pension plan. My focus was on the political messaging. The Youtube video can be viewed here. The political messaging created by the Government of Alberta is an expensive communications effort (close to $10-million of Albertans’ tax dollars). The friendly website "Alberta Pension Plan" begins with “What’s in it for you.” The web page design is classically an appeal to Albertans’ sense of place and community with pictures of the Rockies and foothills and wistful pictures of a handsome seniors’ couple. The pitch focuses mainly on the benefits that would be supposed...