Intergovernmental Archives - Page 4 of 4

25May

By Bob Ascah2 Comments

Economic Data, Fiscal History, Intergovernmental

Hyndman Papers

Alberta's Contribution to Confederation circa 1980 In August 1980, Alberta intergovernmental relations were heating up as the earlier Mellon memo attested to. The National Energy Program was about two months away from release, a release that would fuel the flames of western separatism. Concerns were festering in Alberta about the cost-benefits of remaining in Confederation. In the Briefing Note below, authored by Treasury officials in the Fiscal Policy and Economic Analysis Division documented the inflows and outflows to and from the federal Treasury over a 16-year period. The Table below summarizes two tables from the paper- the cumulative totals for provinces and a combined B.C., Yukon, and North West Territories and the discounted cumulative totals. The information was derive...

“A National Energy Program”- Hyndman papers

17May

By Bob AscahNo Comments

Energy, Energy, Government Finances, Intergovernmental

“A National Energy Program”- Hyndman papers

The Provincial Archives of Alberta slumbers in obscurity, but the work of its archivists is essential to the conservation and preservation of Alberta's rich social and political history. Lou Hyndman served with Peter Lougheed's ministry from 1971 to 1985 when he returned to the private sector. Hyndman served in many key cabinet positions, including Education, Intergovernmental Affairs, and Treasury. He donated over 100 boxes of records from his time in the provincial government. In this extract, the Deputy Minister of Energy- Energy Resources, Dr. Barry Mellon advises his minister, the Honourable Merv Leitch about impending storm clouds circling over Alberta's energy sector. This revealing memorandum was written six months after Pierre Trudeau won a majority election on 18 Febr...

Reset for federal-provincial-municipal fiscal arrangements? Opinion

17Apr

By Bob AscahNo Comments

Credit Ratings, Fiscal History, Government Finances, Intergovernmental, Opinion/Research

Reset for federal-provincial-municipal fiscal arrangements? Opinion

It is cliché to say we are living in extraordinary times. Comparisons with the Global Financial Crisis doesn’t work, although monetary madness is again afoot. For Alberta, there are comparisons with the 1980s when homes were sold for a dollar, allowing mortgagors to walk away. And of course, there is the Great Depression, which devastated all of Canada and left lasting resonance on how people related to others, to governments, and to money. So now, we are in a time of both crisis and reflection. Should governments (national and sub-national) be co-operating or competing? We know the beggar thy neighbour policies of the Great Depression did not work, but our next-door neighbour seems intent to draw up the bridges on the castle. In Canada, we are in in a period of inter-governmental co-ope...

30Mar

By Bob AscahNo Comments

Budget, Credit Ratings, Government Finances, Intergovernmental

Government Borrowing

Updated 2 April 2020 A number of historic events have taken place this past week, with long-term ramifications for the Canadian and Alberta economies. Bank of Canada actions to purchase money market paper of provincial governmentsBank of Canada starts quantitative easing and will purchase commercial paperManitoba Premier calling on the federal government to establish a Pandemic Emergency Credit FacilityProvince of Alberta issues a century bond Alberta is witnessing the deepest economic storm since the mid-1980s and likely will see conditions similar to the Great Depression over the next few months. Unlike the Great Depression, our social safety net and government willingness to “do whatever it takes” will moderate the financial and economic distress. Unlike the Great Depression,...

Energy Wars in the 1970s- Hyndman’s files

26Nov

By Bob AscahNo Comments

Energy, Government Finances, Intergovernmental, Uncategorized

Energy Wars in the 1970s- Hyndman’s files

Two more excerpts from the files of the late Lou Hyndman come from the mid 1970s. The disputes being addressed by senior political leaders followed soon after the OPEC oil embargo. The conflict which emerged between Ottawa and the consuming provinces (e.g. Ontario) and Alberta involved a bitter fight over which order of government would collect the lion's share of the rapid increase in the world price of oil. The first excerpt is from a speech given by the then Treasurer, Gordon Miniely at a finance ministers' conference. The second extract is from a speech, presumably authored, by J.Peter Meekison, a special intergovernmental affairs advisor and then deputy minister of Alberta's Federal and Intergovernmental Affairs department dated in December 1974. The speech is significant as ...