Politics Archives - Page 9 of 12

11Jul

By Bob AscahNo Comments

Government Finances, Health, Opinion/Research, Politics

Alberta Nurses- Poised to Strike?

Soon after Finance Minister Travis Toews announced a $17-billion deficit, on 6 July he fired a warning shot at the United Nurses of Alberta. While acknowledging nurses’ contributions to responding to the COVID-19 health crisis (“working diligently throughout”), the News release stressed “the important work of getting the province’s finances back on track.” The terse release reiterated the gist of the MacKinnon Report’s recommendations that for Alberta to rebalance its finances it must cut both the size of the public service as well as bring salaries and benefits in line with other provinces. According to Toews, nurses in Alberta get paid 5.6 per cent more than other comparator provinces (presumably B.C., Quebec and Ontario). This differential costs the Alberta taxpayers an extra $141-mill...

22Jun

By Bob AscahNo Comments

Agencies, Energy, Environment, Health, Politics

The times they are a’changin

Come senators, congressmenPlease heed the callDon't stand in the doorwayDon't block up the hallFor he that gets hurtWill be he who has stalledThe battle outside ragin'Will soon shake your windowsAnd rattle your walls… Bob Dylan On Thursday 18 June a remarkable event took place. The near simultaneous release of an Alberta Energy Regulator (AER)/Canadian Environment Impact Assessment Agency (CEIAA) joint panel rejection of the controversial Grassy Meadows coal project and a news release from Alberta's Environment and Energy ministers "respecting" the Joint Panel’s recommendations. The Thursday announcements followed declarations by federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson that all coal projects which produced selenium would be subject to federal review due to the environmental impa...

20Jun

By Bob AscahNo Comments

ATB, Politics

Hyndman papers: Treasury Branches (Part 1)

In these excerpts from the Hyndman papers are glimpses of both the political and administrative issues associated with a provincial government owning a de facto bank. The first memorandum, from the Provincial Treasurer to his deputy, suggests that just prior to the memo's execution an M.L.A., irate at being surprised that a Treasury Branch in his/her constituency had closed or was about to close, and they had been not informed. The closure of bank branches in rural areas during the 1980s and 1990s caused the federal government to require the banks to go though a reporting process and the giving of notice to communities about the intended branch closures. This was also adopted by the Alberta government around 2000 and still is included in the Mandate and Roles document which outlines a 9...

26Feb

By Bob AscahNo Comments

Budget, Government Finances, Opinion/Research, Politics

Budget 2021- the fine art form of scape-goating: Opinion

Finance Minister Toews has learned from his grandmaster, Premier Jason Kenney, the dark art of scape-goating. Budget 2021 offers more of the same- restraint in public sector spending which is, in fairness, what they have promised. Except for the disastrous decline in resource revenue and increased health spending due to COVID, the government has retreated from its promise to balance the budget in its first term. The scape-goats predictably are the federal government and the compensation levels for unionized public sector workers. The Alberta government continued to tilt at windmills like equalization payments and the federal government's environmental assessment process. Over nearly 2 years of UCP rule, total debt has risen from $92.8 billion to $133.6 billion and is projected to reach ...

21Feb

By Bob Ascah1 Comment

Government Finances, Politics

Post-Mortem Budget 2021

Updated 25 March 2021 Subscribers and readers wishing to watch the unedited recording of the event see immediately below: Topic: Alberta Budget Panel Date:Mar 11,2021 11:32 AM Mountain Time (US and Canada)Recording-1(1.15 GB)https://ualberta-ca.zoom.us/rec/play/Fho1Zu-z2P0siweIkLKS69c5I0qJayPVtifu-qxUYHMxfTjxc4FhEmkNKH45qzB6skdm4bOLgqfj5a69.TAUF0uNq74aG3bwRPasscode: S^hpKdE6 Event registration closed. Video recording will be available after the event. Economics Society of Northern Alberta Institute of Public Administration of Canada (Edmonton) The Parkland Institute University of Alberta Present Post-Mortem on Alberta Budget 2021 Noon: Thursday 11 March 2021 On 25 February, Treasury Board President and Finance Minister Travis Toews presents his third budget- the first item on ...

17Jan

By Bob AscahNo Comments

Agencies, Employment, Opinion/Research, Politics

UCP declares war on Alberta Teachers

Updated 18 January 2021 With the stroke of a pen on a 23 December 2020 ministerial order, Finance Minister and Treasury Board President Travis Toews imposed an investment management agreement (IMA) on the Alberta Teachers Retirement Fund (ATRF). In a news release on 12 January 2021, Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) President Jason Shilling responded to the existence of the Ministerial Order on the ATRF website. Mr. Schilling of the ATA pointed out that the current outcome- an imposed IMA- was inconsistent with claims made by Finance Minister Toews when defending Bill 22, Reform of Agencies, Boards and Commissions and Government Enterprises Act. Bill 22 legislated the transfer of assets from ATRF management to the Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) to occur by the end o...

2Jan

By Bob AscahNo Comments

Agencies, ATB, Government Finances, Intergovernmental, Politics

2020- Best of, Worst of Times Year in Review

In this look-back at 2020, we summarize our thoughts and opinions on some of the key stories in 2020- news, analysis and opinion by Abpolecon.ca. COVID-19 and a drastic drop in oil prices landed like a hammer on Alberta's economy and political landscape. News 28 February Provincial Budget was full of optimism- little did we know. I raised the flag of what's Plan B? 31 March On the final day of the 2019-20 fiscal year, the Alberta cabinet passed Order in Council 104/2020 which authorized the “President of Treasury Board and Minister of Finance to make advances to or purchase securities of the Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission.” Alberta taxpayers had bought a stake in the Keystone XL The Minister of Finance was authorized to borrow up to $2 billion "for th...

21Dec

By Bob AscahNo Comments

Agencies, ATB, Financial Institutions, Loan Losses, Politics

Bill 44 brings Alberta governments new supervisory powers over ATB Financial

Flying under the radar, the Finance Minister on 3 November introduced Bill 44 the Financial Statutes Amendment Act, an innocuous sounding Bill with important implications for ATB Financial. Minister Toews described the Bill as reducing red tape for "Alberta job creators while improving the resilience of Alberta's financial institutions." The Bill will improve Alberta’s regulatory environment and the competitiveness of Alberta’s financial sector. It will help Alberta attract much-needed investment and job creation in support of our economic recovery plan, and it will balance the government’s commitment to responsible oversight of Alberta’s financial institutions with their need to compete and evolve. However underneath the standard rhetoric of red tape reduction, job creation, and investme...

9Dec

By Bob Ascah1 Comment

Budget, Fiscal History, Politics

A presentation to the Board of the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce – A Sales Tax for Alberta-Why and How

This morning I made a presentation to the Board of Directors of the Edmonton Chamber and senior management of the Edmonton Chamber. Below is the PowerPoint/PDF. Although the business community is still generally negative to a provincial sales tax, possibly harmonized with the federal GST, there appears to be a growing realization that non-renewable resource revenue will not be sufficient alone to balance Alberta's structural deficits. In late October, the Chamber released Forging our Future which includes the following: While government spending and support programs are critical right now,we must not lose sight of the fiscal challenges on the horizon.We recommend a review of the Canadian tax system and a review ofAlberta’s revenue sources, including consideration for a consumption t...

25Nov

By Bob Ascah1 Comment

Capital Spending, Economic Data, Energy, Environment, Fiscal History, Government Finances, Politics

Presentation to EQUS directors- 23 November

EQUS is a small, co-operative distributor of electricity to 12,000, mostly rural, customers. The organization is the product of a series of mergers of rural electrification co-operatives over the past two decades. EQUS employs about 100 staff with its head office in Innisfail. The presentation, provocatively entitled "Alberta's Crumbling Economic and Fiscal Foundation" builds on concerns about the future health of Alberta's economy in a world where international financial capital places more emphasis on renewable energy solutions. The presentation highlights the pivotal role of capital expenditures of the oil and gas sector which have driven the Alberta economy since 1947. Alberta's gross fixed capital formation (oil and gas, institutional, industrial, residential and non-residential bui...