AB Pol Econ

26Jun

By albertarecessionwatchNo Comments

Agencies

Bill 19 -Reform of Agencies, Boards and Commissions Compensation Act

Opinion/Research On May 18th, Treasury Board President and Finance Minister Joe Ceci introduced Bill 19. Ceci stated that the "purpose of this legislation is to address consistency and fairness in executive compensation levels for the public agencies, boards, and commissions that are subject to the Alberta Public Agencies Governance Act." The tabling and passage of this Bill garnered virtually no attention in the media. And yet, this Bill promises to be one of the most fundamental pieces of legislation for the government in an session that features major initiatives on climate change, taxation, predatory lending, environmental monitoring, and law enforcement. (more…)

24Jun

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Opinion/Research

Opinion

Justin Giovannetti writes about how Alberta has changed since Notley's government assumed power. The key changes range from a substantial increase in taxes or "levies" as a carbon tax is introduced in January next year to relatively low cost initiatives such as changing labour laws and legislation addressing the pay-day loan industry. Many of these measures have re-balanced the equilibrium between the rights of workers and the power of employers.

21Jun

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Investment

Originally posted 21 June 2016 Investment in Alberta is highly cyclical due to the resource base of the oilsands located in the Fort McMurray (Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo) area. Since the federal and provincial governments agreed to a resource development framework in the late 1990s, tens of billions of dollars have been invested in both oilsands mining and in-situ facilities. Since 2005, one could argue that the whole Alberta economy has been driven by the investment boom in the Fort McMurray area as a number of large Canadian (CNRL, Suncor-PetroCanada, Nexen, Cenovus-Encana, Husky) and multi-national corporations (Exxon-Mobil, StatOil, Total, Shell) competed to exploit this resource base. (more…)

20Jun

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Environment

Update Since the last post a great deal has happened in the provincial government's approach to climate. The recognition that climate change is a serious financial and economic matter, not just "political" was provided by Bank of Canada Deputy Governor Timothy Lane in a speech a couple weeks ago in Montreal. Lane observed: climate change itself and actions to address it will have material and pervasive effects on Canada’s economy and financial system. While many of these will play out over many decades, I will argue that they are already starting to become important. So, the Bank needs to consider these effects as we deliver on our mandate to promote the economic and financial well-being of Canadians. (more…)

20Jun

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Education, Uncategorized

Education

Originally posted 20 June 2016 As the provincial budget approaches, various education lobby groups are seeking to influence (at the last minute since all key decisions have been made by now - 8 March 2017) the government to support their sector's priorities. The articles below highlight the desire of private schools to head off government veering to de-fund home-schooling and private charter schools and to place the money into public education. Another perennial request is funding for new schools. (more…)

17Jun

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Residential, Uncategorized

Residential

Originally posted 17 June 2016 Housing prices remain relatively stable despite significant job losses. New housing permits have fallen but not precipitously which is surprising given the ongoing job losses. Below is a chart that shows the number of building permits issued for Alberta dwellings since 1970. This monthly chart shows seasonal volatility. The plunge in permits from the late 1980s to the early 2000s is evident as well as the booms in the early 1970s and the early 2000s. (more…)

13Jun

By albertarecessionwatchNo Comments

Politics

My time at Alberta NDP convention

On June 10-12, I attended my very first party convention in Calgary witnessing an historic meeting after over 110 years of right leaning governments. This is not to say that during some mandates, the governing party introduced radical legislation- for instance during the early mandates of the United Farmers of Alberta (1921-1935), Social Credit (1935-1971), and the Progressive Conservatives (1971-2015). All political parties in government become more conservative over time- seemingly more interested in remaining in power than shaking the boat. My initial impressions at the event were as follows: First the convention was well organized and classy (at the Hyatt Regency no less!). And unlike the NDP convention in Edmonton held earlier this year, controversy was avoided. Second, as Don Brai...

Alberta’s Agencies, Boards and Commissions (ABCs)

13Jun

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Agencies

Alberta’s Agencies, Boards and Commissions (ABCs)

The Bolton Committee In September 2014, prior to the provincial general election, then Premier Jim Prentice appointed a three person committee to examine the four major financial agencies owned by the provincial government: ATB Financial, Agricultural Financial Services Corporation, Alberta Investment Management Corporation, and Alberta Capital Finance Authority. The committee was led by Hugh Bolton, an accountant who was the Chair of the City of Edmonton's EPCOR Utilities and the chair of Capital Power, a company spun out of EPCOR. Also serving on the committee were two well known financial executives: Linda Hohol a former director of ATB and the former President of the TSX Venture Exchange. Larry Pollock, the former CEO of Canadian Western Bank and a director of EPCOR. All ag...

25May

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Opinion/Research

Government needs a set of fresh eyes to look at Investment Manager

Few Alberta municipal workers, health care workers, police officers, or provincial civil servants have ever heard of the Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo). This corporation, established by statute in 2007, and operating since 2008, now manages over $90 billion in investments, including the assets of the Heritage Fund. The corporation manages money for 26 pension, endowment, and government entities. AIMCo manages over $46 billion on behalf of roughly 336,000 active and retired members of public pension plans representing hundreds of government and agency employers. Prior to 2008, the management of these large investment funds had been undertaken by public servants employed by the Finance Ministry. The success of this organization is important for all Alberta residents, not j...

25May

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Budget

Budget 2016

Prelude to First Quarter Fiscal Update More dreary news surfaced on 11 August when July's drilling rights sales were announced by the province's energy department. The CBC post based on Dan Healing's article (link below) showed how volatile this source of revenue has been for the Alberta government. In 2011 when oil and gas prices were high and the Montney and Duvernay formations were "discovered", $3.5 billion poured into the province's coffers versus perhaps $125 million this fiscal year. Data on the number of land sales per year. the number of parcels sold, the value of the sales and the average price per hectare is available at Alberta energy land sales history. Institute for Public Economics' Post Mortem on Provincial Budget April 2016 As reported in the Edmonton Journal on Fr...