“He who controls the past controls the future.  He who controls the present controls the past.”   –       George Orwell, 1984   With all the discussion lately about the upcoming March 7th budget, and the difficult financial straights our province now navigates, I find myself thinking about Ralph Klein and how history will mark his place in the story of […]

IN THE NEWS… Graham Thomson, Edmonton Journal 2013 February 2: “Tories taking a wrecking ball to the public trust”.   Click here to read Graham’s column: http://tinyurl.com/b8k7m7w       Click here to see survey results (.pdf): December 2012 Budget EJ Ex

About 6 or 7 months ago, on this very page, I said the Government of Alberta had a budget problem – well, actually 3 problems:   1)   Energy royalties would be well short of budget projections; 2)   The Provincial Budget had no spending “cushion”, i.e. every nickel of revenue was slated for spending, along with $900 million drawn from savings, […]

Too much of a good thing can actually be a bad thing.  Let’s say you’re sick, and the doctor prescribes medication for you.  You take a pill and start to feel better.  Some logic might say – if one pill makes me feel a bit better, taking a whole bunch would make me feel great, right? Most of us know […]

Last week, Prime Minister Harper said a decision about the contentious Northern Gateway Pipeline would be determined by science, not politics.  Difficult to say if the PM’s statement was a directive or a desire, but at this stage, the more “politics” becomes involved with the project, the less likely it will be built. Northern Gateway Pipeline Politics: Today Today, the […]

Crafting provincial budgets in Alberta is more challenging than one might think.  We have resource wealth, no doubt, but it is revenue prone to wild fluctuation.  The Government must not only manage the dollars and cents of the budget, but the public expectations that come with being as financially fortunate (and sometimes unfortunate) as we are.  And Governments who lose […]

Monday April 23rd was the most exciting election Albertans have ever seen. Indeed, it marks one of the greatest political “comebacks” in Canadian history. And in 850 words we’ll cover what happened and why.   First, let me begin with a mea culpa.  The polling industry did a poor job calling this election – not a single firm, including ours, […]

Last month, on this very page, I said voters are restless and this provincial election will be one to watch; unlike most Alberta campaigns, this will be one that matters to the election outcome. But the dramatic change in the interim has startled even we who were expecting it.   If a writ had been dropped in January, the Tories […]