The Parkland Institute

The Tarsands

What’s next for Alberta?

Life after the oil boom

The oil will be gone. That isn't supposition—it's fact. But what will happen to Alberta when the oil is gone? Read more...

Editorial

If not now, when?

In July, the Multi-Stakeholder Committee on Alberta's Oil Sands delivered its final report and recommendations to the provincial government. This is the committee that was struck by the provincial government to gather feedback from Albertans about the future of the tar sands, the communities around the tar sands, and their impact on the province as a whole. The tone of the submissions made two things very clear: that the status quo is unacceptable and unsustainable; and that the path we are currently on will result in significant social, economic, environmental and health concerns in the very near future. Read more...

Parkland research update

Hitting the hot buttons on policy issues

Research driven by Albertans

Parkland had an incredibly productive spring and is looking forward to a busy fall. The very popular Taming the Tempest report which was released in March was quickly followed up by the equally popular report, the Spoils of the Boom: Incomes, profits, and poverty in Alberta. Polls showing that the majority of Albertans feel that they themselves are not benefiting from the boom led the Parkland to join forces with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and undertake research on the phenomenon. Read more...

Letters from our readers

Imperial Oil should disclose information about royalties

Corporate deception about royalties' tax; Canadian sovereignty and CCCE; farm workers continue to be excluded from OHS and WCB protections; economy vs. environment. Read more...

Economy and politics

The trouble with TILMA

Canadians aren't getting on board with trade agreement

Campbell and Klein were men of action, or so they thought, and their mission to unshackle corporate Canada from the chains of provincial regulation was supposed to attract eager followers across the country. In fact, quite the opposite is happening. Saskatchewan and Manitoba are turning their backs on TILMA, and municipalities in Alberta and British Columbia are in full rebellion against the agreement's enormous legal scope. Read more...

Economy and politics

A Calgary hot tub story

Reflecting on the boom

After explaining what the good folks in the Peace River Country are currently doing to stop the nuclear power nightmare from happening to them, including recent encouraging media coverage, one of my friends grabbed my shoulders. He pleaded with me to tell him when more of this media coverage was coming up to be watched, listened or read so his wife could better understand the contoversy over the planned nuclear plant to be built just west of the Town of Peace River. Read more...

Housing

Accessibility isn’t a luxury

Alberta's saturated housing market isn't meeting the needs of Albertans with mobility disabilities

People with disabilities are often caught in a position of having to choose the lesser of two evils: an affordable home with less attention to accessibility or an accessible home that costs well more than the 30 per cent of the income figure often used in defining affordable housing. This is an unacceptable choice when searching for a place to call home in a rental market as tight as the one we're now experiencing here in Alberta due to the so-called "boom." I learned about this difficulty the hard way back in the late winter/early spring. Read more...

Environment

Alberta Grizzly 101: the facts about Grizzly bears

Grizzly bear issues in Alberta easily become mired in technical terms, complicated reports, and acronyms

Perhaps it is time to take a step back and answer some of the questions that are often directed at the Alberta Wilderness Association (AWA) concerning Alberta's grizzly bears. We have a better idea than we have ever had before of the grizzly population in Alberta: the first three years of an in-depth five-year survey, the population is now believed to be less than 500 bears. (This compares to a 2002 population estimate of 1,000 bears.). This article addresses the role of the hunt and habitat in eventually recovering the population. Read more...

Environment

Alberta’s quicksand

Tar sands development is causing increased rates of cancer, decreased water levels, loss of carbon sinks, and a plethora of other health and environmental problems

The tar sands are a dangerous and dirty source of energy, and the fallout from their development is spreading around the world. For years, tar sands have been grabbing headlines as a highly profitable business opportunity for major oil companies, but the money flowing to shareholders and executives hasn't materialized out of nowhere— profits are high because of a huge drain on Alberta's natural and human resources. Read more...

Economy and politics

The SPP’s prospects are iffy with leaders short on political capital

Canadian bureaucrats are stuck in continentalist thinking, assuming that Canada has unlimited oil and gas surpluses to export

For five years, critics have warned of a secretive process to integrate Canada and Mexico into a greater America. Call it the big idea, harmonization or annexation; call it the Waco SPP process. No matter. Most Canadians haven't heard of it. The Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), which was formally started in Waco, Texas, by the three "Amigo" governments of North America in March 2005, hasn't registered with the public. But that is bound to change. Read more...

Health

Clubhouse offers safety and hope

Calgary's Potential Place Clubhouse is part of a thriving global movement offering a wellness-approach to mental illness

Within Calgary's downtown, there is an organization doing wonders for the mentally ill, transforming their lives from despair to hope. Potential Place Clubhouse is a mental health organization dedicated to protecting the human rights of those with mental illness. Potential Place is part of a mental health revolution that's restoring the dignity of the mentally ill to their rightful place in society. What is remarkable, is that it provides an atmosphere of recovery. Members can work, socialize and contribute to each other's well-being. In more than 350 places worldwide, the Clubhouse model has proven to be highly successful. Read more...