Reading Time: 3 minutes Despite promises to end the reliance on resource royalties, Rachel Notley’s government keeps piling up the debt and looking to the same revenue source
Author: Steve Lafleur
Steve's past work has focused primarily on housing, transportation, local government and inter-governmental fiscal relations. His current focus is on economic competitiveness of jurisdictions in the Prairie provinces.
Alberta crushed beneath a growing mountain of debt
Reading Time: 3 minutes The slow path to balance means the province will continue adding debt by the bucketful for many years, penalizing future taxpayers
Alberta’s fiscal fiasco threat to future generations of Albertans
Reading Time: 3 minutes Despite an improving economy, the provincial government still projects $9.1-billion deficit
How B.C. can escape its painful housing trap
Reading Time: 3 minutes Instead of targeting affordable housing, B.C. government should be targeting housing affordability
Balancing Alberta’s budget by 2023-24 isn’t good enough
Reading Time: 3 minutes Albertans have more debt, continued reliance on volatile natural resource revenue and higher taxes to look forward to
Pipelines are crucial to national prosperity
Reading Time: 3 minutes The battle between Alberta and B.C. over the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion has broad implications for all Canadians
The Alberta disadvantage: tax rates drive away investors
Reading Time: 3 minutes Unfortunately, to bolster Alberta’s tax competitiveness will require meaningful action to repair the province’s once sterling finances
Market factors, not national strategies, make housing affordable
Reading Time: 3 minutes As homes age, they should filter through various socio-economic strata. But construction approval roadblocks slow that process to a crawl
Open the door to more affordable housing in Calgary
Reading Time: 3 minutes Calgary’s new city council must encourage secondary suites, remove parking requirements and streamline permit processes
Courting Amazon: the ends don’t always justify the means
Reading Time: 3 minutes Incentive packages often include tax breaks on property, income or permit exemptions – and taxpayers pay the freight