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1. Alberta and Saskatchewan need new rules to save revenue

   Saskatchewan’s resource revenue will be roughly $360 million higher than initially projected in 2021/22. ...

2. Saskatchewan should establish new strict rules to save resource revenue

   The province's massive budget deficit continues a trend that started well before the pandemic. ...

3. Alberta needs new (old) rule to stabilize government resource revenues

   In 2020/21, Alberta’s non-renewable resource revenue will comprise only 4.7 per cent of provincial revenue. ...

4. A New (Old) Fiscal Rule for Non-Renewable Resource Revenue in Alberta

   Alberta’s government finances are once again in a perilous state with ongoing deficits, mounting debt and near record levels of spending. One of the greatest contributors to Alberta’s fiscal instability is the provincial government’s treatment of non ...

5. Kenney has no choice—he must tackle government compensation

   Of the Alberta government's $54.3 billion in total spending, 50 per cent was on wages and benefits for government workers. ...

6. More spending on public schools not producing better results in Ontario

   Appeared in National Newswatch, January 28, 2021 Policymakers in Ontario often make the mistake of thinking that more spending on public education automatically means better results. In reality, despite relatively high and increasing levels of spending on ...

7. Green recovery plan ignores practical limitations of government

   The Trudeau government says Canada needs a “ green ” recovery plan, which may include big spending on green infrastructure, low-carbon subsidies and initiatives to create “clean” jobs. Unfortunately, the idea that the government can ...

8. COVID-19 isn’t the only reason for our mega-deficit

   Appeared in the Financial Post, July 8, 2020 Today, the Trudeau government presents a “snapshot” of federal finances that’s likely to blame this year’s historic federal deficit on COVID-19 and the recession. But that’s only part of the story. The federal ...

9. Explaining the Growth in Federal Program Spending since 2015

   In 2019, federal program spending reached $322.9 billion, an increase of $69.1 billion or 27.2% (nominal) since 2015. After adjusting for inflation, the increase in program spending is still sizeable at $50.2 billion or 18.4%. The government finances ...

10. Alberta’s outsized role in Canada matters for all Canadians

    Appeared in the Globe and Mail, June 23, 2020 Last week, Alberta’s “ Fair Deal Panel ” submitted its long-awaited report, which recommends Alberta conduct a referendum on equalization and consider withdrawing from the Canada Pension Plan. All of this ...