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1. Costly regulatory delays loom over Canada’s energy industry

   Last week Kinder Morgan projected that the Trans Mountain pipeline project could be a year behind schedule as it continues to face permitting delays. The company initially expected the $7.4 billion project to be in service by late 2019, ...

2. Another tough year for Alberta finances

   Another year, another deficit. The Government of Alberta has run nearly uninterrupted deficits since 2008/09, and this year is no exception. In fact, that $10.3 billion deficit the province plans to run this year is just shy of the ...

3. GST revenues from carbon-pricing—likely another tax grab

   This week, as Canadians were sliding into their holiday mindset, the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) released a report estimating the GST revenues collected by the federal government through existing carbon-pricing schemes in four ...

4. Another day, another Alberta credit downgrade

   On Wednesday, ratings agency DBRS downgraded the Government of Alberta’s credit rating from AA (high) to AA, maintaining a negative outlook for the provincial government’s finances. It seems that the Notley government’s slightly revised ...

5. The key fiscal lesson of Canada’s first 150 years—spend prudently

   As 2017 draws to a close, Canadians can reflect not only on the outcomes of the last year, but in this milestone 150th year of the federation, also where we are headed. What shall Canada’s economic achievements be as the next 50 years ...

6. New report highlights Alberta’s long-term budget challenges

   The PBO has given the Notley government another warning that spending is badly out of line with revenue. ...

7. Carbon tax advocates flip-flop on revenue neutrality

   For many years, advocates of carbon taxes have acknowledged the necessity of “revenue neutrality” as a means of mitigating the economic damages such tax measures cause to households and the economy. In normal economic parlance, “revenue ...

8. Want more automation? Then raise the minimum wage

   These days the phrase “rise of the machines” has taken on a new poignancy for some Canadians. Governments across Canada are giving low-skilled workers reason to worry their jobs will be replaced by machines—thanks to plans to hike the ...

9. Notley following Rae’s fiscal model—and getting the same results

   In 2015, Premier Notley’s incoming NDP government found itself at a crossroads when it came to handling Alberta’s deteriorating public finances. As detailed by a Fraser Institute study from that year, various past provincial NDP ...

10. During the energy boom, Alberta was a job magnet for Canadians

    In the years prior to the recent recession, strong economic growth in Alberta helped drive the national economy and enhanced the fiscal health of the federal government. The province is a major net contributor to federal finances—between ...