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1. Alberta carbon tax—just bad economics

   Appeared in the Edmonton Sun, December 18, 2019 As the Kenney government begins its constitutional challenge to Ottawa’s carbon tax on consumers, both the provincial and federal governments agree on Alberta’s new carbon tax on large industrial emitters. ...

2. Climate activists discard the ‘science’ for the extreme ‘unknown’

   Appeared in National Newswatch, November 8, 2019 Now that the election’s over, the Trudeau government (perhaps now in closer concert with parties across the aisle) will continue its climate policy program. It’s therefore worth noting the recent tragic ...

3. Case for aggressive ‘climate’ policies much weaker than we’ve been led to believe

   Some computer models predict catastrophic results, other projections are much more benign. ...

4. Climate policy—results more important than rhetoric

   Appeared in National Newswatch, August 16, 2019 I work on environmental and energy economics in both Canada and the United States. I’ve noticed that U.S. debates tend to focus on abstract principles— “capitalism versus socialism,” for example—whereas ...

5. Plastics ban—look before you leap

   Appeared in the Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal, July 3, 2019 Prime Minister Trudeau recently proposed a federal ban on certain single-use plastics, in an effort to protect marine life and the beauty of Canadian shores. Trudeau justified the proposal by ...

6. 'High tax' California much more attractive to entrepreneurs than Ontario

   Appeared in the Globe and Mail, March 26, 2019 The Ford government will deliver its first budget April 11. It’s crucial for policymakers at Queen’s Park to realize just how uncompetitive the province is on tax rates, particularly when compared to U.S. ...

7. Western provinces face tax disadvantage compared to U.S. peers

   Appeared in the Edmonton Journal, March 12, 2019 We’re now in budget season, and with the federal budget less than a week away, we’ll soon know if Canada’s deteriorating tax competitiveness is dealt with in any meaningful way. The federal Liberal ...

8. Canada’s Rising Personal Tax Rates and Falling Tax Competitiveness (2019)

   In December 2015, Canada’s new Liberal government introduced changes to Canada’s personal income tax system. Among the changes for the 2016 tax year, the federal government added a new income tax bracket, raising the top tax rate from 29 to 33 percent on ...

9. Carbon Pricing in Alberta

   One of the most important tax policy debates in Canada and Alberta specifically concerns “carbon pricing”, that is, the government’s imposition of an extra cost on activities that release carbon dioxide. Two common mechanisms of carbon pricing are a cap ...

10. Restoring a Competitive Labour Market in Alberta

    For the first decade and a half of the new millennium, Alberta was the engine of the Canadian economy. The province enjoyed brisk growth in its population, employment, and economic output, especially compared to other provinces. An important contributing ...