Parkland Institute

Read Parkland Institute research manager Ian Hussey's debate on Alberta's $15 minimum wage with the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy's Jack Mintz in the current issue of Alberta Views magazine.

On October 1, 2018 Alberta's minimum wage increases by $1.40 to reach $15 an hour. We've once again updated our infographic using the latest available data to show who will benefit from a $15 minimum wage in Alberta. You can read more of Parkland Institute's work on the minimum wage at http://www.parklandinstitute.ca/minimum_w age
[Infographic design by Terra Poirier & Paula Grasdal. Concept by the Economic Policy Institute.]

"Minimum-wage hikes don’t hurt our economy; they help more working Albertans share in the province’s prosperity." Read Parkland Institute research manager Ian Hussey's op-ed in today's Edmonton Journal.

Two research projects, one on midwifery care in Alberta and the other on the use of gallows humour among the Kainai, have been awarded the Parkland Institute Graduate Research Award.

Listen to Mark Anielski's discussion with Danielle Smith about the findings and recommendations of the latest Parkland Institute report, Alberta's Public Bank: How ATB Can Help Shape the New Economy.

Welcome back to campus, #ualberta students! Be sure to check out the great events at Alberta PIRG's AWOL (A Week of Liberation) from September 10-17.

"The implementation of mandatory workers’ compensation coverage has yielded significant improvements in injury surveillance and compensation. Notable by its absence is any evidence that extending basic workplace rights to farm workers drove even a single producer out of business." This Labour Day, Bob Barnetson looks at what WCB data on farm injuries reveals about the impact of mandatory workers’ compensation coverage for paid, non-family farm workers in Alberta.

"ATB gives Alberta a unique advantage over every other province in Canada that simply hasn't been used to its full potential." Read the new Parkland Institute report by economists Bob Ascah and Mark Anielski on how ATB can help transition Alberta to the new economy.

"Kenney and Notley need to start being honest with Albertans and stop using the refrain of 'build a pipeline' as the solution to all of Canada’s current energy woes." In his latest Vue Weekly column, Parkland Institute ED Ricardo Acuña looks at the historical reasons behind Eastern Canada's reliance on foreign oil.

As Edmonton City Council struggles with accountability and transparency issues around the Valley Line LRT (https://edmontonjournal.com/…/city-den ies-release-of-perfor…), it is worth re-reading Parkland's 2013 report warning of the dangers of making the project a Public Private Partnership (P3).

"'There could have been a stronger case made in the '80s and '90s for low royalties, to get the industry off the ground. That’s not the same argument to be made today,' said Ricardo Acuña, executive director of the Parkland Institute." Read James Wilt's article for The Narwhal on Alberta's royalty system.

Parkland Institute Executive Director Ricardo Acuña joined the Alberta Advantage Podcast to talk about the myths and realities of equalization.

"There's a stereotype that minimum-wage jobs are typically for teenagers and students in their early 20s who are still living with their parents. But, according to data compiled by Statistics Canada for CBC News, this accounted for only about 31 per cent of people earning minimum wage in Alberta last year."

We're thrilled to announce that Parkland Institute has received a $1-million gift to our endowment fund, which will provide approximately $40,000 per year in perpetuity to support Parkland's ongoing research and education programming. "It reflects Parkland's growing reputation as one of Alberta's and Canada's leading research institutes," says Parkland Institute Director Trevor Harrison.

"These new OHS rules do contain the potential to make farm workers significantly safer on the job, but whether farms and ranches actually become safer depends upon the degree to which the government meaningfully enforces these rules." Bob Barnetson blogs for Parkland Institute on new health and safety rules for paid farm workers in Alberta.

"Will Alberta's proposed new child labour laws make things better? Overall, probably not," writes Bob Barnetson.

"The NDP has often argued that we should be saving as much of our natural resource revenue as possible and primarily relying on a fair and progressive system of taxes to fund our public services and infrastructure. All of that, however, appears to have been tossed out the proverbial window as part of the government’s quest for popular support in this all-consuming effort to get the pipeline built."

"There’s a disconnect between the levels of government in Canada with this urgent call compared to what’s happening in Alberta on a provincial level, and with the federal Liberals now buying the Trans Mountain Pipeline.” Parkland Institute research manager Ian Hussey comments on the Edmonton Declaration.