AlbertaInstitute
We knew the federal government's "Just Transition" plan was bad.
We knew it would cost hundreds of thousands of Alberta workers their jobs.
But, even we didn't expect it to be this bad.
A memo, recently acquired from the federal Natural Resource Minister's office, reveals the full extent of the damage this idea will do to Alberta.
Let's just say, it doesn't feel good to say we told you so.
According to the memo, 13.5% of Canada's workforce, from all across the country, will be 'affected' by the 'transition' to 'green' jobs.
But it also notes that:
"The transition to a low-carbon economy will have an uneven impact across sectors, occupations and regions, and create significant labour market disruptions."
We'll give you one guess which sector and which region will be most heavily impacted...
Just over 27.3% of Alberta's GDP depends directly on the oil and gas industry, while the other 72.7% does so indirectly.
About 200,000 workers in Alberta are facing the prospect of being forcibly re-trained or forced into an unemployment line - and that's just in energy.
Agriculture, construction, manufacturing, and transportation will all also be heavily affected.
By the federal government's own admission, almost every "transitioning" worker will require special skills in order to find a new job.
But, it's not practical, feasible, or economical, to train every single oil and gas worker in the province for a new job.
A job that doesn't even exist yet, and for which we're relying on the government to create - yeah right!
After reading the memo, Don Braid at the Calgary Herald called the transition plan "dynamite", "shocking in scope", and "so universal, and the outcome so undefined, that even the most ardent advocates of climate action should feel some serious doubts".
Braid's article continues:
At stake is a full one-quarter of Alberta’s economy, with all the royalties, income taxes and other economic benefits that come from oil and gas, both for the province and the federal treasury.
It's impossible to see how even the most brilliantly magical of job transition plans could replace the majority of all that.
The hit extends to "larger scale transformation" for agriculture, another massive economic sector both in Alberta and in Saskatchewan. Do they plan to replace wheat with, say, avocados?
"This makes the NEP look like a children's play toy," [Premier] Smith said, referring to the Liberal National Energy Program of 1980.
"And where is (NDP Leader) Rachel Notley on this? She should be standing with me and every Albertan against it."
Credit to Don Braid for actually covering this issue - we’ve been trying to draw attention to these devastating consequences for our economy for two weeks!
When the federal government re-ignited this debate, we got together with our friends at Project Confederation and launched a petition against the plan.
(You can click here to sign the petition if you haven’t already.)
Unfortunately, though, our province's journalists and political commentators seemed determined to avoid covering the issue altogether.
The CBC even had Rachel Notley on one of their shows for an entire 45 minutes and talked about almost everything except whether she supported the "Just Transition".
The closest they got was when they discussed how annoying it was that the plan had been delayed.
When we asked the CBC why they hadn't bothered to ask Notley whether she supported it, the CBC said that would have been an unfair question because the plan isn't out yet.
However, even before we got our hands on this memo that wasn't true.
Prime Minister Trudeau has been talking about a "Just Transition" for years, and so have the federal NDP.
Ottawa has been telling us they plan to put an end to oil and gas, and a draft proposal has even been released.
(Never mind the fact that the final version of an idea not being released has never and would never stop the media from asking a politician a question if the roles were reversed).
I was even blocked by Rachel Notley on Twitter a few days ago for having the temerity to ask her the simple question of whether or not she would support Trudeau's "Just Transition" legislation if elected Premier:
Without this memo coming to light, they all would have probably succeeded in burying this issue.
Late yesterday afternoon though, mounting pressure finally forced Notley to say something.
It took her 15 days, but she finally spoke out about the "Just Transition", and now says that she opposes it.
The obvious next question is whether her new position can be trusted.
Remember: at this point in 2015, Rachel Notley was opposed to a Carbon Tax too - only to then immediately introduce one anyway as soon as she was Premier.
Either way, we'll keep doing our job - bringing attention to important policy issues that others would prefer to keep quiet, and holding politicians of all strips accountable for their actions and their promises.
This Friday is Black Friday, although - if you've been anywhere near a store recently - you might have noticed that the sales seem to have started already.
In fact, as each year goes by, the deals seem to start earlier and end later.
Now, call me old-fashioned, but I still happen to think that a sale is a good thing, even if it's become more and more fashionable to look down upon "consumerism".
Leave it to the socialists to complain about businesses dropping their prices, for once, rather than complaining about raising them!
Of course, here at the Alberta Institute, we're proud capitalists.
We have no problem at all with a little consumerism now and again, because we believe in the power of free markets.
We know that in a truly free market, all transactions are voluntary transactions that only take place between a willing buyer and a willing seller, who come together and agree on a price - and who both mutually benefit from the transaction.
We understand that, by definition, that means that the very act of buying and selling something freely creates value, and improves our economy, because the trade would only take place if the buyer values the product they're receiving more than the money they're paying, and the seller values the money they're receiving more than the product they're providing.
We also realize that it is a lack of understanding of this key fact that lies at the heart of the fallacies that most anti-capitalists believe in.
They are perfectly happy to have the government step in and force someone to buy or sell something they don't want to, at a price they don't think is worth it, so to them, trade is a destructive force, where only one person wins at the expense of another.
That's why they think that the only way an economy can grow is through exploitation, either of people or of resources.
We know, instead, that an economy can grow from specialization, innovation, trade, finding efficiencies, or new production methods.
That's why we don't think engaging in voluntary trade, freedom of contract, or exchange is something to feel guilty about whether you're doing it on a Friday, a Monday, or any other day of the week.
At the Alberta Institute, you've probably noticed that we do a lot of work tracking, analyzing, and reporting on what is happening in Alberta politics and at the legislature in Edmonton.
But we also spend a significant amount of our time doing original public policy research and generating new ideas that Albertans and our representatives can adopt and implement to help make our province a freer and more prosperous place to live for everyone.
Of course, given time and resources aren't unlimited, we often have to pick and choose what issues to focus on, based on where we think we can make the most progress and impact.
That's why I'm very pleased today to be launching the first-ever edition of what will become the Alberta Institute's annual Alberta Policy Survey.
We'd like your help to guide us in determining what kinds of issues are the most important for you today, and what types of solutions you would like to see proposed in the future to solve these challenges.Filling out our Alberta Policy Survey 2022 will only take about 5 minutes, but will give our researchers a world of insight into where we should be focusing our attention as an organization.
The survey will be open for approximately two weeks, and then after that time we will take the results and develop a plan of action for our team's work over the coming months.
(Note that, while we do ask you to provide some basic information about yourself as part of the survey, you can rest assured that your responses will be kept anonymous and will be used only in the aggregate to ensure we are getting a range of perspectives from all types of people from all across the province.)
Please help out with our research by clicking here to fill out our short survey now:
| TAKE THE 5 MIN SURVEY |
Thank you for taking the time to participate and for helping identify how our Alberta Institute team can best advance the cause of individual freedom and liberty in Alberta in the coming weeks, months, and years.
Regards,Alberta Institute
- Happy Victoria Day! The Legislature will resume on Tuesday, May 24th, after the long weekend. Up for discussion will be Bill 19, the Condominium Property Amendment Act, 2022 and Bill 21, the Red Tape Reduction Statutes Amendment Act, 2022.
- There are also three committee meetings this week, starting on Tuesday with the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, which will meet from 8:00 am to 10:00 am to consider the Ministry of Jobs, Economy, and Innovation’s 2020-2021 Annual Report. There will also be two meetings of the Select Special Committee on Real Property Rights, one on Thursday from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm and another on Friday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.
- Alberta's two NHL teams are facing off in the playoffs for the first time since 1991. The matches have been high-scoring so far, with Wednesday night's game being won 9-6 by the Flames and Edmonton coming back with a Friday night 5-3 win and a 4-1 win yesterday. Whoever you’re cheering for, we look forward to increased patronage in our local bars and restaurants across the province! Game 4 will take place on Tuesday at 7:30 pm with the Oilers at home in Edmonton again.
Yesterday was an historic day in Alberta - and no, I'm not just referring to the first playoffs Battle of Alberta in 31 years!
A change in Premier is always an important moment for a province, and a large number of people have contacted me asking what this means for the Alberta Institute.
But, as you've probably heard me say over and over again, the Alberta Institute is a non-partisan organization and, unlike many groups on the left, we really mean it.
As a non-partisan organization, our job is not to support or oppose any party, elected official, or candidate.
Rather, our job is to develop, promote, and advocate for the absolute best public policies we can think of to advance the cause and interests of Alberta and Albertans.
Let me be clear, though - non-partisan is not the same as unprincipled.
My team and I all believe, passionately, in the ideas and principles of individual freedom, personal choice, free markets, competition, limited government, lower taxes, the rule of law, free speech, freedom of association, freedom of movement, and all the other vital aspects of a free and open society that Albertans deserve.
We support these ideas not just because they are, objectively, the best way to respect the right of individuals, but also because we know that these ideas work - they are the only proven way to enable and support human flourishing and improve the position of people from all walks of life, all around the world.
So, regardless of what has happened in the political sphere this week, and what will happen in the coming weeks, the Alberta Institute's mission and goals remain the same - to defend, expand, and fight for these ideals.
We will continue to research new ideas for Alberta, across every policy area.
We will continue to promote those ideas to Albertans, through every medium.
We will continue to connect like-minded Albertans with each other, to grow this movement.
And, yes, we will continue to hold every candidate, from every party, accountable for the promises they make, the actions they take, and the manner in which they represent Albertans.
No matter what side of any political debate you fall on, I believe that's something we can all come together and unite around.We all have a lot of work to do in the coming weeks and months.
My email inbox is open, so send me your thoughts!
Let me know what you think about what's happened and what we should do going forward from here.
Finally, if you're in a position to contribute financially to our important work, please consider making a donation here.
The Alberta Institute doesn't accept any government funding and we never will, because we think you should be free to choose, for yourself, which organizations to support.
But that does mean we're reliant on the generosity of our supporters to keep us running, so thank you to everyone for your ongoing support - we greatly appreciate it.
Regards,
Peter McCaffreyPresidentAlberta Institute
#AlbertaInstitute, #Albertans, #non-partisan
Yesterday, the Alberta Institute was very pleased to be involved in helping to launch a brand new grassroots school choice organization in Alberta.
We were very pleased to do so because education is one of the most important policy areas of responsibility of a provincial government.
The Alberta Parents’ Union is a new organization of Alberta parents advocating for the best possible education for all Alberta students - whether that be public, separate, francophone, alternative, charter, independent, or home education.
It's an organization made up of parents from all across the province, working to ensure that every student in Alberta has the opportunity to access a broad array of choice in education.
Here at the Alberta Institute, we will, of course, continue to do a wide range of research and advocacy activities on many different policy areas - including education - but the launch of a specialist grassroots education choice organization is incredibly important for our movement, which is why we're so pleased this is happening.
If you'd like to help defend the choice Alberta students currently have, expand the choice future students will have, and be part of a movement providing a positive alternative voice to the constant negative attacks by the teachers' unions, I encourage you to join the Alberta Parents' Union.
You can learn more about the organization here.
And, if you're on board, you can join right now here.
Living in Alberta, we are lucky enough to have some of the best education choices in the world, but we can't afford to take that choice for granted, and we can always work to do better.
Anyone working on that mission has our support, and I encourage you to give them yours too!
Regards,
Peter McCaffreyPresidentAlberta Institute
#AlbertaInstitute, # AlbertaParents’Union, #students