The number of people receiving income support in Alberta has jumped 28 per cent in the past year and the vast majority of that increase is among people who are looking for work — a consequence of federal EI benefits running out. “That’s what’s happening here,” said University of Calgary economist Ron Kneebone, who has been delving into the […]

CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA – Australia has joined the club of power-market pandemonium created by heavy-handed government intervention. Wholesale electricity prices have doubled, equivalent to a $50-per-tonne carbon tax. Investment has come up short after Australia decommissioned 10 per cent of its power capacity since 2012. More bad news is expected. Consumers in the populated states will […]

To no one’s surprise, Alberta did not slay the deficit dragon in its most recent budget. Or even introduce new weaponry for deficit slaying, or offer any new solutions to the problem. Instead, the red ink has spread and the hope seems to be that black gold will one day wash it away. Alberta is leaning on […]

Some city councillors are overstaying their usefulness due to a political system that breeds conformity and undermines transparency, says a University of Calgary political scientist. That means Calgarians rarely “throw the bums” out at election time even when they might deserve it, said Anthony Sayers of the U of C’s School of Public Policy. “City […]

MEDICINE HAT, Alberta — Kurt Remple, a toothless, unemployed, struggling alcoholic in Medicine Hat, the curiously named prairie town in Alberta, is a success story of sorts. Five years ago, he was living under a bridge and surviving on free meals from charities. Today, he lives in a small but tidy one-bedroom apartment in a […]

A University of Calgary study suggests that patient care is suffering from an overuse of computers in hospitals and doctor offices. In the latest study, Dr. Myles Leslie from the School of Public Policy looked at health-care workers in the intensive care units of three U.S. hospitals. He found some doctors and nurses spent up […]