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A report published Tuesday says Calgary’s homeless and other vulnerable populations are particularly at risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ronald Kneebone, a researcher at the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy, says most people will be fine in this situation, but those who depend on social service agencies — and those agencies themselves — are struggling. […]

The creation of a research centre that will focus on agricultural development in Western Canada has been announced by the University of Calgary’s school of public policy. At the project’s unveiling on Friday, speakers said the Simpson Centre for Agricultural and Food Innovation and Public Education will work to facilitate the growth, success and sustainability of the agricultural sector. It […]

Last weekend I participated in the “The Value of Alberta” conference in Calgary. While most of the focus was on options for Alberta’s autonomy, what was most striking were the off-session comments of the 700 attendees. Albertans are running out of patience after five bad economic years. Many told me about hardships: a friend recently […]

The School of Public Policy has entered into a partnership with the Government of Alberta to offer paid internships to students enrolled in its Master of Public Policy program. The School anticipates placing five interns through this program in Spring of 2020, and ten interns each in Spring of 2021 and 2022. The University of […]

Last month’s federal election produced mixed results and a minority government. But Justin Trudeau is probably right when he says most voters supported a progressive agenda. Judging by enthusiastic NDP support and the Liberal promise of a $6-billion down payment over four years, that agenda could include a national pharmacare program. The government’s own advisory […]

Alberta’s latest provincial budget — released last week — is perhaps the most consequential budget in years. But in many important ways, it’s widely misunderstood. Like any budget, it contains thousands of individual decisions. Each comes with tradeoffs, and each should be subject to examination and debate. Unlike other budgets, there’s disagreement over what exactly […]

As governments and economies across the world wrestle with how to tackle climate change, Alberta’s oil and gas sector is developing technology to help minimize greenhouse-gas emissions and lessen its environmental footprint. In early September, Suncor Energy announced it would be making a $1.4-billion investment to build a new power cogeneration plant just outside Fort […]

A majority of Calgarians who shared their feedback with the city in the days leading up to council’s decision on the $550-million arena deal were opposed to the project, a Postmedia review suggests. An analysis of more than 4,000 individual public submissions found about 55 per cent of those who wrote to the City Clerk’s […]