The Progressive Economics Forum

The 2008 OECD Survey of Canada incorporates a long and surprisingly critical overview of developments in the energy sector, with a major focus on the tar sands. (Chapter 4). It is, in many respects, far closer to the views of the Pembina Institute and the Parkland Institute in Alberta than to those of the Alberta [...]

The 2008 OECD Economic Review of Canada
http://www.oecd.org/document/3/0,3343,fr_2649_201185_40732867_1_1_1_1,00.html
contains most of the standard neo liberal policy prescriptions we have come to expect - including a proposed shift to a consumption based tax system. However, they do have the good grace to devote two pages (84-85) to “equity considerations” and even concede that [...]

Although I generally disagree with Andrew Coyne’s take on economic issues, I enjoy his commentary because it is almost always articulate and well-informed. Last Saturday’s column, which may be his second-last at the National Post before moving to Maclean’s, was a glaring exception.  In particular, it contradicted Coyne’s own previous contentions.
When the Government of Newfoundland and [...]

Notwithstanding the usual doom and gloom from the oil industry and its cheerleaders, Premier Stelmach’s decision to increase oil and gas royalties by $1.4 billion in 2009 is an unduly timid move in the right direction. 
The provincial NDP leader summed it up as follows: “The premier has compromised yet again a report that represented [...]

Last week, the Royalty Review Panel recommended that Alberta raise its oil and gas royalties. Its 100-page final report, Our Fair Share, has generated healthy debate on a critically important subject. The basic message follows:
Albertans do not receive their fair share from energy development and they have not, in fact, been receiving their fair share [...]

The Canadian Labour Congress sent the following letter to the Bank of Canada today.
September 20, 2007
David A. Dodge
Governor
Bank of Canada
234 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0G9
Dear Governor Dodge:
I write to urge you to reduce interest rates by 0.5% on October 16th to match the recent US rate cut.
My letter of June 27th noted that a higher [...]

CIBC World Market recently put out quite an interesting report on the future of world oil supply and demand and the implications for Canada. ( OPEC’s Growing Call on Itself.) http://research.cibcwm.com/economic_public/download/occrept62.pdf
The major point is that OPEC countries plus other major oil producing countries such as Russia and Mexico are consuming a fast-rising share of their [...]