Articles
Essays on economic history, energy, rights and Alberta’s place in Canada.
- Is Alberta getting back as much as it gives? (w/ Mark Milke, policy analyst) Alberta and the prairie provinces have been hammered like everyone else by the shutdown of their economy by the coronavirus. It is another blow to an already beleaguered region. Oil and gas revenues tanked over the…Western Alienation
- It's Time to Stand up to Ottawa (w/ Josh Andrus, Project Confederation) The Fair Deal Panel report is out. It says Albertians want a new deal with Ottawa. They want to replace the RCMP with a Provincial Police Department. They want a referendum on equalization payments. They want to take…Western Alienation, Alberta’s Fair Deal
- Western Alienation: Forget Alienation - Separate (w/ Barry Cooper) Forget alienation says University of Calgary Professor Barry Cooper. Call a referendum on separation. It’s time for a new relationship with Ottawa. It’s time to reset the agreement in confederation, one that was…Western Alienation
- Western Alienation: It's Time to Call a Referendum, (w/Danny Hozack) It’s time to call a referendum on separation says Danny Hozack who believes that it’s time for Alberta to follow the Quebec example of stepping into the voting booth on seceding from Canada. Ottawa goes out of its’ way…Western Alienation
- A Fair Deal For Alberta: You can help[The petition is at the bottom of this page] A Fair Deal For Alberta: You can help Premier Kenney’s Fair Deal Panel was to release its recommendations to the Government of Alberta on March 30, 2020. However, with…
- Friends, this should concern everyone...Friends: This should concern everyone. Dated April 1, 2020. Please see the following two lines from Newfoundland Premier Dwight Ball's letter to PM Justin Trudeau: "To put it bluntly, our recent attempts to finalize our…Alberta’s Fair Deal
- Jason Kenney needs your help...From Danny Hozack, FreedomTalk.ca Jason Kenney needs your help... No, I am not asking for money! I am asking for something far more important: your time! Please take the time to consider the following: Premier Jason…Alberta’s Fair Deal
- Danny Hozack presents to Fair Deal Panel in Lloydminster Ladies and Gentlemen: This is the second time in many of our lifetimes that a Federal government supported by Eastern voters has destroyed a generation of Albertans accumulated wealth along with the hopes and dreams of…Alberta’s Fair Deal
- The Environment: A True StoryIt’s time to set the record straight on “man-made” climate change. And that’s what I’m going to do with my new documentary project looking at what we really know about the Earth’s climate, not just cherry-picking from…Climate Change
- Dr. Patrick Moore with Mike HuckabeeMike Huckabee discusses with Dr. Patrick Moore's his book "Confessions of a Greenpeace Dropout" Stay up to date on…Climate Change
- Safe Communities ProjectVideos Kitscoty Safe Communities Project Dr John Robson John Robson talks about the problem of rising rural crime as contrary to our heritage of freedom in which governments answer to us not the other way around. Rural…Safe Communities
- Lobbying is a competitive business.Lobbying is a competitive business. Approximately 10 % of Alberta’s 18,000 beef producers participated in the recent plebiscite on the Alberta Beef Producer’s checkoff and by a margin of 51.7% to 48.3% chose to retain…Alberta Beef Producers
- Bob 'Call's out' Freedom supporters.Danny I’ve been following these editorials of yours and they are getting more amusing all the time, but sooner or later someone is going to call you on them. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but as an ABP past…Alberta Beef Producers
- Our Response to Bob.Bob, we all respect your long record of service to Alberta’s and Canada’s beef industry. But your flippant dismissal of serious, widespread concerns about mandatory checkoff as “ amusing ” is unworthy of you. You say…Alberta Beef Producers
- Alberta Beef Producers voluntary checkoff has been extendedFor some reason the voting on the Alberta Beef Producers voluntary checkoff has been extended. We are not sure why. But it is an opportunity for producers to get out and vote and for us to continue the discussion on…Alberta Beef Producers
- 'Forced Engagement' or Freedom: Time to chooseIt's crunch time, folks. And as we vote in the Alberta Beef Producers compulsory checkoff referendum, and please do vote by Nov. 13, the issue is what we think the ABP should be. A private organization, or a branch of…Alberta Beef Producers
- Concerned Producers for a Great ABPWhen you vote in the Alberta Beef Producers Plebiscite between Oct. 19 and Nov. 13, there's one principle of accountability we want you to keep in mind: Whoever pays the piper calls the tune. There are a lot of aspects…Alberta Beef Producers
- Do Alberta Beef producers want 'Forced Engagement'?The big reason to vote “No” in the Alberta Beef Producers Plebiscite between Oct. 19 and Nov. 13 is that whoever pays the piper calls the tune. The main argument for “Yes” isn’t that a guaranteed source of income will…Alberta Beef Producers
- Restoring the Alberta AdvantageEssentials of Freedom Conference Videos Restoring the Alberta Advantage John Robson Institute for Public Sector Accountability president & CEO Strengthening Accountability Through Recall Paul Hinman Entrepreneur and…The Alberta Advantage
- RURAL CRIMEThe Economic Education Association of Alberta presents John Robson addressing the issue of rural crime and Canadian citizens’ relationship to their government in Kitscoty, Alberta on April 23,…Safe Communities
- Does Canada oil industry really agree that it's destroying life as we know it?John Robson 2017 We’ve all heard of companies who conceal or deny evidence that their product is harmful. It’s cunning, if dishonest. But what about companies that conceal or deny evidence that their product is safe?…Alberta Energy
- Andrew Coyne: How a carbon tax without the U.S. can work for CanadaAndrew Coyne | November 21, 2016 | Last Updated: Nov 22 10:05 AM ET More from Andrew Coyne | @acoyne Thirty years ago, when Canada entered into negotiations on a free trade deal with the United States, opponents of the…Climate Change, Economy
- Alberta group demands plebiscite on carbon taxThe Alberta group that recently organized rallies against the provincial carbon tax is hoping to get at least 500,000 signatures on its petition demanding a plebiscite on the carbon tax issue. The Alberta Wide Rally…Climate Change, Economy
- WestJet warns national carbon tax could 'kill' airline industry if government not carefulA national carbon tax that doesn’t take into account the unique challenges faced by airlines could irreparably harm Canada’s aviation industry, WestJet CEO Gregg Saretsky warned Tuesday. “We’re obviously working closely…Climate Change, Economy
- John Robson: If Ottawa has a pipeline policy, now would be a good time to share itCanada needs a clear statement from the Prime Minister on how to reconcile Canada's essential energy production with entrenched opponents. Canadians need a formal statement of federal pipeline policy from the top. The…Alberta Energy, Climate Change, Economy
- Patrick Moore. Canadians for Energy East Pipeline. From Canada. For Canada.Published on 26 Mar 2016 Patrick Moore. Canadians for Energy East Pipeline. Oil from Canada. For Canada. Patrick Moore. Sensible environmentalist. Co-founder of Greenpeace. Energy East Pipeline. Canadians for Energy…Alberta Energy, Climate Change, Economy
- Canadians 4 Energy East - Notes from the Essentials of Freedom conferenceFriends: Our Economic Education Association recently held our third Essentials of Freedom conference in Edmonton and our main speaker was historian / documentary film maker John Robson. He made two points which I…Alberta Energy, Climate Change, Economy
- Pipeline activists want mob ruleA protester is removed from the conference centre where Montreal mayor Denis Coderre was scheduled to speak at the National Energy Board public hearings into the Energy East pipeline project, starting in Montreal in…Alberta Energy, Climate Change
- Bill 2, and the Alberta Government's Continuing Challenge to Landowner RightsLaw Professor Russell Brown says the government is removing longstanding landowner procedural protections. Under Bill 2, the new regulator makes decisions about private property, yet if landowners have a legitimate…Rights and Freedoms
- Capitalism has a Role in Fighting PovertyAny time of year is a good time to discuss poverty, but the subject has obvious resonance at Christmas. Thus, unsurprisingly, Pope Francis recently wrote about the necessity of compassion for those on the margins. In…Economy
- Does Government Always Have to Grow?The Global Debt Clock at The Economist website indicates the debt of sovereign governments will exceed $50 trillion by the end of 2012. That’s nearly double what it was just five or six years ago. The welfare state is…Democratic Reform
- Facts Are Stubborn ThingsThe Global Debt Clock at The Economist website indicates the debt of sovereign governments will exceed $50 trillion by the end of 2012. That’s nearly double what it was just five or six years ago. The welfare state is…Economy
- For a Less Perfect UnionIn this episode, John Robson explains the harm compulsory unionization has done to industry after industry, and to government, and asks why on earth people remain so determined to impose and protect it. Want new…Economy
- How a Pizza Helped Rod Understand Democracy and FreedomRod simply sat at his desk looking at us, the clear recognition on his face that Craig and I had just used a democratic majority to steal his freedom. Many people believe democracy and freedom are the same thing.…Democratic Reform, Economy, Rights and Freedoms
- How Big Business In Its Truest Sense Has Been a BlessingIn many parts of the world, national economies are in trouble. Politicians have been asking bankers—who are on the brink of financial ruin—how to fix things. The bankers respond by saying that governments need to give…Economy
- How Much Does A Civil Society Cost?Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. was a Supreme Court Justice who said taxes are the price we pay to live in a civil society. For Holmes, Tax Freedom Day arrived on January 21st. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. was a U.S. Supreme…Economy, Rights and Freedoms
- How Taxpayer Cash Rewards Bad Fiscal PolicyManitoba, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, each have their lips firmly locked on the money spout. Then there’s Quebec, which is in a class of its own, having collected a quarter of a trillion…Democratic Reform
- Incentives, Disincentives, and What the Bureaucrats Did to Mother TeresaEvery year the provinces and territories are rated so far as red tape and bureaucratic obstacles are concerned. For 2011, there were two provinces and two territories that received an outright “F”. They were Yukon,…Democratic Reform, Economy
- IOUs And The Magic MintUnlike inefficient private sector businesses that go broke, disappear, and fade from view, inefficient and poorly run government departments and agencies just carry on. There is no penalty or consequence for poor…Economy
- Legislative vs. Executive, and Politicians Who Don't Get PaidIn Canadian provinces, the legislative branch and the executive branch are also distinct, but can become somewhat blurred because they’re both controlled by the same people. (Click here to view larger image.) The United…Democratic Reform
- Merali — A Poster-Child for Government LargesseLots of people say that government should be run more like a business—that it should spend money efficiently, the way private citizens and private businesses spend money. But the truth is that government can’t run like…Democratic Reform
- Of Death and DeficitsIn this episode, John Robson wants to bury deficit spending along with its author. Want new articles before they get published? Subscribe to our Awesome…Economy
- Per Person Share of Government Debt in Canada is Higher Than In GreeceGreece has a national debt of roughly $400 billion. Ontario and Quebec between them owe more than $500 billion. Would you be surprised to learn that Canadians carry more government debt per person than someone living in…Economy
- Ranching 101 and Why Parliament Waged War Against the CrownFor every rancher, understanding the difference between steers, heifers, bulls, and cows is pretty basic—kind of like “Ranching 101.” For every rancher, understanding the difference between steers, heifers, bulls, and…Economy
- Russian Gardens, Egg McMuffins, and Why No One Washes a Rental CarNo one washes a rental car, not because the people who rent vehicles are lazy or irresponsible, but because they have no incentive to wash them. (When it comes to economic efficiency, incentive is a function of…Economy
- The Alberta Government's Legacy on Property RightsBill 202 assumes government employees are better stewards of grazing land than leaseholders, despite the fact that much of this land is teeming with wildlife precisely because leaseholders have been terrific stewards at…Rights and Freedoms
- The Economics of Ecology: Angry Planet or Beautiful WorldEconomics Has Provided Real Solutions to Pollution and Environmental Degredation Bjørn Lomborg is a Danish professor of statistics who was an environmental activist and member of Greenpeace for years. He accepted at…Economy
- The Fixed Quantity of Wealth FallacyThe essence of the fixed quantity of wealth fallacy is the claim that wealth cannot be created, only rearranged. Suppose you believe that. What follows? You look at the world, and you see rich people getting their hands…Economy
- The Point and Purpose of WorkAt one point Aberhart discovered that instead of heavy equipment being used at a government airport project, workers were given shovels and picks. That way the project could be deliberately lengthened, and the men kept…Economy
- Thunderous Silence, Found Missing, and Government EfficiencyLots of people say that government should be run more like a business—that it should spend money efficiently, the way private citizens and private businesses spend money. But the truth is that government can’t run like…Democratic Reform
- Welcome to "Been There, Done That"Welcome to Been There, Done That, Shouldn't Have . Please try to keep smiling as we delve into economic history to look at instructive disasters we're liable to repeat today while congratulating ourselves on being bold…
- Whose Bread I Eat His Song I SingI first came across the story of the wild hogs in Horseshoe Bend more than twenty years ago. It's a true story that was written by Dr. J. McDaniel. It was first published in a bulletin of the Fulton County (Georgia)…Economy
- The Midas TouchIn this episode, John Robson explains why a free lunch wouldn't nourish you even if it did exist. Want new articles before they get published? Subscribe to our Awesome…