Big Topics & Big Ideas
Ian Madsen
HELE Coal Still Has a Valuable Place in the Energy Mix
The Climate Apocalypse alarmists look more than a little discredited with their claims of solar and wind energy reliability and low cost, global warming escalation, and more frequent extreme weather events. Their ultimate threat of the imminent death of all life on...
Political Megaprojects Lower Our Living Standards
Government policy can aid society and the economy, but frequently it does the opposite. Lately there has been a lot of concern raised, and quite rightly, about Canada’s dismal productivity growth record and growth prospects. Several multilateral organizations expect...
Carbon Sequestration Among A Plethora Of Carbon Delusions
A recent report sponsored by an environmental advocacy group and think tank, the International Institute for Sustainable Development, examined Carbon Capture and Storage, ‘CCS’, also called Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage, ‘CCUS’. One of the three authors,...
Featured News
How to Turn Free Citizens Into Compliant Serfs
Free citizens have minds of their own and want to pursue their lives as they see fit. This is inconvenient for the elites, who wish to be in charge of everyone’s lives so that they can show their superiority and gain benefit for themselves and their friends. So the...
Demographia International Housing Affordability – 2023 Edition Released
Demographia International Housing Affordability rates middle-income housing affordability in 94 major housing markets in eight nations: Australia, Canada, China, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States. This edition covers the third...
57 Policy Proposals for Future Leaders to Help Make the Canadian Economy Soar
Executive Summary The various federal political parties are all promoting the policy agendas they believe will foster a sustainably high quality of life for all Canadians. It remains to be seen whether they will attain the success that they aim to achieve. In some...
Climate Absolutism Works Against LNG, East Coast Pipeline Debate
The recent visit of the Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz, to Atlantic Canada was an opportunity for a serious long term strategy to address several different aims: European Union (EU) energy security, East Coast economic development, Canadian energy industry growth...
Environmental Fakery Makes the ‘E’ in ESG Standards Total Nonsense
The adoption of Environmental, Social and Governance, ‘ESG’, standards by institutional investors is meant to cajole, if not compel, investible companies to adhere to rigid rules and criteria established by investors or outside entities, such as consultants to satisfy...
Lessening Saskatchewan’s Reliance on Commodity Bonanzas
Saskatchewan is the beneficiary of elevated pricing and improved long term prospects for nearly all of the many commodities it produces: grain, oilseeds, oil, gas, potash, uranium, and even gold, copper and forestry products. While this very good news for both its...
Weakness of Euro, Pound, Yen, Loonie Are Ominous Signs
Too much could be read into the recent sagging value of the Euro, British pound, Japan’s yen and Canada’s loonie against America’s dollar. Relative interest rates, trade deficits, and government deficits and trends have major influences. In the longer term, all...
CMHC, Ottawa’s Favourite Stealth Torpedo
Just a few months ago, the national discussion was about house prices and a lack of affordability. No longer, with houses, townhouses, and condominium prices cresting, imminent data may likely confirm serious price declines. Mortgage carrying costs are rising, as...
Stabilizing Volatile Alberta Government Revenues
Albertans received the pleasant news that their deficit-plagued provincial government might bank a surplus for their concluding fiscal year, and could very well experience the same this year. The reason for this happy state of financial affairs is the elevated price...
Via Rail, a Business That Would Not Be Created Today
A question investment managers and individual investors often (or should) ask themselves: “If I didn’t already own this stock, would I buy it today?” By any criteria, Via Rail, a Crown corporation owned by the federal government, is not a good investment - even under...
Cheap Coal Could Pay for Greenhouse Gas Remediation
Lately, the Climate Change Apocalypse lobby has gone into overdrive in their efforts to browbeat reluctant consumers, businesses and governments to wholly eliminate fossil fuels and commit to putting all future energy investment into renewable energy. That did not...