Share this page!

Laurie Adkin Profile picture
Twitter logo
2 Mar, 4 tweets, 4 min read
That the Feb 2021 AB budget sets aside $136m for the "Alberta Jobs Now" program is sadly laughable, given, first, that the sum itself is completely inadequate to the task, and, second, 1/n
#abpoli #ableg #abpse #Alberta
according to the budget estimates, the govt is reducing the operating support for post-secondary institutions by $175m over 2020-21, causing hundreds more lay-offs from good jobs. 2/n @UnionNASA @CupeAB @_AUPE_ @ABFedLabour @TheAASUA #UCalgary #UAlberta #Yeg
600 jobs gone at #UCalgary. 750 jobs gone at #UAlberta. Plus the other 19 public PSEIs (for which I don't have figures). And these are only the jobs we can count, and don't include the ones that will be lost due to the newest budget cuts. 3/n
If the #UCP @UCPCaucus wanted to create jobs they would start by not destroying them by massive cuts in the public sector. But it seems that these are not jobs --or Albertans -- they value. 4/4

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with Laurie Adkin

Laurie Adkin Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @LaurieAdkin

Laurie Adkin Profile picture
2 Mar
@ryanjespersen asked me today why workers in the post-secondary sector don’t get much sympathy from some Albertans when Conservative governments gut PSE funding. #abpse #abpoli @UAGradStudents @The_Gateway @cafaab @TheAASUA
I’m a slow thinker (like slow food), so it took a while for my answer to percolate. Warning: This is a long answer to Ryan’s question! I’ll start with a story. 2/n
@uabpols @NoUofA42morrow @ParklandInst
I grew up in Saskatchewan. After I was hired at @UAlberta in 1991, I went to visit my parents in Saskatoon, by bus. I like to sit at the front, so I can see the road ahead, and the span of the landscape. 3/n
Read 35 tweets
Laurie Adkin Profile picture
28 Feb
I am sorry to have to disagree, once again, with our president, but the analogy made here is untenable. 1/n

@BFlanaganUofA @KateChisholm15 @UAlbertaAlumni @UAlberta @The_Gateway @NoUofA42morrow
@BFlanaganUofA says "Much as the province can strengthen the economy by diversifying beyond oil and gas, the University of Alberta can increase its resiliency by developing new revenue sources and reducing our reliance on provincial funding." 2/n
Yes, of course, the province can and should begin phasing out its reliance on oil and gas extraction, and stop crazy ideas to expand coal mining in the mountains. We agree on that. 3/n
Read 13 tweets
Laurie Adkin Profile picture
27 Feb
Did the UCP ask Albertans if they wanted their post-secondary education institutions (PSEIs), built up over decades with public funding, to be privatized? I, for one, don't remember that being on Jason Kenney's list of campaign promises. 1/n #abpse #abpoli
What does privatization mean? Well, at what point does a university education cease to be a public good and become a commodified private service? 2/n
When students pay for more than half the costs of their education individually, through tuition fees? When 70% of university budgets come from tuition fees and "entrepreneurial" endeavours (things one can charge money for)? 3/n
Read 23 tweets
Laurie Adkin Profile picture
26 Feb
"Governments [sic] role is to provide a business environment that encourages the entrepreneurial spirit of its people." - Finance Minister Travis Toews in the Feb 25 2021 budget address
alberta.ca/release.cfm?xI…
And the UCP's supply side economics, that promise to reduce deficits, increase GDP growth, and increase employment, have done precisely the opposite. As they always do. 2/n
"Economic recovery" is always imminent for these guys--always "next year." They pretend to control and predict the future. The sure thing they actually deliver is the transfer of public wealth to private shareholders & CEOs. 3/n
Read 6 tweets
Laurie Adkin Profile picture
26 Feb
#UCP govt says "over the next 3 years, we will spend $1.5 billion to develop key sectors and diversify the economy." They blew that much on one bad investment.
We'd have had $4.5 billion to spend on job creation if they hadn't given big corporations a tax holiday.
With a normal fiscal policy--not even an ambition plan for public finance--we wouldn't be losing hundreds of jobs in the public sector.
Read 4 tweets
Laurie Adkin Profile picture
17 Jan
Benga/Riversdale says: "The company has developed wildlife and fish monitoring programs to sustain those populations, and also has a plan in place to safely and effectively manage selenium." 1/n
calgaryherald.com/news/no-free-f…
@ABWilderness @cpawssab
"Monitoring" does not protect fish from selenium poisoning. Benga promises a lot of measures, most of which amount to experimentation or monitoring. The stakes are too high to approve another open pit coal mine on this basis. 2/n
Why do I say this? Because I read the submissions of the scientists to the JRP. You should read these, too, before you decide to take the proponents' promises at face value. That's what @Corblund did. That's why he said "I'm 100% opposed" to coal mining on the eastern slopes. 3/n
Read 12 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Like this author's thread?

Get emails when @LaurieAdkin has new unrolls!

Check out other threads from @LaurieAdkin!

Read all threads by @LaurieAdkin