Max Fawcett

1 month ago | nationalobserver.com | Max Fawcett

It was, in some respects, a remarkable performance. Yes, the province may have billions of barrels of oil in the ground, but no jurisdiction in Canada is better at mining grievances and anger than Alberta. Smith, meanwhile, is the most talented conductor of this symphony of bullshit we've ever seen. She gives them life, grants their ludicrous claims and grievances credibility, and harnesses their anger to her cause.

1 month ago | nationalobserver.com | Max Fawcett

In so doing, he'll make it obvious that this is not the second coming of Justin Trudeau's Liberal government, one that failed to live up to the promise that it would do politics differently. Carney is also drawing a useful distinction with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who has seemed determined to play the role of his biggest provincial antagonist. Smith, after all, has refused for months now to call the byelection for Edmonton-Strathcona, where NDP leader Naheed Nenshi will run (and win).

1 month ago | nationalobserver.com | Max Fawcett

Rather than buying electrons from the United States, as tends to happen now, we can buy them from each other instead - and create tens of thousands of new jobs in the process. It would also, in time, save Canadian households and businesses billions of dollars. As the Canadian Climate Institute's own report shows, reaching net-zero electricity by 2050 will mean a 12 per cent decrease in average household energy spending, with 70 per cent of households saving an average of $1,500 per year.

1 month ago | nationalobserver.com | Max Fawcett

I know, I know. At a time when Donald Trump is openly threatening our independence and sovereignty, electoral reform probably seems like a weird thing to prioritize. We need to knock down interprovincial trade barriers, build more housing - like, way more housing - and support the economic sectors most directly impacted by Trump's trade war.

1 month ago | nationalobserver.com | Max Fawcett

The "disruptions map" in the larger 2024 Policy Horizons report lays out 35 potential disruptions along three dimensions: likelihood, impact, and time horizon. Yes, declining social mobility is on there, but the three biggest risks in terms of likelihood and impact are a collapse in our biodiversity and ecosystems, the inability of the public to separate fact from fiction, and our collective emergency response becoming overwhelmed.