The Parkland Institute is an Alberta-wide, non-partisan research institute, situated within the

Faculty of Arts A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In American usage such divisions are generally referred to as colleges ...

at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

. The Institute studies economic, social, cultural, and political issues using the intellectual approach of Canadian

political economy Political economy is the study of how Macroeconomics, economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and Economy, national economies) and Politics, political systems (e.g. law, Institution, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied ph ...

. The Institute was founded in the fall of 1996, and first came to public attention in February 1997 when it co-published with the

University of Alberta Press University of Alberta Press (UAlberta Press) is a publishing house and a division of the University of Alberta that engages in academic publishing. Overview UAlberta Press is situated in the Rutherford Library on the University of Alberta campu ...

the book ''Shredding the Public Interest: Ralph Klein and 25 Years of One-Party Government'' by researcher

Kevin Taft Kevin Taft (born September 9, 1955) is an author, consultant, speaker, and former provincial politician in Alberta, Canada. Prior to his election, he worked in various public policy roles (1973-2000) in the Government of Alberta, private and no ...

. Then-Alberta premier

Ralph Klein Ralph Philip Klein (November 1, 1942 – March 29, 2013) was a Canadian politician and journalist who served as the 12th premier of Alberta and leader of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta from 1992 until his retirement in 20 ...

accused Taft of promoting "communism" and the book quickly became a best-seller. In addition to publishing and disseminating the findings of research, the Parkland Institute has hosted an annual conference each November at the University of Alberta since 1997.

History

The Parkland Institute was founded in 1996 by Gordon Laxer, a political economist in the

's sociology department, who became the Institute's first director. The Institute's first publication, ''Shredding the Public Interest: Ralph Klein and 25 Years of One-Party Government'' by researcher

became a best-seller after then-premier

criticized the report and accused Taft of being a communist. In November 1997, the Institute held its first annual conference, "Globalization, Corporatism & Democracy: Alberta and Canada," which featured a keynote presentation by

John Ralston Saul John Ralston Saul (born June 19, 1947) is a Canadian writer, political philosopher, and public intellectual. Saul is most widely known for his writings on the nature of individualism, citizenship and the public good; the failures of manager-l ...

. In March 1999,

again attacked the Institute, sending a letter of complaint about a conference presentation by economist Armine Yalnizyan to then University of Alberta President Rod Fraser, in which he accused the Institute of being "factually challenged" and "one-sided and ideologically biased." Bill Moore-Kilgannon was the Institute's Executive Director for the first four years, and was replaced by current Executive Director Ricardo Acuña in May 2002. In January 2012, Gordon Laxer stepped down as Director, and was replaced by

University of Lethbridge , mottoeng = ''Let there be light'' , type = Public , established = , academic_affiliations = Universities Canada , endowment = $73 million (2019) , chancellor = Charles Weasel ...

sociologist Trevor Harrison.

Research and Publications

The Institute "studies economic, social, cultural and political issues using the perspective of Canadian political economy," and focuses its research in the areas of taxation and finance in Alberta, energy policy, poverty and social inequality, democracy and governance, labour markers, education, and health care. All of the Institute's research is peer reviewed prior to publication. The most common research formats for the Parkland Institute are reports and fact sheets; the Institute has published over 80 since 1999. The Institute also published or co-published six books between 1999 and 2006. Two of the Institute's books, ''Shredding the Public Interest: Ralph Klein and 25 Years of One-Party Government'' and ''Clear Answers: The Economics and Politics of For-Profit Medicine'' were best-sellers. The Institute published a regular newsletter, ''The Parkland Post'', but suspended publication in fall 2013.

Annual Conference

Starting in 1997, the Institute has held its annual fall conference each November on the University of Alberta campus. Past conference keynote speakers have included

Vandana Shiva Vandana Shiva (born 5 November 1952) is an Indian scholar, environmental activist, food sovereignty advocate, ecofeminist and anti-globalisation author. Based in Delhi, Shiva has written more than 20 books. She is often referred to as "Gandhi ...

Helen Caldicott Helen Mary Caldicott (born 7 August 1938) is an Australian physician, author, and anti-nuclear advocate. She founded several associations dedicated to opposing the use of nuclear power, depleted uranium munitions, nuclear weapons, nuclear we ...

Michael Parenti Michael John Parenti (born September 30, 1933) is an American political scientist, academic historian and cultural critic who writes on scholarly and popular subjects. He has taught at universities as well as run for political office. Parenti i ...

Linda McQuaig Linda Joy McQuaig is a Canadian journalist, columnist, non-fiction author and social critic. She is best known for her series of best-selling books that challenge the dominant free-market economic ideology of recent decades. Her books make the c ...

Maude Barlow Maude Victoria Barlow (born May 24, 1947) is a Canadian author and activist. She is a founding member of the Council of Canadians, a citizens' advocacy organization with members and chapters across Canada. She is also the co-founder of the Blue ...

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, nin ...

Ronald Wright Ronald Wright (born 1948, London, England) is a Canadian author who has written books of travel, history and fiction. His nonfiction includes the bestseller ''Stolen Continents'', winner of the Gordon Montador Award and chosen as a book of th ...

Chris Hedges Christopher Lynn Hedges (born September 18, 1956) is an American journalist, Presbyterian minister, author, and commentator. In his early career, Hedges worked as a freelance war correspondent in Central America for ''The Christian Science Mon ...

, and Guy Standing.

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://parklandinstitute.ca
Policy.ca Profile: Parkland Institute
Political and economic think tanks based in Canada University of Alberta Organizations based in Alberta Politics of Alberta