Ben Atkinson, PhD
@benatkinsonphd.bsky.social
PhD Economics with 25+ years in public, private, and academic sectors. Currently with MBA Research and Deciduous Corp. Primary expertise in International Economics and Industrial Organization, including transport and retail gasoline.
Dr. Junaid B. Jahangir: “Decolonizing economics is a process that rests on challenging Eurocentric economic ideas, recognizing systems of extraction, highlighting ideas from the Global South and building alternative models.” theconversation.com/decolonizing...
Decolonizing economics means questioning where its ideas came from — and imagining new ones
Calls to decolonize economics challenge the discipline’s foundational assumptions about development, markets and inequality.
theconversation.com
I give credit to the Carney government for considering VERs in return for lower tariffs, although it needs to be repeated that we can never really trust Trump to honour his end of the bargain. wallsandbridges.substack.com/p/voluntary-...
Voluntary Export Restraints (VERs): They Backfired on the U.S. in the 1980s, and They Will Backfire on Trump Now (Potentially in Canada's Favour, Too)
I give credit to the Carney government for considering VERs in return for lower tariffs, although it needs to be repeated that we can never really trust Trump to honour his end of the bargain.
wallsandbridges.substack.com
“The photo of a banner hung from a...fence along highway 779 northwest of Edmonton went viral after it was posted online over the Heritage Day long weekend. “‘The Indians have done nothing in 100 years and now they wanna tell us how to run Alberta,’ the banner said.” www.aptnnews.ca/national-new...
Banner message along Edmonton area highway deemed ‘racist'
The photo of a banner hung from a fence along highway 779 northwest of Edmonton went viral after it was posted online over the Heritage Day long weekend.“The Indians have done nothing in 100 years and...
aptnnews.ca
“Bank accounts held by President Donald Trump were closed by Capital One in 2021 after it flagged financial activity that had characteristics of money laundering, the bank disclosed in a court filing over the weekend.” www.ctvnews.ca/world/articl...
Trump accounts were closed in 2021 due to concerns over possible money laundering, Capital One says
Bank accounts held by President Donald Trump were closed by Capital One in 2021 after it flagged financial activity that had characteristics of money laundering, the bank disclosed in a court filing o...
ctvnews.ca
The Calgary Chamber of Commerce directs us all to some lessons from Brexit, and none of them are good. wallsandbridges.substack.com/p/calgary-ch...
Calgary Chamber of Commerce: "Constitutional Referendums Are Not Opinion Polls"
The Calgary Chamber of Commerce directs us all to some lessons from Brexit, and none of them are good.
wallsandbridges.substack.com
...constitutional referendums are not opinion polls. They are powerful political instruments capable of reshaping expectations and influencing economic behaviour. For Alberta’s business community, the central lesson is simple: markets price risk, not intentions.“ calgarychamber.com/whats-new/le...
Lessons from Brexit: The economic risks of using referendums to send a message - The Calgary Chamber
The United Kingdom’s (UK) 2016 referendum on membership in the European Union (EU) provides an important lesson on the economic risks of using constitutional referendums to express broader political d...
calgarychamber.com
Luggage on planes increases the fuel and environmental costs, and can also increase safety risks, so these user fees have become the most common solution to these problems. wallsandbridges.substack.com/p/why-do-we-...
Why Do We Have to Pay for Essentially Every Item We Bring on Board a Plane?
Luggage on planes increases the fuel and environmental costs, and can also increase safety risks, so these user fees have become the most common solution to these problems.
wallsandbridges.substack.com
“WestJet and the Canadian Union of Public Employees, representing 4,400 flight attendants, reached a tentative contract agreement early Monday morning.” www.thestar.com/business/new...
Strike ends as WestJet, CUPE flight attendants reach a tentative agreement
There is no word yet on when the airline's operations will get back up to speed after hundreds of flights were cancelled over the weekend.
thestar.com
Whether we are talking about an airline employer or people concerned about an airport expansion, the Carney government needs to think carefully about how to respond to their demands for intervention. wallsandbridges.substack.com/p/from-airli...
From Airline Labour Bargaining to Airport Competition, Air Travel Is A Fascinating Subject Lately
Whether we are talking about an airline employer or people concerned about an airport expansion, the Carney government needs to think carefully about how to respond to their demands for intervention.
wallsandbridges.substack.com
"WestJet flight attendants went on strike early Sunday, after they failed to reach a deal with the airline, causing major travel disruption in the middle of a busy summer long weekend." www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...
WestJet flight attendants go on strike, grounding more than 300 flights on long weekend
Marathon negotiations continued through the weekend, but neither side made significant inroads on the core issue of compensation
theglobeandmail.com
“WestJet continued cancelling some flights on Saturday in a bid to avoid stranding passengers as the deadline for a possible flight attendants strike looms.” www.theifp.ca/things-to-do...
WestJet cancels 81 flights as strike deadline looms
Thousands of passengers could be forced to suspend or change their travel plans during the August long weekend.
theifp.ca
Over in the other place, the separatist far-right is slowly coming around to some basic realizations about Danielle Smith.
A return to an article I wrote in 2024 when prominent people really were arguing for an economic union with the U.S. It was a dumb idea then, and it is an even dumber idea now. wallsandbridges.substack.com/p/the-more-w...
The More We Concede to Trump (While Getting Nothing in Return), the Closer We Get to An Informal Economic Union. That is Not Much Better Than the Real Thing.
A return to an article I wrote in 2024 when prominent people really were arguing for an economic union with the U.S. It was a dumb idea then, and it is an even dumber idea now.
wallsandbridges.substack.com
Fawcett's latest article for Canada's National Observer brought out the Daniel Bryan in me. wallsandbridges.substack.com/p/max-fawcet...
Max Fawcett Hits One Out of the Park
Fawcett's latest article for Canada's National Observer brought out the Daniel Bryan in me.
wallsandbridges.substack.com
"A WestJet flight attendant strike at the peak of travel and tourist season is one step closer after the union representing the 4,400 workers issued its 72-hour strike notice early Thursday morning." nationalpost.com/news/westjet...
WestJet flight attendants' union issues 72-hour notice for strike that most Canadians want Ottawa to stay out of
WestJet flight attendants issued a 72-hour strike notice to the airline, which responded with a 72-hour lockout notice of its own.
nationalpost.com
All pro-Canada Albertans are encouraged to contact their MLAs to grill them on whether they will vote for Canada in the upcoming referendum. On that note, the following is a good site where you can find indicators of their support for Canada, as well as contact info for them. albertawatch.ca/en
Is My MLA a Separatist? | Alberta Watch
albertawatch.ca
This is just a warning shot to Albertans who think separation is the answer to our problems. This guy thought so, and it led his customers to separate from his business. wallsandbridges.substack.com/p/separatist...
Separatist Café Owner's Cold Lake Business Goes Under Due to Hosting Separatist Events
This is just a warning shot to Albertans who think separation is the answer to our problems. This guy thought so, and it led his customers to separate from his business.
wallsandbridges.substack.com
A public service announcement to Alberta separatists that one of your key influencers is a convicted criminal. www.ctvnews.ca/calgary/arti...
‘Seppy’ pushes aside criminal history, rallies for Alberta independence
One of the leading fundraisers for the Alberta independence movement says voters shouldn’t be turned off from his message because of his personal criminal history.
ctvnews.ca
“Here’s what you need to know about the potential WestJet strike and what it could mean for you.” www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...
Why and when WestJet flight attendants could strike, and how it may affect you
The flight attendants could go on strike as early as Sunday
theglobeandmail.com
If Canada is “dependable” for anything right now, it is for caving to Donald Trump whenever he snaps his stubby little fingers. ______________ “...latest in a series of concessions to U.S. trade demands for which Canada has not received anything in return.” www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/art...
Carney rules out using energy as leverage in U.S. trade talks
Prime Minister’s comments diverge from his insistence last week that ‘everything is on the table’ in negotiations
theglobeandmail.com
With Smith holding lighter near oily rag while threatening “national unity crisis”, I understand not cutting exports, but official excuse bullshit. Cutting exports to U.S. has nothing to do with *our* dependability; it has everything to do with *their* dependability. nationalpost.com/news/canada/...
Carney rules out cutting oil exports to hit back at U.S. tariffs
Prime Minister Mark Carney is tempering talk of cutting off oil exports to the U.S. to retaliate against tariffs.
nationalpost.com
Can Calgary come, too? www.thebeaverton.com/2026/07/edmo...
Edmonton plans separation referendum to separate from Alberta separation referendum
EDMONTON - With the October 19th Alberta Separation referendum approaching, residents of the provincial capital have announced that they will be holding their own referendum to separate the city of Ed...
thebeaverton.com
Nice to find enough pro-Canadians in Cold Lake to drive separatist out of business. Good job exercising freedom of choice and freedom of expression. Cold Lake cafe is just a warning shot. He thinks separation is the answer, so customers separated from his business. www.ctvnews.ca/edmonton/art...
Alberta café owner closes business after losing customers over separatist events
An Alberta café owner says his business has shuttered after he hosted separatists and lost customers.
ctvnews.ca
The primary roadblock to an export tax being a long-term winner in our fight against Trump is Danielle Smith. If only Alberta had a leader who put country above party. wallsandbridges.substack.com/p/an-export-...
An Export Tax on Canadian Oil & Gas to the U.S. Would Likely Be Almost Entirely Paid by Canadians. It Could Still Be Worth the Short-Term Pain.
The primary roadblock to an export tax being a long-term winner in our fight against Trump is Danielle Smith. If only Alberta had a leader who put country above party.
wallsandbridges.substack.com
Oh it is ok for her to preach, but when I start going on about the inefficiencies of British Columbia’s used car resale tax, they call airport security?
Hemant Mehta@friendlyatheist.com · last wk.Evangelist Whitney Lynn says she preaches on planes because she loves “a captive audience.” She's not alone. It's becoming a trend. If spreading your message requires listeners who can't escape, maybe it's not as compelling as you think. www.friendlyatheist.com/p/christian-...
Threats to national security are additional negative externalities of relying on free markets and personal choices to solve problems in Northern and remote communities. wallsandbridges.substack.com/p/infrastruc...
"Infrastructure Gaps" in Northern Indigenous Communities Are Also National Security Issues
Threats to national security are additional negative externalities of relying on free markets and personal choices to solve problems in Northern and remote communities.
wallsandbridges.substack.com
Canada and its *true* allies need to abandon this "Gold Standard" and work toward greater stability and prosperity without it. wallsandbridges.substack.com/p/the-us-is-...
The U.S. is *Still* the Gold Standard of International Relations — That Is *Not* A Good Thing!
Canada and its *true* allies need to abandon this "Gold Standard" and work toward greater stability and prosperity without it.
wallsandbridges.substack.com
Politicians put their resources into where they can get the most votes, so voters in large urban areas need to put pressure on them to care about the people forced to plead for government support. wallsandbridges.substack.com/p/government...
Governments Will Not Care Enough About Northern and Remote Communities Unless the Rest of Us Give Them the Incentive to Care
Politicians put their resources into where they can get the most votes, so voters in large urban areas need to put pressure on them to care about the people forced to plead for government support.
wallsandbridges.substack.com
Emma Zhao: “A northern Alberta county has declared a state of agricultural disaster due to flooding on farmland caused by extreme rainfall.” www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Northern Alberta county declares state of agricultural disaster, wants province to step in | CBC News
Thorhild County announced a state of agricultural disaster as of July 17, due to flooding on farmland caused by extreme rainfall this year.
cbc.ca