Time to act after 26 years, on the Flynn report’s most fundamental recommendation for change: Privatize ATB

Date
2020-08-26
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
It is not unusual for governments to become involved in nation building, early on in a country’s or region’s development. Alberta was established as a province in 1905 and already in 1906, its first government established a telephone company under the name of Alberta Government Telephones (AGT), as it considered telecommunications infrastructure critical for the economic development and prosperity of Alberta (Alberta Government Telephones, n.d.). Perhaps it should be no surprise when a Social Credit (Socreds) government established a bank in 1938 called the Alberta Treasury Branches (ATB) as a division of the Alberta Treasury under the Treasury Branches Act. At the same time, it also created the Credit Union Act, to allow credit unions to assist Albertans with their banking needs. These dual track public policy initiatives to provide a government solution on the one hand, and a private membership-based initiative on the other hand, around the critical need of a well-functioning banking system, is an interesting one for this study to follow, and to review the outcomes of both initiatives.
Description
Keywords
Citation
Straathof, R. G. (2020). Time to act after 26 years, on the Flynn report’s most fundamental recommendation for change: Privatize ATB (Unpublished master's project). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB.