Sep 28 2023 — Macdonald-Laurier Institute — An opaque regulatory process that has stymied oil and gas development efforts, deterred investment, and dampened competitiveness, while giving market share to Russia and other authoritarian energy producers. A $35 billion Canadian Infrastructure Bank that has only finalized two projects, and failed to leverage any private sector dollars. A medicare system that struggles with mismanagement […]
Sep 26 2023 — Public Policy Forum — The next pandemic or the next health threat may well defy our expectations again. In what form, where and when are all unknowns, which means we must be prepared for a public health enemy that we cannot truly identify.
Sep 20 2023 — Public Policy Forum — Recently released regulations have put a new face on the legislation designed to save the Canadian news media. Edward Greenspon and Chris Dornan, authors of The Shattered Mirror, explain what this means for the future of news. In a terse news release issued last Friday, Metroland, once Torstar’s revenue juggernaut, announced it was filing for […]
Sep 19 2023 — Bacchus Barua and Mackenzie Moir — Fraser Institute — The Ford government has frequently promised to reduce wait times for surgeries and help encourage economic growth. But according to research published by the Fraser Institute, these goals are closely connected. If Premier Ford can make good on his promise to cut wait times, it will not only be good news for patients, but also […]
Sep 8 2023 — Jake Fuss — Fraser Institute — As the financial challenges mount for the City of Toronto, a new city staff report has proposed a municipal sales tax, tacked on to the existing harmonized sales tax (HST) system, to help address budget shortfalls ranging between $1.5 billion and $1.7 billion over the next two years. According to the report, the new sales […]
Aug 25 2023 — Canadian Health Coalition — You’d be excused if you didn’t know Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed a new health minister during his cabinet shuffle over the summer. For instance, CBC political pundits offered no commentary whatsoever about Ajax MP Mark Holland leaving his previous role as Government House Leader to take over from Jean-Yves Duclos as Canada’s Health Minister […]
Aug 23 2023 — The Institute for Peace & Diplomacy — It is widely believed within the Canadian foreign policy establishment that Canada is, and ought to remain, an influential “middle power.” According to this narrative, since the Second World War, Canada has been able to exercise outsized influence on international affairs by acting as a “helpful fixer” – that is, by mobilizing its soft power […]
Aug 22 2023 — Macdonald-Laurier Institute — In this commentary, Steve Lafleur and Josef Filipowicz argue that rather than resolve Canada’s housing shortage through government funding, improving the functioning of housing markets to lower costs should be the goal.
Aug 18 2023 — Monitor Mag — Canada is finally following through on its commitment to tax large foreign digital corporations. At least, it is planning to do so at some point after January 2024. The federal government’s proposed digital services tax (DST) on online giants like Meta, Amazon, and Google is heightening trade tensions with the U.S., but that should not […]
Aug 16 2023 — Alex Whalen and Julio Mejia — Fraser Institute — Nova Scotia’s mining industry remains an important part of the provincial economy. With its production of gold, gypsum, limestone, salt and other minerals, the industry employs more than 5,000 Nova Scotians and contributes almost $500 million annually to the provincial economy. Unfortunately, government policies are frustrating the industry’s growth. Every year, the Fraser Institute surveys […]
Aug 4 2023 — Staff — Nature Conservancy of Canada — The Big Backyard BioBlitz offers critical data for nature conservation. Over the August long weekend, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is encouraging people to get closer to nature and contribute to protect the species they love! NCC’s fourth annual Big Backyard BioBlitz runs for five days, from August 3 to 7, from coast to […]
Jul 14 2023 — IRPP — Relationships between Indigenous Peoples and settlers are often reduced to interactions between two groups: Canada and Indigenous peoples, simplifying the relationships between them and obscuring the complexity of both. Moreover, the focus is usually on relations with the federal government. Yet most interactions between governments and Indigenous peoples occur at the provincial level. This paper […]
Jun 22 2023 — IRPP — Canada is a laggard when it comes to providing public funding for dental care, ranking close to the bottom of OECD countries. However, the federal government’s proposed Canadian Dental Care Plan could change that. In its 2023 budget, the federal government pledged $13 billion over five years to implement the plan, which will provide dental […]
Jun 7 2023 — IRPP — The Canadian government’s use of federal tax funds to pursue policy objectives that rest within the purview of the provinces — a practice known as the spending power — has played an important role in Canada’s political development since 1945. Although it is not mentioned in the Constitution, the spending power has been used by […]
Jun 5 2023 — Nigel Rawson and Bacchus Barua — Fraser Institute — Canadians have access to fewer new drugs than Americans and Europeans, and consequently may endure undue suffering from ailments and disease. And we wait much longer for drugs that are approved here. For once, this unfortunate situation has little to do with bureaucratic lethargy but rather hostility governments and public agencies have shown towards the […]