Paying local government the attention it deserves.
Year: 2008
2nd/3rd Annual Local Government Performance Index
Comparing the financial health and financial reporting standards of Canada’s largest municipalities.
CJOB Radio – Voter Subsidy Discussion – With Mark Milke
Listen to Mark Milke discuss voter subsidies with Goeff Currier on CJOB. (17 minutes)
For Aboriginals, Life Is Better In The City
The 2006 census data confirms what many people suspect, that life is often better for Aboriginals in the cities than on reserves.
Featured News
Cities Have to Expand for House Prices to Fall
The cost of actually building a house does not vary that much across Canada The Ford government’s plan to expand the land supply available for housing has evoked the usual dog whistles about “urban sprawl” by interests apparently unaware of the strong...
How We Teach Reading Really Does Matter
Reading is the most important skill taught in school. If students don’t learn how to read, not much else that happens there is going to matter. That’s because being able to read is important in virtually every job. Without the ability to read, life itself will be a...
Central Planning at Home and Abroad
The main difference is that a government that forswears central planning and leaves individuals free to make their own decisions within a system of property rights will typically end up being the government of a prosperous country.
Financial Meltdown Defrocks Deceit of Man-made Global Warming
It’s time to revisit the consensus on climate change. As the financial crisis shows, the majority of people can be wrong in their predictions.
Suicides on Native Reserves Require Closer Scrutiny – and Action
Don Sandberg argues Aboriginal leaders should forget a new “Governance House” to be built in Winnipeg and instead focus on prevention of suicide among the young.
CHQR Radio – Canada’s Energy Industry – With Mark Milke
Listen to Andy Gregory from CHQR Radio in Calgary speak to Mark Milke about the relationship of politicians and Canada's energy industry. (19 minutes)
Bloc’s the Big Winner in Election Financing
In a bit of political perversity, it turns out Canadians are bending over backwards to provide financial sustenance to the Bloc Quebecois.
Racism Among the Heavenly Hamlets on the Prairies
Peter left his home reserve years ago to work and find a place of peace and solitude to which he could eventually retire and instead found racism.
The American Dream: Alive and Well (Some Places)
Levittown, and the automobile-oriented urban expansion it foreshadowed, resulted in the greatest democratization of prosperity in history. Wherever mass suburbanization occurred – whether in the United States, its first world cousins Canada and Australia, Western Europe or later even Japan – we have seen the unprecedented rise of a mass property-owning class. Generally, where land regulation has remained reasonable, new houses can be purchased for less than three times median household incomes.
Back to the Deficit Era?
There is one last reason why Canada’s politicians should avoid new red ink: It’s because we haven’t paid off the bills from previous deficits.
What Saved the Bloc Quebecois in the 2008 Election: Public Money
Over the past several decades, there have been several key changes to how Canada’s federal political parties are funded. The most recent and significant changes took effect in 2004 with federal legislation (Bill C-24, passed in 2003) which banned corporate and union donations.