Another Downside of Rent Control. FC045
Year: 2008
Regina Does Well in Financial Disclosure
The author of a new report says the City of Regina is doing a good job of disclosing its financial performance with the exception that it does not account for its capital assets. The second annual Local Government Performance Index reveals that all 79 municipalities...
City’s Tax Spending Formula Gets Pass
The City of Prince George scored somewhat favourably in the proportion of expenditures that go to "core" responsibilities when compared to other municipalities, but there's still room for improvement, according to a study released Wednesday by a right-wing think tank....
Victoria, Saanich Pay Less than Most of Us
Homeowners in Victoria and Saanich pay less in property taxes than the Canadian average according to figures released yesterday by a Prairie think-tank. The average municipality in Canada raises $1,937 per household in taxes and raises $4,869 per household in total...
Featured News
Canadians on the Move, to Smaller Communities
The Canadian Dream is increasingly being realized in smaller areas For decades, Canadians moved to the larger cities (census metropolitan areas, or CMAs) with their economic opportunities. The latest estimates indicate that CMAs have 72 per cent of the nation’s...
Leadership Needed in Canadian Healthcare; Apply Within
When the Premiers were first called to a sit-down lunch to talk about healthcare with Prime Minister Trudeau, there was plenty of talk about the potential for systemic change, innovation and accountability. It seemed that Canadians and their leaders were finally on...
The 2008 Local Government Performance Index – Prairies Regional Report
Cities are listed in alphabetical order: Alberta: Calgary Edmonton Grande Prairie Lethbridge Medicine Hat Red Deer St. Albert Strathcona County Wood Buffalo Saskatchewan: Regina Saskatoon Manitoba: WinnipegView entire Prairie edition in PDF Format (55...
The World Has Never Seen Such Freezing Heat
A surreal scientific blunder last week raised a huge question mark about the temperature records that underpin the worldwide alarm over global warming. A GISS spokesman lamely explained that the reason for the error in the Russian figures was that they were obtained from another body, and that GISS did not have resources to exercise proper quality control over the data it was supplied with.
Learning from New Zealand: De-Politicizing Water Service Delivery
Left within municipalities, water will remain just a staid, old departmental activity with little emphasis being given to its special place in the lives of city citizens.
Equalization A Journey Into The Bizarre
However, most of the provinces receiving equalization don’t need the money. The only reason they still receive it is that they have become dependent on it and every time someone suggests cutting them off, their politicians squawk until Ottawa backs down.
Crichton – A Man For Our Time
In a time when the confluence of science, policy, and politics is making a Gulf hurricane look calm, Crichton was a uniquely qualified commentator whom we desperately needed.
Ethanol Producers’ Unworthy Heyday Finally Over
The good news is that no amount of subsidies can disguise the fact ethanol is the wrong fuel at the wrong time. There may be good biofuels; corn-based ethanol is not one of them. Some clean fuels and technologies are worthy of taxpayer funding, but not the one that raises food prices and has no proven environmental advantage.
What Will Obama Do On The Environment?
An Obama presidency looks to plow ahead on mistaken cap-and-trade programs just as other nations look set to abandon such plans.
Advice from Canada: An Energy Strategy for America
The USA has two daunting problems, the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression and President-Elect Obama’s energy policies, which will severely deepen the economic crisis.
How To Get Ottawa To Take Ontario Seriously
We are fortunate that we don’t have a housing bubble that is nearly as serious as in Western Europe and the United States. However, we now better understand the nature of financial “bubbles” driven by excess and it is increasingly evident that we have our own. They are called Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and to a lesser extent, Quebec.