New school trustees were elected in Alberta recently, and several of them have identified class size as a major public concern. But they and their colleagues in Manitoba and Saskatchewan should be looking at the larger picture. If school boards would focus on how to...
Year: 2013
66 million dollars spent on talking, none spent on aboriginal youth in B.C.
Yesterday B.C.’s children’s watchdog, Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, released a damning report of the provinces Ministry of Children and Family Development in spending close to $66 million over the last dozen years on “big, blue sky initiatives” for aboriginal youth. Yet...
Nisga’a begin private property experiment
The Nisga'a are a self-governing First Nation located in northwestern British Columbia. In 2008, the Nisga'a embarked on a revolutionary experiment in property ownership. They passed the Landholding Transiton Act, a piece of legislation that would allow individuals to...
It’s Not About the Class Size in Calgary Schools
Calgary's municipal election on Monday saw at least two new trustees elected to Calgary Board of Education (CBE). Waiting for them is a slew of concerns ranging from how money is spent to transparency to the apparent 'big issue' of class sizes. But, the recent debate...
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Promote Equity by Providing a Quality Education
Earlier this year, a group called Equity Matters asked the province to establish an education equity secretariat. They want this office to oversee equity officers working in Manitoba schools. Equity Matters wants to ensure that all Manitoba students are reflected in...
Why Frances Widdowson Matters
Frances Widdowson probably isn't someone most Canadians recognize. I'm here to tell you why they should. In terms of Canada's intellectual culture, Frances Widdowson matters because she is a classic and prolific academic. In a time when demagoguery easily flourishes,...
Rethinking Marijuana Prohibition
After police chiefs across Canada last week passed a resolution to dedicate additional resources to officers pursuing individuals in possession of marijuana, I was left wondering one thing: Why do Canada’s police chiefs refuse to support the legalization of pot? The...
On Government Growth
From one of my email feeds from New Zealand comes this thoughtful nugget by Dr. Oliver Hartwich, Executive Director of the New Zealand Initiative, a local think tank: Government spending has been rising for the past one and a half centuries. The increase itself is...
America Hanging in There Better Than Rivals
The country is shuffling through a very weak recovery, and public opinion remains distinctly negative, with nearly half of Americans saying China has already leapfrogged us and nearly 60 percent convinced the country is headed in the wrong direction.
First Nations once thrived in agriculture
This great column by Jamie Wilson, commissioner of the Treaty Relations Commission of Manitoba, documents how Prairie First Nations in the immediate post-treaty period were thriving farmers. The current system of dependency and poverty seen on many Western reserves...
Extreme environmentalists attack life-saving GMOs
Environmentalist organizations are spreading misinformation about genetically modified crops, despite their obvious health benefits in many developing countries.
Fraser Institute on the Wireless Debates
The Fraser Institute has come out in favour of dropping the remaining foreign ownership restrictions in the telecom industry as the way to solve our current policy issues in the wireless sector. Reducing and eventually eliminating the foreign ownership restrictions is...
The Sky Did Not Fall After All: On the one year anniversary of the end of the Canadian Wheat Board’s marketing monopoly
The one-year anniversary on Aug. 1 of the removal of the 75-year Canadian Wheat Board monopoly on western wheat and barley sales was marked with celebration in some quarters. None of the consequences predicted by single -desk monopoly supporters came close to materializing.
Hydro’s Financial Position is Not Strong
The financial sections of the Crown corporation's 2012-13 Annual Report focuses on two myths - that its reported profit of $92 million is adequate, having arisen from prudent and profitable operations, and, secondly, that the Utility's financial position is 'strong',...
Rail Relocation From Urban Centres Benefits Both Cities and Railways: It would address safety and land use concerns while providing improved transit and operational efficiencies to rail companies
The rail tragedy at Lac Mégantic, Québec, has opened a debate about the safety of railway in urban areas. Some argue a safety measure would be the relocation of rail lines away from urban areas. Those against this option make economic arguments about community sustainability and the high costs of relocation.