In 2014, University of Tennessee law professor Glenn Harlan Reynolds published a provocative book about U.S. universities, The Education Apocalypse: How It Happened and How to Survive It. In view of recent events at Yale, Princeton, Missouri and other campuses, maybe...
Year: 2015
A New Model for Funding Public Transit: Embracing the User-Pays Principle
Public transportation is an important contributor to urban mobility, particularly in Canada’s largest metropolitan areas. Despite the fact that most residents view public transportation as a necessity, there is a tendency to think of it as more of a social welfare...
Evidence based, open government: That should apply to First Nations finances, too
In his speech to the Assembly of First Nations, Prime Minister Trudeau announced that his government will review the First Nations Financial Transparency Act, which requires First Nations to publish audited annual financial statements plus information about the...
Speed or Greed: Does Automated Traffic Enforcement Improve Safety or Generate Revenue
Better engineered cars along with the adoption of seat belts and other road safety measures and legislation have contributed to a 58% decline in road fatalities in Canada between 1970 and 2009. The fatality rate is now so low that almost twice as many Canadians die...
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Alberta Politics and Empty Promises of Health-care Solutions
The writ has been dropped and Albertans are off to the polls on May 29. That leaves just four weeks for political leaders and voters to sort out what is arguably the most divisive, yet significant, issue for this election - health care. On Day 2, NDP leader Rachel...
There’s Nothing Fair About Canadian Health Care
For the past 14 years, Vancouver surgeon Dr. Brian Day has led the charge for health-care reform, pushing for the right of patients to pay for private care if their health and well-being are threatened as a result of waiting in a stagnant and overburdened public...
Transformers: More than Meets the Eye
The path to net zero, based on the much disputed belief that carbon dioxide is a pollution, is more steep and impractical than most people realize. Replacing fossil fuels with clean electricity will require much more power generation and a greatly upgraded grid to...
Two Climate Conferences in Paris
Paris – There are two climate conferences going on in Paris this month. One, the 21st Conference of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (COP21) attended by about 40,000 people, and the other, The Paris Climate Challenge 2015, attended by about 40 people. The big...
Towards a First Nations Governance Index
Honest, efficient government that respects property rights and the rule of law facilitates the achievement of prosperity and well-being in all jurisdictions, including First Nations. Therefore, it would be useful to have an index of governmental performance for First...
High time governments embraced the sharing economy
As cities across both Canada and the U.S. continue to stumble their way through issues surrounding the introduction of ride-sharing services such as Uber, it’s clear the ongoing reluctance by municipalities to allow these services is less about ride sharing...
Alberta budget had good news for home buyers
Rising house prices are a significant concern throughout Alberta, especially among first home buyers, many of whom are aspiring young families. There was, however, some good news out of the provincial budget that was announced at the end of October, as the Notley...
Ocean “Acidification” Alarmism In Perspective
The concept of ocean acidification is a recent phenomenon that has resulted in an explosion of journal articles, media reports and alarmist publications from environmental organizations. Many papers on ocean acidification, said to be caused by rising man-made CO2...
Support for UN declaration on native rights may spell trouble for Canada’s resource sector
The new Liberal government says it will implement the 2007 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It’s no surprise, as the Liberals campaigned on it. Nonetheless, there is great potential for mischief here because the sweeping language...
Grain gets poor grades
Canada’s grading system has made it a laggard and laughingstock. In heralding the end of the Canadian Wheat Board in 2012, former Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz proclaimed that Canadian farmers finally had the right to sell their wheat and barley on the open...
Self Governance for First Nations
COMPAS Research carried out interview-based measurement of the perceived impact of selfgovernment on the quality of governance and services among the Westbank First Nation (Kelowna, B.C.), Yukon First Nation, the Cree of Northern Quebec, and Sechelt First Nation...