Kerri L. Holland The primary objective of agricultural diversification is to facilitate economic stability and prosperity for the agricultural industry and the larger economy. Moreover, the topic of diversification is best understood within the broader discussion of...
Year: 2016
Canada’s Love Affair with Affluence
Wendell Cox Recently the city of Calgary released its municipal census report, which included data on how people commute to work. One newspaper headlined "Calgarians continue love affair with cars," noting that driving alone far outpaced the number of people using...
Saskatchewan Political Culture and the Grant Devine Era
Barry F. Cooper This paper looks at the 1982 Saskatchewan provincial election, which brought Grant Devine to power, as a “critical election” in the sense that it had long-term consequences regarding what would subsequently be acceptable as public policy in that...
Ontario electricity has never been cheaper, but bills have never been higher
Ross McKitrick August 8, 2016 The more the wind blows, the bigger the losses and the higher the hit to consumers. You may be surprised to learn that electricity is now cheaper to generate in Ontario than it has been for decades. The wholesale price, called the Hourly...
Featured News
Weaponizing the Law
The indictment of former U.S. president Donald Trump for crimes invented by his political opponents is the most egregious example yet seen of the weaponizing of the law. The United States is now full of examples. However, in Canada, we also see the law being...
“Looking At” Seizing Control Over Western Canada’s Natural Resources
OTTAWA, REGINA - Last week, two things happened that could have profound impacts on natural resources development in Saskatchewan. One is a hint the federal government might want to take control of natural resources away from the provinces, and the other is the...
What’s the right price for carbon? Take a guess, everyone else is.
This op ed was originally published by The Financial Post on Thursday, June 16, 2016: http://business.financialpost.com/fp-comment/junk-science-week-whats-the-right-price-for-carbon-take-a-guess-everyone-else-is
Why does Saudi Arabia want Canadian arms anyway?
Now that the excitement and posturing by Canadian politicians over the sale of light armoured vehicles (LAVs) to Saudi Arabia has simmered down, we might explore a more significant question: why do the Saudis want them? Canadians might flatter themselves by thinking...
The Positive Impact of Human CO₂ Emissions on the Survival of Life on Earth
This study looks at the positive environmental effects of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, a topic which has been well established in the scientific literature but which is far too often ignored in the current discussions about climate change policy. All life is carbon...
Contrary to Rumours, There is No License to Pollute Canadian Waterways
In 2012, the Harper government replaced the old Navigable Waters Protection Act (NWPA) with a new Navigation Protection Act (NPA), aimed at updating and simplifying regulations governing transportation on inland waterways, sparking considerable controversy. Many...
In Alberta, We’re All Progressives Now.
In the 1960s, the phrase “we are all Keynesians now” was uttered by Milton Friedman, possibly as some sort of a lament about how Keynesian interventionist ideas had come to dominate mainstream thinking about economic policy. Here we are in 2016, and it...
The Evolving Moments of 2016
Most of us have had what Peggy Noonan, a writer for the Wall Street Journal, called a “2016 Moment.” When the experience hits, you realize that something of great significance has already taken place in our common political life. The game has changed. The...
Climate Crazy Ontario
The latest news out of Queen’s Park is that Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals plan to deindustrialize Ontario. Of course they don’t call it that; they prefer the term “decarbonize.” But for an industrial economy, the government’s new...
Do Not Oversell the Russian Threat in the Arctic
When doing a cursory search of articles and commentaries about the current state of Arctic international relations, you would be forgiven if you were to think the Russians are preparing to launch a massive offensive against other Arctic states, particularly...
Rent control and affordable housing in Alberta
Bill 202, which has passed second reading, is officially titled the Alberta Affordable Housing Review Committee Act. Under this bill, the government will establish a committee of no fewer than three members to report on five areas. Four of the five areas listed in the...