There aren’t many things that can’t be bought for $21 billion. Australia’s Sydney Airport is one of those things. This week the board of directors of the privately-operated, stock exchange-listed airport turned down a AUS$22.8 billion buyout offer from a consortium …
Could Canada’s Airports go Bankrupt? (and Could That be the Best Thing for Them?)
Name something you can find only in Canada. If we eliminate easy answers such as wildlife oddities, three-down football and maple-flavoured pastries and focus instead on major transportation infrastructure hubs, there’s just one correct response: the unique and deeply-flawed Canadian …
Why a Ban on Plastic Straws Sucks
A strawman argument is a rhetorical device that deliberately misrepresents or exaggerates an opponent’s position in order to demolish it. It’s always easier to defeat an opponent made of straw than is to tackle a serious argument with facts and …
Putting truth into Truth and Reconciliation
Fifty-one years ago, he was a young boy who came to a tragic end. Today he’s a symbol for all that was wrong with this country’s treatment of Indigenous people. So why is the story of Chanie Wenjack so full …
Next On the Carbon Hit List: Meat
Peter Shawn Taylor, December 30, 2016 If it wasn’t so tasty, would anyone bother with beef? Last year, the World Health Organization added processed beef and other red meats to its list of level-one carcinogens, alongside such deadly substances as …
The dangers of driver’s licence suspensions
Make the scofflaws pay. And if they won’t pay, punish ’em. There’s an understandable lack of public sympathy for deadbeats such as parents who skip out on family support payments or drivers who rack up huge parking ticket fines. And …
Safety Seats on Planes Don’t Necessarily Make Kids Safer
As every mom or dad knows, infants travelling by car must be firmly strapped into a government-tested, properly installed (and often maddeningly complicated) car seat. Failure on this account can earn you a hefty fine and demerit points. Flying with your kids, on the other hand, is a whole other matter.
Light-Rail Disease: Politicians love light-rail, even when it makes no sense and cost overruns are sure to follow
Waterloo is the latest North American city to opt for a light rail transit system, but many Canadian cities are likely to follow. Funding from upper levels of government leads municipal politicians to believe that LRT is a bargain, but municipal taxpayers are left holding the bag for inevitable cost overruns.
Harper’s Tax Boutique: Tax Expenditures in a Time of Deficit
Federal government tax expenditures such as the Public Transit Tax Credit and the Children’s Fitness Tax Credit, with a combined cost of $164 million, are not meeting their targets, and should be eliminated.