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Tom Flanagan
One Year Later Still no Evidence of Unmarked Graves
Brian Giesbrecht is a retired judge of the Provincial Court of Manitoba, Nina Green is an independent researcher, and Tom Flanagan is professor emeritus of political science at the University of Calgary. May 27, 2022 marked the one year anniversary of a...
Thinker’s Corner on the Frontier: Will Alberta Stay or Go?
Will Alberta Stay or Go? A conversation with Tom Flanagan, editor and co-author of the new book “Moment of Truth: How to Think About Alberta's Future” Alberta is at a crossroads. Its situation in Canadian confederation is unfair. It is unequal. So... what comes next?...
Wealth of First Nations
Adam Smith showed in The Wealth of Nations how prosperity arises from making and trading, rather than taking.
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Canadian Property Rights Index 2023
A Snapshot of Property Rights Protection in Canada After 10 years
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...
Treaty Land Entitlement and Urban Reserves in Saskatchewan
The Frontier Centre for Public Policy today released a study about treaty land entitlement and urban reserves in Saskatchewan. The study was conducted by Dr. Tom Flanagan, Professor Emeritus, University of Calgary, and Mr. Lee Harding, who was a M.A. student in the...
Seven Habits Of Highly Effective First Nations
Tom Flanagan and Lee Harding / November 2016 This paper examines 21 First Nations in Canada who scored highly on the 2011 Community Well-being Index (CWB), which is computed by researchers at the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs (INAC) after each census. The...
Unite the Right
By-elections can be important for many reasons. Tuesday’s provincial by-election in Calgary-Greenway was significant because of its impact on the rivalry between the Progressive Conservatives and the Wildrose Party. It was a close call, but the PCs managed to...
Why Calgary needs its fluoride
In 2011, Calgary council voted 10-3 to discontinue fluoridation of the city’s water, which had begun 20 years earlier pursuant to a referendum. Now the consequences are becoming visible. A study by Alberta medical researchers shows that the incidence of cavities...
Child-welfare ruling raises questions about role of rights tribunal
The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruled this week that federal financing of First Nations’ child-welfare services is inadequate and discriminatory, and thus violates the Human Rights Act. Recognizing that it lacks the expertise to reform child welfare, the...
We can’t ignore the warning signs on U.S. campuses
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...
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...
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...
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...