Canada continues to move to the suburbs, as the 2021 census data shows. This is based on a Statistics Canada analysis on metropolitan (Census Metropolitan Areas, or CMAs) population and change since the 2016 Census. Statistics Canada (Statscan) divides the CMA...
Following a recent newgeography.com column “Toronto Solidifies Highest Density Ranking in North America,” I received comments of disbelief, at the fact that the urban density of the Winnipeg urban area is above that of the New York City urban area. This is based on...
The National Capital Commission (NCC) is a Crown corporation owned by the Canadian government. The NCC owns and manages over 10 percent of the lands in the National Capital Region. Moreover, the corporation owns and manages several properties, including Canada’s six...
In January and February, the Canadian public watched as COVID-19 was announced in China. It spread to Italy, then to Germany, Spain, France, and then to the UK. The media, fascinated by the ratings they were receiving by covering the disease, relentlessly extolled the...
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...
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...
Section 125 of the Constitution Act, 1867, states: “No Lands or Property belonging to Canada or any Province shall be liable to Taxation.”1 This constitutional protection is at the center of many long standing arguments between the federal government and...
The challenge of getting modern telecommunications infrastructure to rural and remote regions is global. Many countries have programs to address this challenge. There is a World Rural Telecoms Congress and an association in the United States, NTCA—The...
Technological change is challenging traditional broadcasters, including the CBC. The status quo just will not fly. It is always difficult to start talking about changes to the CBC because of the political dynamic around the institution. In this case, technology is...
Executive Summary • Professor William Baumol coined the term “the cost disease” to indicate that the cost of consumer products has increased at the rate of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), while the cost of education and health care have increased at an exponential...
Executive Summary Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia taxpayers have faced a long-standing fiscal gap between the federal transfers they receive and the transfers they deserve based on their share of federal revenue. The gap between the winners and losers of...
Executive Summary Obsolete protectionist regulations are the reason Canadian employers are unable to employ more workers in the skilled trades, particularly Aboriginal workers. Canadian employers report difficulty in finding enough skilled workers and labour shortages...
Executive Summary • The Idle No More movement was motivated to a certain degree by opposition to imposed change. • First Nations have historically opposed imposed solutions. First Nations require a new approach. • Some of the most successful initiatives that benefit...
Introduction On 25th of September, the citizens of Regina will vote in a referendum for the first time in 20 years. The question? Whether the city should use a traditional contract to construct a new wastewater treatment plant or to proceed with the council’s...
In this policy study, Madsen examines a variety of indicators to ascertain the value of the Saskatchewan government owned SaskTel. Madsen follows well-established practices and methodologies that include two different approaches in order to gain an insight into the monetary worth of the Saskatchewan Crown Corporation. SaskTel is an historic Saskatchewan institution that has played a role in the development of the province. Established in 1908, communication in those days was not universal and did not always extend to every farm or hamlet. It could be very expensive and often impossible to get a telephone line, as well as quite expensive to keep one. The Internet, cellular telephony, cable television – even just television – had yet to be invented.