Tom Flanagan, the University of Calgary professor who has worked for Wildrose and the federal Conservatives, has called Alberta’s election finance law “embarrassing … the fiscal foundation of the one-party system.” The Frontier Centre of Public Policy argued for more transparency. The Parkland Institute wants the donation limit slashed to something like the federal limit of about $1,100.
Media Appearances
Hydro Revenue Review Off the Table
A July presentation to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty suggesting the government is committed to a full-scale review of how it addresses hydroelectricity revenues in the equalization formula is not under active consideration, the Finance Department said Thursday.
Equalization Isn’t Equal
Mention the subject of federal transfer payments, and most people’s eyes will glaze over. Mention that taxpayers in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario are net contributors to federal transfer payments – even though the cost of living is highest in those provinces, and lowest in the provinces that receive the bulk of federal transfer payments – and you might get people’s attention.
Ross Sheppard Principal Lashes Out at Media, says He did Nothing Wrong Bringing in ‘No Zeros’ Policy
In face of massive parental discontent with “No Zeros” policy, a defiant Ron Bradley blames media, saying it “deteriorated to the quality of pulp fiction.”
Featured News
No Evidence of Climate Crisis
In his annual State of the Climate report published on April 14, 2022, Dr. Ole Humlum, Emeritus Professor at the University of Oslo, examined detailed patterns in temperature changes in the atmosphere and oceans together with trends in climate impacts. Many of these...
It Is Time to Move On
I wrote an opinion column immediately following the May 27, 2021 announcement of the “shocking discovery of 215 bodies found in a mass grave at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.” In that column, I correctly stressed the need to wait for real...
Want to Enjoy Great Wages and Job Security?: Join the civil service and you’re set for your working life
A new study from the Winnipeg based Frontier Centre for Public Policy reveals that between 1998 and 2009 average weekly wages for federal public servants grew by 59 per cent; for their provincial counterparts, by 55 per cent. (The groups cited include bureaucrats, but not teachers, nurses, doctors and Crown corporation staff.)
Civil Servants Paid Too Much: Wages and perks for public employees too high
Public sector union leaders insist there’s nothing cushy about life as a bureaucrat, despite a new report that shows that the increases in wages of federal and provincial employees in the past decade was nearly twice those in the private sector.
A Transfer System That’s Far From Equal
On Tuesday, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce attacked fiscal federalism, claiming that Canada’s complex system of transfers and equalization payments robs Ontario taxpayers and diminishes national productivity.
Civil Servant Wages Rose at Nearly Double Average Rate
Wage increases doled out to federal and provincial public servants have nearly doubled those given to private-sector employees in the past decade, according to a new report that calls on governments to take a closer look at efficiency among their ranks of workers.
786 Square Feet in Canada’s Second-Least Affordable City
For decades, conventional wisdom said your house should cost about 2 1 /2 times your family income. But a study released by the Frontier Centre for Public Policy two weeks ago showed the Canadian average price-to-income ratio is now 4.6 to one.
Accountability Framework: Have we arrived there yet?
A few weeks ago I made reference to the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. It has come up with a national Municipality Transparency Index. Saint John was rated last on a list of 133 cities. Armed with awareness I decided to spend a bit of time digging through the City of Saint John’s website in an effort to become more enlightened.
The ‘Urban Legend’ of Climate Change
Frontier Centre in the media from the National Post.
B.C. Cities Are World-Class in Their Lack of Affordability: Vancouver, Victoria, Abbotsford and Kelowna all rank high on a global list of ‘severely unaffordable’ communities
Frontier Centre in the media from the Vancouver Sun.
Housing Here Among World’s Most Affordable: Real estate in Saint John, Fredericton and Moncton ranked with six other Canadian markets in international prices survey
Frontier Centre in the media from the Times & Transcript (Moncton).