Canadians have discovered a cheaper way to fly to the United States: Drive there first. Rising flight taxes and a strengthening Canadian dollar are pushing Canadians to begin their U.S.-bound trips on U.S. soil. Now airlines are rushing to meet the demand, adding service at small outposts along the border.
Worth A Look
Re – ‘Wildrose Proves Too Wild’, April 25
“Danielle Smith’s statement that “the science isn’t settled” on climate change was correct—scientifically. It should have been correct politically as well since it is a centrist position, respecting people on both sides of the very real and intense debate about the causes of climate change.”
How the Swiss ‘Debt Brake’ Tamed Government: Behold, a good idea from Europe: Spending in Switzerland can’t increase by more than trendline tax revenue.
Americans looking for a way to tame government profligacy should look to Switzerland. In 2001, 85% of its voters approved an initiative that effectively requires its central government spending to grow no faster than trendline revenue.
Don’t Nickel and Dime Our MPPs: Do we really want to pay 80-hour-a-week lesgislators less than a Fort Mcmurray truck driver?
Vic Fedeli is at his desk at the Ontario legislature by 7:30 every morning. Fedeli, 55, figures he works 80-90 hours a week, not including travel time. He’s paid $116,550 a year. That’s less than the chief librarian in Ajax, Ont., or a fire training officer in Brampton. And unlike his cohorts, there’s no fat pension waiting for the burnt-out politician when he retires.
Featured News
Canada in 2073—Will There Be One?
“Ahead, Thar Be Dragons.” The world of 2023 is a scary place. One major war is raging, with others probably on the way. The Pax Americana that has given us freedom of the seas and allowed global trade to flourish might be breaking down. International piracy,...
World Cries out for Canadian LNG, “No Business Case” Feds have Totally Failed Us
Today, Canada’s natural gas sector is seeing its decade of darkness due to federal policy. And it’s not because the opportunity wasn’t there. It was because our government allowed its ideology, and that of its anti-oil and gas friends (also known as protestors) to...
Did 2010’s Man of the Year Die in 1897?
“If you’re a renter who reads the newspapers, you have spent the last few years in a constant state of low-level anger at this “bizarre spectacle”—the unexamined assumption that perpetually escalating housing prices are the natural state of human affairs, and certainly a good enough proxy for economic health that the two quantities are freely interchangeable. How much more bizarre must it look in England?”
Taking Ownership Of Their Land
“The legislation is intended to help First Nations participate in the national economy on terms which most Canadians take for granted. However, participation will be optional. No one will be forced to do anything with their lands. Those of us who choose to participate will be able to escape the oversight of the Indian Act and actually take legal title to our own lands.”
Manitoba’s Immigration Record Hailed: Nominee plan envy of nation
“Manitoba’s provincial nominee immigration program has been a rousing success thus far but still has room for improvement, a new report concludes.”
Ottawa Overstimulates The Civil Service
“So who benefited most from Ottawa’s billions in stimulus spending over the past two years? Construction workers? Undoubtedly. Lots of public works projects have moved forward that otherwise may not have begun for many more years. And autoworkers? Indisputably. Without taxpayer bailouts, tens of thousands of auto and parts workers would have been out of jobs. Yet beyond these two sectors, there is little chance the billions poured down the drain had much impact on other sectors, especially small businesses.”
Avoiding the EI Tax-Hike Hammer
“Imagine your neighbour hits you in the head with a hammer, and then says you should be elated that he hit you only once because originally he had planned to hit you three times. This is the kind of argument Finance Minister Flaherty is using to sell his Employment Insurance (EI) tax hike planned for January 1st next year.”
Stop Giving $36B A Year To The Provinces: Less-centralized systems are more efficient
“Conservative MP Maxime Bernier argued that federal transfers to the provinces — especially in health and education — are inefficient, if not simply unconstitutional. He proposed to replace them with a transfer of tax points, allowing the provinces to occupy the fiscal room thus vacated.”
A Tale of Two Legacies; One Positive And Constructive, The Other Negative and Destructive
“As advisor and educator for farmers, foresters and other rural denizens, I found them more environmentally aware and concerned in practical ways than environmentalists. They live in the real world beyond the urban enclaves. They’re more aware and more concerned because it sustains them and their families.”
Voters Are Losing Their Interest in Climate Change
“It’s ironic that the United Nations should be hosting its latest climate negotiations in China. Not only is China now far and away the world’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide — believed by many (but not me) to cause global warming — China is also the main saboteur of negotiations for a deal to replace the Kyoto accords.”
Bernier Seeks End To $40-billion In Social, Health Transfers To Provinces
“Calling for an end to $40-billion in social and health transfers to the provinces, Maxime Bernier is criticizing his own government’s policies in areas of provincial jurisdiction and laying another plank in his platform for a future Conservative leadership bid.”