Manitoba Public Insurance, ‘MPI’, is the provincial government-owned motor vehicle insurance company in Manitoba. It could be worth as much as $3.24B were it divested; or, it could be worthless, as its chronic loss-making and cash burn make it unattractive. As a...
Using an intrinsic value method, and discounting to the present, British Columbia Liquor Distribution Branch’s (BCLDB) projected future free cash flows, as the company is today, but taxed at statutory rates, the range of estimates is $12.13B to $84.91B, with a tighter...
Using an intrinsic value method, and discounting to the present, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario’s, ‘LCBO’s’ projected future free cash flows, as the company is today, but taxed at statutory rates, the range of estimates is $12.13B to $84.91B, with a tighter range...
One of the biggest risks to taxpayers with Crown corporations is their dependence on government subsidy; and how vulnerable they are if such subsidies were ever to be reduced. Marine Atlantic Inc. monopolizes the market for passenger water transportation on the east...
For standards of living to grow, productivity growth must be strong and continually renewed. That is one notion that nearly all economists can agree on. So, it is not surprising that politicians scramble to discover new or not-so-new ways to boost productivity growth....
Behavioural psychologist Robert Epstein believes Google can and does influence voters and that research teams in Canada and elsewhere need to monitor how users are being swayed. Epstein, the former editor-in-chief of Psychology Today and founder of the American...
Financing infrastructure projects is typically a complex process, involving transfers between provinces, cities, and neighbourhoods. While it is possible (though not easy) to track transfers between provinces, it is difficult to track transfers between cities, and...
Joe Couture, The StarPhoenix, December 12, 2013 The latest transfer of cash from provincial coffers to the Saskatchewan Transportation Company is for a needed capital project, not increasing operating costs, according to the minister responsible, Don McMorris....
According to Auditor-General Michael Ferguson’s recently released Fall Report, “significant weaknesses” continue at Transport Canada. These weaknesses have been flagged for some time, dating back a dozen years to when the federal government adopted a new rail safety...
Rapid transit is a long standing topic of debate in Winnipeg. In the last municipal election, Mayor Sam Katz pledged his support for light rail transit (LRT), while runner up Judy Wasylycia-Leis supported bus rapid transit (BRT). Three years later, we have 3.6km of...
Executive Summary Since 2008, the United States has been developing important policy relating to risk in the transportation of dangerous goods by rail. The dialogue has not been restricted to the conventional corporate participants—the chemical producers and...
Since 2008, important policy debate has been developing in the United States on risk in the transportation of dangerous goods. The Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway (MMA) bankruptcy protection following the Lac-Mégantic disaster last summer provides an opportune...
With Manitoba Public Insurance's Marilyn McLaren having announced her intention to retire, the search for a new president will begin. Before determining the qualifications required, advertising the position and selecting the monopoly auto insurer's new leader, the NDP...
Many air travelers are understandably annoyed when they get bumped from a flight because the airline has overbooked. But it has become a necessary way of life, and it actually reduces the cost of flying for everyone. Air Canada and other airlines offer refundable...
Two energy sources dominate Manitoba's winter heating environment: hydro-generated electricity and natural gas. One, through the electricity grid, has been extended, assisted by significant government and ratepayer subsidies, to cover over 98 per cent of households....