Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority (SLGA) is a provincially-owned Crown corporation. SLGA is responsible for the regulation and distribution of liquor, gaming, and as of recently, cannabis products in Saskatchewan. SLGA is responsible for managing most of the...
The Frontier Centre for Public Policy has just released No Easy Way to Pay the Ferryman: A Valuation of Marine Atlantic by Ian Madsen, a senior policy analyst with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. The paper conducts an in depth valuation of the alternative...
In addition to the various banks, non-bank financial institutions, alternative lending firms, and credit unions that Canadian farmers, food processors and agri-business firms may choose from, there is also a federal government Crown corporation they can borrow from:...
Many Crown corporations that were created by governments from long ago are beginning to show signs that they are no longer appropriate for life in evolving competitive markets. Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI), may be one of those corporations that has outlived...
Canada is struggling economically. From inflation and deficits to investment and employment, everything that should be up is down, and everything that should be down is up. One striking symptom of economic rot is household debt, which is rising faster than incomes....
Largely unique among state-owned enterprises, ‘SEOs’, worldwide, Canadian Crown corporations have two key advantages over current and future private sector competitors: non-taxable status and access to low-cost public sector borrowing rates. Other implicit edges...
With the imminent PST hike and the forced amalgamation of small municipalities dominating discussions about provincial politics, Manitoba Hydro has been pushed out of the limelight. That changed last week.
A Conversation on the Frontier with Graham Lane after his speech “Dam-nation: Rolling the Dice on Manitoba’s Future” on June 5, 2013 in Winnipeg.
Grabbing money with both hands (and not letting go) is the image that sums up the essence of what the California mega project to build a high speed train from Sacramento to San Diego is all about. Currently guesstimated at $68 billion, of which only $12 billion appear...
This report explores the Manitoba governments’ plans to spend a (presently) forecast of $33-billion, based on borrowing tens of billions in order to finance a massive expansion of hydro-electric capacity in the province, incurring risky liabilities that may bankrupt Manitoba in a not too distant future.
Introduction The Saskatchewan Transportation Company (STC) is the main provider of bus passenger transportation services in Saskatchewan. Formed in 1946, the company is one of the province’s original government-owned enterprises. Until the early 1980s, STC managed to...
Saskatchewan’s inter-city bus ridership levels have declined significantly over the last several decades, while subsidy levels have climbed to $10.5 million in 2012. Saskatchewan should follow states such as Washington, which has de-regulated fares and scheduling, while providing subsidies for unprofitable routes that are socially desirable through a least-cost system awarding routes to carriers willing to do so for the lowest subsidy level possible.
This recent turbulence in the skies is not restricted to Canada. Around the world, the airline industry is in a state of flux. This Backgrounder analyzes the growth challenges of Canadian airlines.
Today, the Frontier Centre for Public Policy issued The Canadian Air Industry and the Case of Porter Airlines, authored by Mary-Jane Bennett. There have been big changes in the Canadian aviation sector. Porter Airlines announced an ambitious expansion last month. WestJet, built on the low-cost model and now in the international market, announced the launch of subsidiary, Encore, to debut this summer. Legacy carrier Air Canada intends to launch its new subsidiary, rouge, this summer as well.
The Senate recently recommended that airport rents be phased out and ownership of Canada’s public airports be transferred to the non-profit corporations that now run them. Frontier’s Mary-Jane Bennett asserts that this is wrongheaded. Airports are publically owned and worth billions of dollars. They should not be transferred without fairly compensating Canadians.