In 1994, the United States, Mexico and Canada created a free-trade region with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Considering the fact that the USA is the largest economy in the world (from 1994 to present), NAFTA was a true asset for the Canadian...
Recently, there has been an increasing clamour from some circles for imposing a wealth tax upon Canadians. The usual government-expanding social ‘democratic’ pressure and interest groups are especially enthused by the idea and also claim it is ‘popular’ among the...
Underneath all the media brouhaha and institutional focus on bitcoin, a struggle is brewing in the crypto world: which altcoin will pick up the baton? A fierce competition is underway for the podium, with Ethereum having a clear first-mover advantage. Bitcoin, as...
There is no mystery in why Canada has seen a record-setting housing spike in the past year: negative real interest rates and monetary debasement from federal deficits. Rather than considering fiscal austerity and getting inflation under control, Ottawa has opted to...
A few weeks ago, Albertans voted to reduce the inequities in the federal equalization program. The deficit between the dollars that leave to and come back from Ottawa has recently been as high as $27 billion in one year. During times of crisis, it feels like salt in...
One of the most widespread economic myths is that inflation—the reduced purchasing power of a currency—is a win for a nation, a sign of a booming economy. For the privileged classes in government and with initial access to monetary expansion, it is a win. For everyone...
In The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith described a smuggler as “a person who, though no doubt highly blameable for violating the laws of his country, is frequently incapable of violating those of natural justice, and would have been, in every respect, an excellent...
Legalize and tax marijuana and the budget will balance itself. Marijuana advocates from stoners to recreational users to the Prime Minister have tried to convince us of this for years. It makes some sense that a product so commonly used should be regulated, not...
Minimum wage hikes by provincial governments across Canada last year were sold as a policy to make life easier for workers. However, minimum wage advocates had overlooked some of the negative consequences of the policy, and are now prescribing yet more government...
British Columbia is hardly a tax haven in the mold of Panama; yet organized crime has still established a foothold for laundering, according to some estimates, $1 billion or more per year. Until last year, despite mounting activity, the problem flew under the radar....
No matter how far Venezuela sinks, there remain loyalists who deflect and deny, including plenty in Canada. These dogmatic adherents of authoritarian central planning foretell more Venezuelas to come. Bolivia under Evo Morales and Nicaragua under Daniel Ortega look to...
Your money is worth more to you today than tomorrow. This financial truth—the time value of money—backs the case for real-time pay, a nifty tool for the benefit of workers. Although Canadian unemployment is at a four-decade low, wage growth has stagnated and...
Ever since the oft-delayed rollout of legal recreational cannabis sales in Canada on October 17th, there have been problems across this vast and highly regulated land. The first is lack of product in nearly every province. The second is too few retail outlets for the...
Respect for taxpayers in Alberta has been eroding for more than twenty years. Albertans don’t just see it on their tax bills – they can hear it when politicians talk. Indeed, the budget speeches delivered annually by the finance minister provide some of the best...
For decades, politicians, pundits, and activists have clamoured about a “gender pay gap” and have cited statistics purporting to show that the economy is unfair to women, who get paid only around 70 to 80 cents for every dollar earned by men. And for just as long,...