“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,...
Executive Summary The various federal political parties are all promoting the policy agendas they believe will foster a sustainably high quality of life for all Canadians. It remains to be seen whether they will attain the success that they aim to achieve. In some...
Anyone who thinks of the word Alberta will likely say, oh, yes, that’s an area in the western part of Canada —a Province of Canada. I think that is how it is known now. Constitutionally it is a Province of Canada. There are no other Constitutions of this nature to...
Because the Federal Government and the Provincial Governments of Canada have allowed the Constitution‘s separation of powers outlined in Section 92 of the BNA Act to be blurred —disfigured. Section 92(7) outlines exclusive jurisdiction over health to be provincial....
The indictment of former U.S. president Donald Trump for crimes invented by his political opponents is the most egregious example yet seen of the weaponizing of the law. The United States is now full of examples. However, in Canada, we also see the law being...
OTTAWA, REGINA - Last week, two things happened that could have profound impacts on natural resources development in Saskatchewan. One is a hint the federal government might want to take control of natural resources away from the provinces, and the other is the...
Equalization diminishes productivity, hinders sustainable economic development, and lacks accountability and transparency. The federal government transfers billions of dollars in Equalization to provinces each year without evaluating whether the transfers achieve the...
The controversies that have erupted over equalization in recent days must seem tiresome to many Canadians. Our national debates on equalization have been marked by conflict, obscure technical jargon, little research on the impact of the program, excessive vitriol and...
Canada Should Fix Equalization and Other Regional Subsidies Now, the latest study by the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies and the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, demonstrates how equalization is unfair, diminishes productivity, holds back economic development,...
Deplorably, the federal government recently announced it was renewing the current equalization system in Canada. I say “deplorably” because the evidence is mounting that equalization is a millstone around the neck of the less-developed provinces seeking to escape...
The Frontier Centre's David MacKinnon and why Canada's "have" provinces are getting a raw deal when it comes to equalization.
Day 13 - Advent is the season of preparing for Christmas. Here at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy we want to tell you about some of the things we would like to see under our tree. On Day 13 we would like to see transformative, “out of the box” reform of...
David MacKinnon February 2, 2017 In recent months, several commentators have been recommending that other countries adopt equalization and other Canadian-style regional subsidies. They argue that this would help avoid the political stresses that the American rustbelt...
In the fall of 2014, the government of Nova Scotia banned hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking. Fracking could have developed industries and created jobs and wealth in the province. This could have ended Nova Scotia’s long standing status as a...
Manitoba and the three Maritime provinces who rely on equalization payments as a source of revenue are getting a lot less than they used to. Equalization payments as a share of GDP have been declining significantly in all four provinces since 2009. In Manitoba, this...