Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a recent rush visit to the Saskatchewan Research Council’s experimental rare earth refining facility in Saskatoon. He touted his government’s efforts to promote rare earth discovery, development, and extraction, along with the...
Back in the lofty, pre-Justin Trudeau government days of 2014, back when oil was booming, pipelines were planned to east and west coasts, and Alberta and Saskatchewan were swimming in money, around $81 billion was spent in capital expenditures (CAPEX) in the Canadian...
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...
The adoption of Environmental, Social and Governance, ‘ESG’, standards by institutional investors is meant to cajole, if not compel, investible companies to adhere to rigid rules and criteria established by investors or outside entities, such as consultants to satisfy...
Those of you who are tired of my rants about the demise of our once great health system will be pleased to know that this is my last editorial. I am retiring from the BCMJ Editorial Board; currently, I am the longest-serving member (more than 20 years). I have been a...
Back in the lofty, pre-Justin Trudeau government days of 2014, back when oil was booming, pipelines were planned to east and west coasts, and Alberta and Saskatchewan were swimming in money, around $81 billion was spent in capital expenditures (CAPEX) in the Canadian...
A recent story about Brooklyn based Kings County Jerky provides a wonderful illustration of how subsidy programs can go awry. The artisanal beef jerky producers have made such a name for themselves that they have to expand production. One might expect this to be the...
A few months ago I wrote a piece for the Huffington Post on the political overreaction to a few deaths in the United States that were connected to energy drink consumption. Despite the fact that only 5 people in the United States have died after consuming energy drinks — due to pre-existing conditions — many politicians have decided that cracking down on caffeine is an appropriate regulatory response.
The Manitoba government has decided to increase the price of a 24 pack of beer by $3.90. For those who consume a case per month, that is the equivalent of a $46.80 tax increase per year. While some level of “sin tax” on alcoholic beverages may be warranted (particularly with liquors 70 proof and above), Manitobans already pay an immense premium for beer.
Cheap U.S. natural gas has some envisioning the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge as an “American Ruhr.” Much of this growth, notes Eric Smith, associate director of the Tulane Energy Institute, will be financed by German and other European firms that are reeling from electricity costs now three times higher than in places like Louisiana.
Red tape reduction is not an exclusively Canadian phenomenon, and targets are repeatedly set around the world to reduce administration and regulation. However, the actions taken to meet these targets are not working.
The underlying assumption at all such U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) events is that a man-made climate crisis is looming and nothing less than a revolution in the way we generate energy is urgently needed to “save the planet.” No matter what direction science and technology is actually headed, no UN delegate dare oppose this, the UNFCCC creed.
Jack Mintz generally agrees with the governments new policy framework. In his commentary, Jack presents a position that management control by SOE can lead to reduced economic performance.
Ontario has long had a puritanical streak that vexes observers. This is most evident in the way that the provincial government treats alcohol. The province still has a government run liquor monopoly — the Liquor Control Board of Ontario — which was set up to transition the province out of prohibition, and grants the Molson-Labatt owned Beer Store a virtual monopoly over beer. The drinking age remains 19, high by international standards, and the 2am last call remains in place (believe it or not, it was 1am until Mike Harris’ government). While the latter may seem normal by North Ameican standards, it seems odd that a major world city such as Toronto has to tell it’s adult residents and tourists to kindly go to bed at 2am. If the above hasn’t convinced you that Ontario politicians have a puritanical attitude towards liquor, consider this: happy hour is illegal in Ontario.
While the provincial government seems reluctant to make changes that will reduce the cost of alcohol, wine, or beer, they have introduced some modest changes to update the provinces out of date liquor laws.