Leaving huge bills for future generations to pay
By Jason Clemens and Jake Fuss The Fraser Institute Since coming to power in 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his finance ministers have characterized their management of federal finances as “prudent,” an adjective meaning to act with or show care and thought for the future. Acting prudently would mean being judicious about borrowing and debt.…
Federal government’s ongoing refusal to deliver a full budget another example of it avoiding accountability
By Jason Clemens and Jake Fuss The Fraser Institute According to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, on Monday the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will provide an update on its 2020 spending. But the government hasn’t delivered a full federal budget since March 2019, more than 20 months ago. That demonstrates little regard for democratic…
By Alex Whalen and Jake Fuss The Fraser Institute New Brunswick faces a large budget deficit and rising provincial debt, thanks to the pandemic – and subsequent increased government spending, a shrinking economy and lower projected government revenues. It’s a situation mirrored in provinces across Canada. More important than this year’s deficit, however, are the…
Analysis shows Alberta must significantly reduce spending relative to the size of the economy or raise taxes
By Tegan Hill and Ben Eisen The Fraser Institute The Alberta government will release a three-year fiscal update later this month, and will be tempted to blame the province’s fiscal challenges on COVID-19. In reality, Alberta’s finances were unsustainable long before the pandemic hit. While the COVID-19-induced recession has certainly contributed to the province’s eye-popping…
Canadians love receiving government largesse, as long as someone else is paying for it, even if it is their kids
By Jason Clemens and Milagros Palacios The Fraser Institute Pulitzer Prize-winning author George Will has repeatedly argued that, contrary to conventional wisdom, there is enormous consensus in Washington, D.C. – borrow today to finance spending and tax cuts but leave the costs (i.e. taxes) to the next generation. There are increasing signs that Canadians are…
Rather than covering every Canadian for drugs they can already afford, we should focus on those who fall through the cracks
With fears related to COVID-19 and the economy running high, a new poll by the Angus Reid Institute reveals near universal support for some sort of public pharmacare plan. However, it also inadvertently revealed that, despite such support, most Canadians don’t actually need it. Conducted in partnership with a list of experts who have long…
By Niels Veldhuis and Jason Clemens The Fraser Institute Much ink has been spilled on the narrative that millennials and other future generations of Canadians may experience lower living standards than preceding generations. A recent study on wealth inequality, however, challenges this narrative. In reality, from 2010 to 2019, millennials have enjoyed greater increases in…
In a recent New York Times opinion piece, Regina Ip, a member of Hong Kong’s Executive Council (essentially the cabinet of Hong Kong’s government), defended the Chinese Communist Party’s attack on freedom in Hong Kong. In an apparent attempt to bolster her argument, she noted Hong Kong’s top rating in the Economic Freedom of the…
Plan requiring projects to describe how they will achieve net-zero emissions may not even be feasible
By Alex Whalen and Elmira Aliakbari The Fraser Institute Newfoundland and Labrador’s energy sector, already struggling from the downturn in world oil markets and the COVID-19 recession, has taken another blow – this time directly from the federal government. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently imposed new rules – known as the…
With escalating spending and a shrinking private sector due to the pandemic, Nova Scotia’s large government is a growing concern
By Alex Whalen and Steve Globerman The Fraser Institute The COVID-19 outbreak and economic downturn have produced a dramatic increase in government spending across the country. The federal and provincial governments have rolled out a variety of programs aimed to support businesses and individuals through these tumultuous times, in addition to extra public health-related expenses.…