Unfortunately, government hiring rules and public sector unions make it hard to leverage the gig economy
My landlord friend had a problem and the solution was so novel he had to tell me about it. He lives in Winnipeg but his house tenant in Regina couldn’t remove snow from the property. Not long ago, finding someone to deal with that might have been difficult or expensive, especially if a long-term arrangement…
Portuguese court finds that the test, in itself, is unable to determine, beyond a reasonable doubt, that a person is infected
Every day, the news tells us about new COVID-19 positive test results. But are they reliable? Kary Mullis, the late inventor of the diagnostic test for SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind COVID-19, explained how his test could be misused. So did a Portuguese court that ruled a positive test is an insufficient basis to isolate or…
Nova Scotia is envied for its commitment to the environment. But it must also more aggressively encourage resources and startups
The Nova Scotia Liberal Party has chosen a new leader so it’s important to think about the policy priorities of the province’s new premier, Iain Rankin. Although an election doesn’t need to be held until spring 2022, Elections Nova Scotia is already preparing for one as early as April 1 of this year. The premier…
The pandemic has plunged the West into a state of fear, with more people willing to accept greater government interference
In his first days in office, President Joe Biden rescinded a Donald Trump-era order that restricted the United States government’s use of diversity training to examine issues around race and gender bias, and systemic racism. In doing so, he will be advancing radical and divisive racial politics that have plagued his Democratic Party and popular…
Non-Indigenous fishers in Atlantic region need not be worried that Indigenous rights will come at the expense of conservation
A dispute in Ontario may help us understand ongoing tensions over the lobster fisheries on the East Coast and offer a solution. The war over Indigenous fishing rights has played out before in Canada. As we reflect on recent violence in Nova Scotia over the lobster fisheries, it’s important to know if there are any…
Stephanie Kelton, in her book The Deficit Myth, maintains that government deficits don't matter. She's wrong
By Morris Dorish Research associate Frontier Centre for Public Policy Author Stephanie Kelton’s main point in The Deficit Myth is that federal deficits are not only harmless but highly desirable as devices to accelerate economic activity and resolve economic inequality. She’s wrong. Government finance is not like other finance, she maintains. Governments are issuers of…
2021 perfect opportunity for the feds to demonstrate its commitment to a sector critical to the Canadian prosperity
If only the federal government would put its full force behind the energy sector, as it does other critical sectors in the economy. In early October, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he wouldn’t back down from the latest American round of attacks on Canada’s softwood lumber industry. Then, the federal government announced it would pursue…
Our speak softly and carry a limp stick approach has had no effect other than to embolden Communist China
For centuries, Arab states across North Africa made fortunes from piracy. Now in the 21st century, a new pirate state is taking prisoners and holding them for ransom. In the past, raiding the coasts of Spain and Italy, scouring the Mediterranean and ravaging into the Atlantic as far as Iceland, Barbary corsairs captured over a…
The stakeholder-shareholder debate in finance has narrowed down to a false dichotomy between good capitalism and bad capitalism. Good capitalism means funding green energy to fight global warming, while bad capitalism means investing in fossil fuels, tobacco, or other “sin stocks.” However, the economic downturn should be a wake-up call to investors regarding the hidden…
Are politicians following the data or their pride?
When the British government revealed the existence of a new strain of COVID-19 just before Christmas, it proved an effective way for the prime minister to enforce strict Tier 4 lockdown measures on much of the south of England with minimal fuss. It also very quickly isolated the United Kingdom from the rest of the…