Trudeau government just shrugs when asked what “significant labour market disruptions” actually means By Franco Terrazzano and Kris Sims Ottawa seems to have only one message about its Just Transition policy: “trust me.” How many people’s jobs are on the line? How much will it cost? Are the numbers bubbling up accurate? Those are big…
The salary value of the jobs under threat is worth about $219 billion annually When the federal government writes down its plans for Alberta, we should take a close look. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Just Transition plan could have a deep impact on Alberta’s energy, farming, construction and trucking. Details are murky, but based on…
Remember, the tax collectors’ objectives are at odds with taxpayers’ interests Nobody likes filing tax returns. Tracking down pay slips, filing away proofs for every deduction and filling out forms is very few people’s idea of a fun way to spend their time. Even worse is having to do it twice, if you happen to…
If there ever was a time for politicians to stop digging, it’s now It turns out endless spending does come with a hangover: soaring interest rates. Ontario’s finances have been awash in red ink since Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Junior was in diapers. Former premier Dalton McGuinty took over Queen’s Park and started Ontario’s debt…
Canadians are paying too much tax because the government wastes too much money Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to govern for “the middle class and those working hard to join it.” Canadians can be forgiven if we feel he’s forgotten that promise. Whether it’s the nurse working at the hospital, the mom who commutes to…
Taxpayers aren’t unlimited pools of cash In a rare show of unity, members of Parliament from all parties are angrily demanding answers about sky-high expenses racked up by Governor General Mary Simon and her team. Curiously, Rideau Hall’s rebuttal is essentially that the expenses are “not very extravagant.” [Emphasis added]. MPs haven’t bought that line…
Get ready for an economically challenging 2023 For economic prognosticators, the year that just ended threw up some big surprises, including the first land war in Europe since 1945, spiralling inflation, and a series of rapid-fire interest rate increases as panicked central bankers rushed to tame soaring prices. Few, if any, forecasters anticipated these developments…
Ottawa’s culture of frivolous spending and never-ending deficits needs to end The federal government is already on track to blow its budget by $20 billion. That’s astonishing when we’re only about halfway through the budget year. But here’s the most amazing part: Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland called her fiscal update “prudent.” Freeland said the government…
The UK government will not be truly sovereign until it is able to recover its full monetary sovereignty
Whatever you might think of events in the UK these past weeks, it’s clear that Brexit is far from complete: The government of the United Kingdom remains subject to the sovereign will of financial markets – the real power in Britain. Prime minister Liz Truss’s stunning demise demonstrates that, despite gaining significant political sovereignty in…
It’s time for Ottawa politicians to take deficits seriously again
There’s finally some good news for taxpayers: Instead of balancing the budget in 2070, the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s numbers now show Canadians can look forward to a balanced budget in only … wait for it … 20 years. Last year the Canadians Taxpayers Federation used PBO data to show the feds wouldn’t balance the budget…