At the end of August Finance Minister Travis Toews released his budget update, which was 20 pages doused from top to bottom in red ink. Albertans couldn’t afford our high-cost provincial government before the pandemic. And Toews’ budget update shows we definitely can’t afford our high-cost provincial government now. At $24 billion, this year’s deficit…
For every $1 invested in psychological services for depression, there’s a $2 return to society
Too often goes untold are the stories of thousands of people who die by suicide every year in Canada – our friends, relatives, colleagues and neighbours. What’s also not well documented is how frequently many of them may have struggled with depression, often for months or even years, and how many may have lacked adequate…
Any cuts must be made judiciously, taking into account the fact that services must be maintained at certain levels, says U of C report author
Short of imposing a sales tax, and hampered by low energy revenues, the Alberta government has few options for reducing expenditures and making a dent in it’s $8.8-billion deficit, says a new report by the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy. “The most obvious area for the new government to cut would therefore be…
We should be watching the case of B.C. clerk of the legislature Craig James and sergeant-at-arms Gary Lenz very carefully
As the old song says, “money makes the world go round” – at least on the level of material possessions. And money falls into two categories: ours and other people’s. Of course, we’re free to do whatever we wish with our money. We can spend it extravagantly. Or we can take care of it, spending…
Instead of climbing out of debt, federal and provincial governments are spending more, to the detriment of the economy
Recent employment data from Statistics Canada shows a troubling trend. In July, the ratio of private sector to public sector employees (excluding the self-employed) dipped to lows that – except for the period of massive ‘stimulus’ spending by the federal and provincial governments in 2009-10 – have not been seen since Canada’s fiscal crisis of…
Banning Quebec frontline civil servants from wearing religious symbols would show obstinate and dangerous secularism
Banning Quebec frontline civil servants from wearing religious symbols, as premier-designate François Legault intends to do, would be socially regressive. Imposing this kind of flinty and obstinate secularism squashes the very diversity most politicians claim to value and support. It’s also out of step with the growing awareness among the business community that religious diversity…Instead of a recovering private sector economy, Alberta has simply expanded its government sector
By Charles Lammam and Brennan Sorge The Fraser Institute Premier Rachel Notley’s government has repeatedly pointed to total employment figures as a sign that Alberta has recovered from the recent recession. For instance, the premier recently said “our economy is recovering … and created 90,000 new jobs last year.” But to better understand the state…
While the U.S. is curtailing the strength of such unions, Canadian government finances are stretched by the cost of public-sector workers
American taxpayers and workers won a big victory recently, with the United States Supreme Court ruling 5-4 in Janus versus American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) that government employees not part of a union could not be forced to pay union dues. Previously, government employees in 22 states were forced to pay…
Social assistance programs in Canada are falling behind. It's time we expanded basic coverage to include drug and dental care
By Arjumand Siddiqi and Odmaa Sod-Erdene University of Toronto Public health researchers have long known that poverty and poor health are linked, but new evidence suggests that social assistance – the government system designed to provide those in poverty with income support – is not succeeding at protecting health. Using data from national government surveys, we…
In British Columbia, independent schools outperform public schools in academic achievement
For some students, the end of the school year means saying goodbye to one school and hello to another, so it’s an opportune moment for parents to reflect on school choice. In British Columbia, independent schools – operating outside the public system – provide the bulk of educational choice. There are many benefits to the…