Are we running out of oil?
Are we running out of oil? A breakfast with Dr. G. Campbell Watkins
AIMS Online May 27, 2004
What the east coast has to teach the west coast about offshore oil and gas, EI and Seasonal Workers, more response to AIMS’ paper You Can Get There From Here and looks at electoral possibilities in La Presse.
EI should be phased out over 10 years
AIMS President Brian Lee Crowley says seasonal workers on employment insurance should acquire new skills and find extra work in the off-season, instead of relying on federal handouts. He says the EI benefits for seasonal workers should be phased out over the next five to 10 years.
Atlantic Canada’s dole rots the soul
A cardinal rule of economics says if you subsidize something, you'll get more of it. An election-bound federal government recently announced they were adding a further $300-million of your tax dollars to subsidize seasonal work with Employment Insurance. What can we expect as a result? More such work will be created. In this column for the National Post, AIMS president Brian Lee Crowley calls into question the federal government's perverse policy of making access to EI easier for seasonal workers, and extending the period of time during which they can collect benefits.
EI and Seasonal Workers: Another tragedy of every day life
American playwright Eugene O'Neil is best known for poignant tragedies of everyday life in first half of the 20th century America. Sixty years later, O'Neil's words resonate as another modern day tragedy plays out in Atlantic Canada. Recently New Brunswick MP Dominic Leblanc announced on behalf of the election-bound federal government that seasonal workers would be rewarded even more richly for not working. As Brian Lee Crowley writes in his regular column for the Halifax Chronicle Herald and Moncton Times and Transcript, who knew that O'Neil could be talking about Employment Insurance policy when he wrote "There is no present or future - only the past happening over and over again"?
Gouvernement minoritaire: Où est l’intérêt public? – AIMS dans La Presse
Les gouvernements minoritaires sont le rêve de ceux qui mangent de la politique et c'est pourquoi les intellectuels qui s'écoutent parler les adorent. Mais ils confondent leur propre plaisir avec l'intérêt public. Lorsque vous êtes le premier ministre d'un gouvernement majoritaire, chaque décision que vous prenez vous définit et définit votre gouvernement en opposition aux autres partis. Vous faites vos choix et votre réputation se bâtit en conséquence. L'opposition vous critique en raison de ces choix. Elle devient connue pour les solutions de rechange qu'elle propose. Mais les gouvernements minoritaires sont toujours en train de négocier avec les autres partis en vue du prochain vote au parlement. Le maquignonnage en coulisses prospère. Les partis d'opposition obligent le gouvernement à renoncer à certaines de ses priorités au profit des leurs. Ceux qui se réjouissent à la perspective d'un gouvernement minoritaire à Ottawa devraient faire bien attention à leurs souhaits.
Nation States and Economic Regions in the Global Network
AIMS, together with a coalition of community representatives from around the International Northeast Economic Region (or “Atlantica”), is partnering with Mr. Gallis to identify this cross-border region’s potential and how we might organise ourselves to best take advantage of it.
AIMS Online May 13, 2004
Atlantica: Moncton’s New Neighbourhood in the Global Economy. AIMS addresses Greater Moncton Chamber’s AGM, Five Big Ideas: AIMS’ Roadmap for Atlantic Prosperity, Brian Lee Crowley's commentary in the National Post on Canada's first aboriginal-run MRI clinic and more.
AIMS’ Response Page for You Can Get There From Here
You Can Get There From Here is an invitation to all federal political parties to re-examine their past policies and declare how they intend to bring Atlantic Canada back into the nation’s economic mainstream.
Are user fees a good idea?
Recent decisions by many governments in Canada to increase and expand user fees are coming under scrutiny. There are good arguments in favour of user fees, but that doesn’t mean that all user fees are justified, or that the ones that are justified are set at the right level. Do these fees accurately reflect the value of the services provided or are they simply another cash grab by governments that cannot rein in their spending? In his weekly column in the Chronicle Herald and Times and Transcript, AIMS president Brian Lee Crowley examines user fees and why the people who pay them should demand transparency and accountability in the fee-setting process.