Holding line on P.E.I.’s education spending
By JACKSON DOUGHART (Policy Analyst) and JOHN WILLIAMSON (Vice President of Research) • Charlottetown Guardian, 19 Sep 2016 For provincial governments, controlling spending requires discipline. But the payoff is more efficient social programs, a better public sector and a stronger economy with more people working. One avenue of uncontrolled spending is education. A new report, entitled “Education Spending & Public [...]
Radio: Education Methods
Education experts agree: critical thinking is an essential skill for today’s students. But to instill this ability in our children, we can’t abandon tools that are proven effective. Traditional education approaches focus on producing competent teachers, serious content, and rigour from children. But these ideas have fallen out of fashion. So-called “student-centred” methods imagine that critical thinking can [...]
Education spending in New Brunswick gets an F
By JOHN WILLIAMSON (Vice President of Research) • Telegraph-Journal, 14 Sep 2016 The New Brunswick government released its budget update two weeks ago. The picture isn’t pretty. The province will borrow more money because expenditures increased faster than anticipated. Once again, we are reminded the government has a spending problem. Since 2005, New Brunswick’s program spending has swelled a staggering [...]
Government must push forward with Energy East process
By JACKSON DOUGHART (Policy Analyst) 12 Sep 2016 From the Charlottetown Guardian and the Journal-Pioneer. Progress on the Energy East pipeline is stalling. The National Energy Board recently cancelled a scheduled week of hearings into the project in Montreal, citing security concerns from environmentalist demonstrations. More successes from Energy East opponents could jeopardize the project to bring oil from Alberta [...]
It’s time to rally behind Canada’s oil and gas sector
By ROBERT ROACH (Senior Fellow) 10 Sep 2016 From Troy Media. Was Ontario's auto sector in worse shape during the global financial meltdown of 2009 than Alberta's energy patch was during the global oil glut of 2015? An internal federal government memo recently uncovered by the Canadian Press suggests it was. But which sector faced more pain (keeping in mind [...]
Beer and taxes – lessons for government
By JOHN WILLIAMSON (Vice President of Research) 02 Sep 2016 Lower beer prices from New Brunswick Liquor have produced greater sales. This is how markets work, and not just for alcohol purchases. When government taxes investment highly, it suppresses investment overall. Accordingly, governments could spur economic growth by lowering taxes. Read this article on the Telegraph-Journal website. Beer sales and [...]