By PATRICK LUCIANI (AIMS Senior Fellow) Shopping at the LCBO, Ontario’s government-owned alcohol-retailing monopoly, is like buying liquor from a bank. The only difference is that bank tellers are nicer. It's never fun buying wine and beer from bureaucrats. It’s better than it was in the ’70s, but lousy just the same. Ontario's wine producers [...]
To debate policy issues, it is vital that government make data easily accessible to the public. Many government records are published openly, while others can be attained through information requests. Unfortunately, Nova Scotia keeps poor records for tax exemptions on First Nations reserves. It is the only provincial jurisdiction that does not have [...]
By LEE HARDING (AIMS Author) First Nations populations and on-reserve commerce are growing faster than the Canadian average. This growth should be welcomed by the rest of the Canadian family, save for one problem: unjustified tax exemptions for on-reserve commerce and individuals. Loopholes included in the Indian Act mean that government does not tax any [...]
By SYLVAIN CHARLEBOIS (AIMS Senior Fellow) Troy Media, 01 July 2017 Tim Horton’s is slowly becoming a classic case of a completely dysfunctional franchise system. Franchisees on both sides of the border are now pressuring Restaurant Brands International Inc. (RBI), the new owners of the franchise, to ease up on its increasingly strict rules around [...]
By MARCO NAVARRO-GÉNIE (President of AIMS) On its 150th birthday this weekend, Canadians celebrate their peaceful and prosperous country. It is also special occasion for those of us, born elsewhere, who have adopted Canada as our home. We especially know the gifts of Canada in contrast to other, less-stable places. Canada 150 is a time [...]
All Canadian provinces face mounting health expenditures, owing in part to the cost of tobacco smoking. Yet, tobacco sold on First Nations reserves is not subject to taxes, unlike off-reserve purchases. Even though exemptions are not enshrined in the constitution or in any treaty with aboriginals, they are a loophole in the tax system. According [...]
Federal and provincial legislation exempts First Nations reserves from several forms of taxation. Unfortunately, most governments have not examined the cost of this policy, estimated at $1.3 billion across Canada. The largest tax exemption, is for tobacco. From PEI reserves in 2015, the value of the cigarette loophole was over a million dollars, [...]
In a new deal, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador will help to fund employee pensions at the Corner Brook paper mill. It's the latest in a string of deals for the mill, worth some some 250-million dollars. In this case, government intentions are good, but mistaken. The litany of failed businesses that [...]
By PATRICK LUCIANI (AIMS Senior Fellow) Financial Post, 19 June 2017 Ontario is forcing restaurants to post calorie counts when studies show that doesn’t work in getting people to eat healthy or lose weight Last month, after Ontario mandated calorie counting on restaurant menus, Freshii Inc., the Toronto-based salads-soups-and-wraps healthy-eating chain, balked. The chain’s motto is [...]
By MICHAEL ZWAAGSTRA (AIMS Research Fellow) The Guardian, 15 June 2017 Journal Pioneer, 16 June 2017 Troy Media, 19 June 2017 There have been many twists and turns in the P.E.I. education system these past few weeks. Pending teacher cuts gave way to an increase of 27 full-time equivalent teaching positions across the Island. Unfortunately, this [...]