Atlantic Institute For Market Studies Weighs In On Film Tax Credit Cuts
Global's Marieke Walsh talks to Marco Navarro-Genie of the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies about the impact of cuts to the Nova Scotia film tax credit.
John Risley Calls Film Tax Credit ‘Nuts,’ Backs Government Changes
John Risley Calls Film Tax Credit 'Nuts,' Backs Government Changes Seafood baron John Risley, president of Clearwater Fine Foods Inc., says he's been watching the debate unfold "with dismay" as those opposed to the cut warned of "Armageddon" and a "tidal wave" of job losses. While many working in film have warned the changes will gut the industry, the head of think tank Atlantic Institute for Market Studies says there's been no independent analysis of whether the subsidy works. There are numbers being thrown left, right and centre. None of these are independent numbers," Marco Navarro Genie, the president of the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies. He said the film tax credit is essentially "free money." He also says productions can film here, but take advantage of other lower cost jurisdictions for pre and post production and still receive the Nova Scotia tax credit.
Film Tax Credit Cuts Make Sense, Halifax Think Tank Says
Film tax credit cuts make sense, Halifax think tank says Not government’s job ‘to prop up businesses’ The provincial government shouldn’t back down on cuts to the Nova Scotia film tax credit, the head of a Halifax-based economic think tank said Wednesday. “The business of government is not to prop up businesses,” said Marco Navarro-Genie, president and CEO of the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies. “It’s to run a government.” “The real point ought to be whether government should be engaged in doling out public money to money-making industries,” he said. “It’s not government’s place.” Navarro-Genie said government shouldn’t cherry pick industries to subsidize, essentially choosing winners and losers. Instead, he said the province should tally up all the subsidies offered to industry and invest the money into an across-the-board tax cut. He said this would be more fair as it would put all industry on equal footing.
Grid Deal With N.B. Won’t Include Nuclear Power
Nova Scotia won’t be getting nuclear power from New Brunswick, even though the two provinces have just hitched their electrical grids together, an NB Power official says. A Maine energy expert said he thinks joint dispatch will save money and end up being expanded to include Newfoundland and Labrador. “At the point that the Maritime Link is completed, the capacity on the Nova Scotia-New Brunswick line automatically increases without any new hardware,” Gordon Weil said from Harpswell, Maine. “That will improve the operation of an agreement like this.” Weil, a senior fellow on electricity policy forWeil, a senior fellow on electricity policy for the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies in Halifax, said co-op dispatch is similar to the regional power pool for which he’s advocated. “There is no reason why this shouldn’t work and continue to work. And, eventually, I think there will be incentives to increase the ties among the provinces so that more power can be shared.”
School Closure Policy Unlikely to Change
Jacques Poitras (CBC News), discusses different viewpoints of policy 409 and school closures. The Rural Schools Coalition wants the government to suspend policy 409, but Minister Rousselle suggests that the government has to respect the policy
Radio Interview with AIMS Fellow Michael Zwaagstra on Report Cards
News 95.7, The Rick Howe Show interviews AIMS Fellow Michael Zwaagstra discussing teacher’s comments section of report cards.
Public Sector Wage Restraint Should Top Whalen’s To-Do List
Bill Black discusses the upcoming budget and the size of Nova Scotia’s public sector. “Civil Servants: As argued by AIMS and others, the number needs to be reduced. This will only happen if the government has specific plans to simplify or eliminate activities, and can identify the particular departments where savings are to be achieved”.
Nova Scotia Can Find Efficiencies in the Size of Its Public Sector
AIMS President & CEO Marco Navarro Genie discusses how bringing the public sector in Nova Scotia to the Canadian average should be one of the important considerations to reduce spending in the approaching budget, based on findings from a recent AIMS report.
Report Cards: Teachers Should Be Free To Say What They Really Think
AIMS Fellow Michael Zwaagstra discusses how teachers should be able to say what they think when writing report cards, and suggests that Minister Casey needs to reject her departments ideology and empower teachers to use their own judgement.
How the Maritimes Became Canada’s Incredible Shrinking Region
John Ibbitson writes about how the Maritimes became Canada’s incredible shrinking region. After decades of declining fortunes, the Maritime provinces now find themselves trapped in what one observer describes as “a perfect storm” of economic and demographic decline. But the real problem is the makeup of the population that remains. Every year – due to a weakening economy, a dearth of immigrants, and a population reluctant to face these problems – there are fewer workers to pay taxes and more old people in need of government services.