The Atlantic Institute for Market Studies hosted a panel discussion on Wednesday, February 11 at the World Trade and Convention Centre, which looked into issues that the OneNS commission identified and debated whether Nova Scotia’s economy was headed in the right direction. Panelist and AIMS board member Don Mills appeared on Global TV with AIMS President and CEO Marco Navarro-Genie to discuss the event.
The harsh reality is that the province may have little choice. Manitoba currently finds itself in a precarious fiscal situation. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation has calculated Manitoba’s debt to be exceeding $30 billion in 2013, with the present provincial government intent on adding another $24 billion in debt for Manitoba Hydro alone, this to build dams and transmission lines for shaky export markets against prevailing expert advice. A recent joint study by the Frontier Centre for Public Policy and the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies found that equalization payments to Manitoba are falling because fiscally challenged Ontario is increasingly crowding out the traditional have-nots at the federal transfer payment buffet table. The obvious answer is to bring, over time, provincial public sector employee complements down towards the national average sooner rather than later and save a very useful $2 billion annually.
Nova Scotia should cut its civil service and use the savings to help dig itself out of debt, says businessman and former Ivany report commissioner John Bragg. The province has 99 civil servants per 1,000 residents, well above the national average of 84 civil servants per 1,000 residents, Bragg said quoting a recent study prepared by the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies. Bragg offered the advice during a keynote address at an institute function in Halifax Wednesday evening that marked the one-year anniversary of the release of what has become known as the Ivany report. Its official title is Now or Never: an urgent call to action for Nova Scotians. “These are not easy issues to solve. They take fortitude and guts,” Bragg said.
In the year since the Ivany Commission told Nova Scotians that fundamental changes are needed to reverse the slide in the economy, critics say the government is "slow off the mark," implementing the changes. The report called "Now or Never: A Call to Action for Nova Scotians" made 19 recommendations that include boosting exports and the number of new businesses, as well as attracting more people to Nova Scotia. John Bragg is the founder and president of Oxford Frozen Foods, the world's largest blueberry producer, and a member of the Ivany Commission. He gave the keynote speech Wednesday night at an event called For the Love of Nova Scotia, hosted by the Atlantic Institute of Market Studies. Here's Bragg's assessment of what progress the province has made, one year later: "Well I'm not either satisfied or disappointed, but I do think we are slow off the mark," said the Cumberland County blueberry baron and owner of Eastlink Cable.
As Nova Scotians await Premier Stephen McNeil’s spring budget, a member of the Ivany commission has made a bold suggestion that the government must look at: cutting the size of the civil service. John Bragg, president and co-CEO of Oxford Frozen Foods Ltd., suggested the cuts Wednesday at an address to an Atlantic Institute for Market Studies (AIMS) event in Halifax. On the heels of the Ivany report — aptly titled Now or Never — we need bold action to reduce government costs. With a projected budget deficit of $220.6 million for 2014-15, a net debt of $14.8 billion, a stagnant economy, an aging population and rising costs, the province needs to figure out how to control spending. Governments commonly look to attrition to trim the public sector, but given the urgency of the challenges facing Nova Scotia, it may not be enough. Last year, AIMS released a report that said Nova Scotians have more civil servants, 99 per 1,000 residents, compared to the national average of 84 p
In a letter to the editor of the Province, an individual from British Columbia discusses an opinion piece published by AIMS Fellow in Education Policy Michael Zwaagstra.
Writing for the Pilot, Josh Pennell discusses an opinion piece authored by AIMS Fellow in Education Policy Michael Zwaagstra.
The Telegram's editorial board discusses an opinion piece authored recently by AIMS Fellow in Education Policy Michael Zwaagstra about no-zero education policies in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Writing for the Aurora Newspaper, Josh Pennell discusses a letter to the editor and an article quoting educator, author, and AIMS Fellow in Education Policy Michael Zwaagstra, who ridiculed the local policy of teachers not being able to give zeros or fail students for incomplete work.
AIMS Director of Research Ben Eisen participates in a debate on CBC's "The 180" about whether post-secondary education should be free in Canada. He argues that there are a number of harms associated with free tuition, namely the expense borne by taxpayers, and secondly, that removing a major source of funding from post-secondary institutions in the country may harm them.