The Cornerstone: The case for a regional transmission rate
In this presentation, Gordon L. Weil says the time has come to resume talks on a regional transmission rate for the Maritimes and part of New England.
Rules for Oil & Gas
The Newfoundland government should use the KISS rule while playing in the oil and gas field - 'Keep It Stable and Straightforward'. AIMS Fellow Peter Fenwick explains why in this commentary.
Making Atlantica Work
It is not an Atlantic Gateway strategy that will make a difference to Atlantic Canada, but Ottawa’s embrace of the international northeast economic region known as Atlantica. This commentary provides the steps that need to be taken to "Make Atlantica Work".
A New Year’s Make-Over for Federal Policy in Atlantic Canada
It's just days from the federal election, days of political promises and political finger-pointing. In this series of commentaries, AIMS lays out the public policy issues that will mean make a difference in Atlantic Canada. It is not a wish list for handouts or preferential treatment. Collectively they are a request that whoever forms the new government thoroughly scrutinize and quantify the actual effects of existing policies. We believe that such an examination will lead to the same conclusions that many authors published by AIMS have arrived at over the past several years.
Less is More When Governments Respond to Stephenville Mill Closure
The last ditch effort by the Newfoundland and Labrador government to keep the Stephenville mill open failed. That's not to say the government won't try to use millions of dollars to entice another operator to re-open it. In this commentary, Newfoundland's Peter Fenwick says there's a much better way to spend that money.
The Perils of Being a Poor Region in a Rich and Frightened Country
AIMS president Brian Lee Crowley took advantage of his invitation to present the Canada Seminar at Harvard University to examine existing federal public policy. He suggests Atlantic Canada has not caught up with the rest of Canada, not because of a lack of money, but because of the massive amounts of money thrown at it by Ottawa. In this Commentary, based on his Canada Seminar to Harvard University, Crowley explains how "bad politics and good intentions destroyed the Atlantic Canadian economy and what that tells us about Canada and its future".
Brain Drain or Brain Gain?
Emigration is a hot issue in rural communities around Atlantic Canada. Many a politician has fought an election on promises to bring the emigrants home. In this Commentary, Peter Fenwick, AIMS Fellow with responsibility for Fisheries and Issues in Newfoundland, takes a closer look at this philosophy.
NAFTA and Short Sea Shipping Corridors
This article identifies some of the critical limitations and impediments to further growth of short sea services in Canada and in transborder trade with the US, and identifies a number of questions policymakers need to answer. The article was prepared for the Study Group on Transportation, Logistics and Supply Chain Management sponsored by the PanAmerican Partnership for Business Education. The author, Dr. Mary Brooks, is with Dalhousie University and the article is based on work she conducted prior to 2005.
Which is more valuable, the paper or the power?
In this Commentary, AIMS Research Fellow Peter Fenwick asks what role the government should take in propping up uneconomic paper mills. His conclusion suggests the future product of such mills may be power, not paper.
Atlantica’s potential: A voice from the past provides a path for the future.
The Port of Halifax has the potential to be the gateway for Atlantica, a gateway of opportunity. In these remarks at Halifax Port Days, Norman Stark uses his knowledge as a former Halifax harbour master and his experience as head of the Vancouver Port Authority to point the way.