Distorting the liquor market
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 [...]
Radio: First Nations Data
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 [...]
First Nations Tax Exemptions Worth Over $1 billion per year
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 [...]
Tim Hortons: the coffee giant needs a fix
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 [...]
Canada 150 a time for celebration and reflection
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 [...]
The Value of Tax Exemptions on First Nations Reserves
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 [...]
Radio: Tobacco Tax Exemptions (2)
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 [...]
Radio: Newfoundland Mill
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, [...]
Calorie counting is bad science
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, [...]
Let student enrolment determine teacher hires
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 [...]