Keeping families and jobs in rural Canada is not easy. Proposed changes to capital gains rules would make it harder for a family member to keep the family farm, according to AIMS senior fellow Sylvain Charlebois. Many wonder how values embedded in everything the family business does can survive if the next generation [...]
By SYLVAIN CHARLEBOIS (AIMS Senior Fellow) Canadian Investment,11 August 2017 Exchange Magazine,15 August 2017 The Guardian,14 August 2017 Canada’s supply management system is a textbook case for food sovereignty. But the social contract the system represents may need to be redrafted as we head toward North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) renegotiations. Supply management is [...]
By Matthew Lau (AIMS Author) and Marco Navarro-Génie (AIMS President) Daily Gleaner, 27 July 2017 Huddle, 27 July 2017 Matthew Lau and Marco Navarro-Génie are co-authors of the AIMS study "Revisiting the Minimum Wage in Atlantic Canada." High unemployment in Atlantic Canada is a long-standing problem. For over four decades, unemployment rates in the Atlantic Province have [...]
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 [...]
During the provincial election campaign, political parties in Nova Scotia presented their policy platforms, which detailed a governing agenda for the next four years. For the first time, the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies has released its own document, listing non-partisan policy proposals for the province's next government. Gleaned from interviews with [...]
HALIFAX, NS – The Atlantic Institute for Market Studies (AIMS) today released a public policy study concerning investment trends in Atlantic Canada. Private Sector Investment in Atlantic Canada examines several forms of capital investment, including machinery and equipment outlay, business non-residential structures and government capital spending. Capital investment is a leading indicator of export demand [...]
Business must stay competitive to grow our economy. For greater productivity, companies can upgrade equipment and worker training, construct buildings, and fund research and development. Unfortunately, Maritime companies have been investing less. In 2006, they spent over 1300 dollars for every Maritimer on commercial and industrial buildings. Today, they spend just 600. [...]
For nearly 150 years, the constitution has enshrined free trade in Canadian law. Yet to this day, the provinces maintain regulatory hurdles and import bans that restrict the free flow of goods within Canada. These policies may help local interests, but they jeopardize the national economy, drive up costs, and burden consumers. Markets [...]
The federal government is considering a tax exemption for online purchases from the United States under $200. No doubt, this idea emanates from popular frustration with high taxes. Burdened consumers justifiably want a break. Unfortunately, this proposal would be bad policy. As more people shop on American retail websites, government revenues will be [...]