By SYLVAIN CHARLEBOIS (AIMS Senior Fellow) Food fraud is clearly becoming a noticeable issue as another company has been slapped on the wrist for violations. A court has recently fined Creation Food, A Woodbridge-based company, $25,000 for forging a kosher certificate for food that wasn’t kosher, which it delivered to Jewish summer camps. It is [...]
PEI: Prince Edward Island has a high minimum wage. Compared to the average Islander's income, it is the highest in Canada. Basic economics suggest that when someone's skills are worth less to employers than the minimum wage, he or she will be unemployed. Further increases to the minimum wage would threaten many [...]
By PATRICK WEBBER (AIMS Research Associate) Huddle, 24 July 2017 Ronald Reagan once said: “Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.” Such is the economic development philosophy of New Brunswick [...]
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 and beer from bureaucrats. It’s better than it was in the ’70s, but lousy just the same. Ontario's wine producers [...]
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 keeps poor records for tax exemptions on First Nations reserves. It is the only provincial jurisdiction that does not have [...]
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 exemption, is for tobacco. From PEI reserves in 2015, the value of the cigarette loophole was over a million dollars, [...]
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 [...]
New Brunswick's school enrollment is declining. Logically, fewer students should need fewer people to teach them. Instead, government has agreed employ no fewer than 7,280 teachers, regardless of enrollment decline. This decision will be expensive. The Province already spends 3,000 dollars more, per student, than it did last decade. With fewer students and [...]
In Newfoundland and Labrador, tough economic times have induced government to cut funding for Memorial University. This is a reasonable decision given financial challenges. Unfortunately, the province also wants to maintain a tuition freeze, keeping fees at Memorial the lowest in Canada. This decision will hamper the university's ability to operate and remain [...]
Outside Halifax, Nova Scotia municipalities face a financial squeeze. With increasing spending obligations to meet higher service standards, the cost of operating a local government is rising. Meanwhile, the property tax base is declining from ageing and outmigration. Municipalities need more money to afford water and wastewater, bridges, road infrastructure, and fire and [...]