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 [...]
Canada's dairy industry has become controversial of late. The US President characterizes Canadian protectionism in milk products as unfair to American dairy farmers. Mr. Trump has a point. Supply management, the complex system that governs our milk production, has long surpassed its best-before date. Domestic quotas and high tariffs on imported milk contradict [...]
New Brunswick's Tuition Access Bursary subsidizes university or college tuition for the children of low-income households. Improving education is laudable, but this program may not achieve its goals. There is little relationship between tuition rates and enrollment. Low-income participation has been lowest in Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador, where tuition is least-expensive. Meanwhile, [...]
New Brunswick: New Brunswick's government promises to get its fiscal house in order while maintaining services. Unfortunately, its 2017 budget veers off from the plan of correcting public finances. Expenditure continues to grow, increasing by 3.5 percent and producing a deficit of $192 million. Meanwhile, government takes in more revenue from a higher [...]
Governments in Atlantic Canada regularly subsidize private industry. Many people mistakenly believe that such handouts will strengthen the economy and employment. But corporate welfare actually does more harm than good. It questionably reallocates wealth from one side of the productive sector to another. It often distributes public money based on political reasons instead [...]
Canada's dairy, egg, and poultry industries are governed by supply management, which restricts production, controls prices, and restricts imports. This arrangement is bad for consumers, who pay high prices for staple foods without lower-cost alternatives. It also weakens the competition of producers. Changes to our U.S. trade relationship may push Ottawa to open [...]
The Trump Administration has proclaimed an “America First” trade agenda, signalling a new age of protectionism. Unfortunately, limiting trade won't help American workers. Instead, it jeopardizes the 9 million jobs supported by trade with Canada. Now is the time to emphasize the important relationship between our countries. In Atlantic Canada alone, the value [...]
We often hear warnings about two-tier healthcare, where the wealthy can access a private and separate health system. But even today's public healthcare does not deliver equal service to everyone. Administration by the provincial government alone produces unfair, three-tier healthcare. At the top, some people can access primary care around the clock. In [...]
In October 2012, a New Brunswick man was arrested for returning from Quebec with cheaper beer. Why? Because monopolies such as the New Brunswick Liquor Corporation are protected by outdated laws that restrict importing alcohol from other provinces. Other liquor corporations in Canada do the same. Their control over distribution and sale of [...]
P.E.I. school enrollment is declining. Logically, fewer students should need fewer people to teach them. Instead, P.E.I.'s government has created new teaching positions. This decision will be expensive. The Province already spends 3,000 dollars more, per student, than it did ten years ago. With fewer students and more instructors, spending will increase. Hiring [...]