Increased payroll taxes supporting future pension benefits take money out of workers’ pockets. But higher taxes also hurt businesses. By 2023, Canada Pension Plan premiums will raise $816 more, per worker, per year. This tax is paid equally by workers and businesses. This tax won’t just affect a company’s bottom line. It will [...]
AIMS policy analyst Jackson Doughart writes in his recent column that HST hikes in Atlantic Canada are a part of a troubling trend. The Atlantic Provinces will soon have the highest HST in the country as PEI, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland & Labrador are all raising rates this year. Three Atlantic Provinces will have [...]
In his latest column, AIMS VP Research John Williamson looks at New Brunswick's economic position. He argues the answer to the province's economic woes is not to hire more in-house government "experts". Rather, good tax policy is what matters and evidence is available from successful economies in Canada and beyond. This article originally appeared in [...]
Interprovincial trade barriers in Canada are a burden to consumers and an obstacle to producers. But the case of Gerard Comeau of new Brunswick gives us hope. Comeau, who was charged for bringing alcohol over the Quebec-New Brunswick border, was recently acquitted. The judge ruled that New Brunswick's law restricting the transport of [...]
Healthcare is the largest expense in provincial budgets and a hugely important public service. But our system lacks accountability: little to no attention is paid to health outcomes, which would tell us how effective our health system is working, where improvements could be made, and where costs could be lowered. Citizens should insist that governments [...]
Some changes that Ottawa has made to the employment insurance program are perfectly sensible, such as extending benefits to those living in provinces experiencing the energy sector downturn. But making it easier for young workers in Atlantic Canada to qualify for EI is a bad idea. By dramatically lowering the work requirement from [...]
For the past twenty years, the federal government has made prudent fiscal decisions. But now the Trudeau government’s first budget will overspend by 30-billion dollars, and add 118-billion to Canada’s debt over the next six years. The campaign promise to limit the deficit to 10-billion and balance the budget in four years has [...]
Atlantic Canada’s energy costs are high. We have a small population, cold winters, steep fuel taxes, and costly infrastructure. Individuals and businesses often struggle to contain their energy costs. Thankfully, experts say that our region may be rich in onshore natural gas deposits. Extracting this resource could lower heat and power costs, and [...]
The Energy East Pipeline is good policy. It's needed to transport oil from Western Canadian provinces to the refinery in New Brunswick. This 12 billion dollar infrastructure project would increase pipeline and refining work and provide well paying jobs throughout our region. It would also make us less dependent on foreign oil. Pipelines [...]
Our governments in Atlantic Canada spend more money than taxpayers can afford. Overspending means too much money from taxpayers goes to paying salaries instead of funding services we really need. Atlantic Canadians pay more taxes for more government workers than the national average. That's a fact costing us almost 2 billion dollars. If [...]