Natural resources can be a curse or a blessing for countries. Resources mean revenue, but can also create dependency, lack of diversification, large currency swings, and costly economic and political instability. The lesson for Canada, delivered at a press conference in Ottawa today by renowned economist Alan Gelb, is that we need to manage our […]
A report published today by The School of Public Policy identifies staggering costs associated with autism and advocates increased support for families dealing with this challenge. “An autism diagnosis of a high-needs child at age two represents the equivalent of telling the family that they must make an immediate lump-sum investment on that day of […]
Guaranteed annual income programs for seniors are a policy success story for Canada as it boasts one of the world’s lowest poverty rates among the elderly. A new report funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and released by The School of Public Policy recommends these programs be extended to a much larger age […]
In the summer of 2012, then Defence Minister Peter MacKay declared the effort to update Canada’s maritime helicopter fleet with 28 new Cyclone aircraft as the worst procurement in Canadian history. Harsh criticism indeed, but the fact is that almost 30 years have passed since government decided to update its dying fleet. Sadly, this example […]
The past year has seen a disconcerting trend for Canada in terms of its global tax competitiveness and attractiveness to investment. In their Annual Global Tax Competitiveness Ranking, Jack Mintz and Duanjie Chen of The School of Public Policy examine the tax environment of 90 countries and find that Canada has fallen 11 spots over […]
A report published today by The School of Public Policy concludes that trading rules are impeding international progress on climate change. Authors Dan and Natassia Ciuriak argue that because of a lack of concerted international action, climate change policy gets “pushed down” to sub-national governments and the courts. The trading system is not helping, argue […]
There is plenty of debate over how much government should tax corporations. One populist viewpoint is that a shift of the tax burden towards companies will mean average citizens pay less. However, a report published today by The School of Public Policy demonstrates that this scenario isn’t likely to happen. Authors Bev Dahlby, Ergete Ferede […]
Six years ago, a financial and economic crisis rocked the global economy. Since then international regulators, led by the Financial Stability Board and supported by the G20, have designed new laws and regulatory standards to prevent a reoccurrence. But have these measures helped, or have they made matters worse? In a report released today by […]
The majority of Canadians believe that our health-care system is universal, comprehensive and equitable, but is it? The truth is that although Canadians strongly support medicare, few actually know what it covers – and what it doesn’t. In a report published today by The School of Public Policy, authors Herb Emery and Ron Kneebone look […]