A $600 million gap exists between what the province currently spends and what it can afford to spend without increasing its debt load
Based on the mood in government offices in Fredericton, you would think everything is rolling along smoothly with the top down. Yet, the province’s finances are headed straight for a brick wall. According to the independent Parliamentary Budget Officer’s latest report, there’s a $600 million gap between what New Brunswick currently spends and what it…
Taxpayers from so-called have provinces can no longer afford to subsidize the Atlantic provinces
For many years, there has been debate about equalization and other transfer programs and their impact on Atlantic Canada and other regions. Much of this discussion has been technical and difficult to follow. The debate has also been misleading because it focused on equalization even though equalization is only about a quarter of the net…
If Canada continues to subsidize areas that aren’t economically viable, the standard of living in our country will continue to erode
An unusual amount of international attention was given to the Greenland election earlier this month due to plans for a rare-earth mine. This vast country has a population of only 50,000 and is an autonomous territory of the kingdom of Denmark. Denmark transfers US$740 million to a year to help fund Greenland’s government. This huge…
Getting more people to start up businesses doesn't require an expensive and complex government plan. Government just needs to get out of the way. Saint John, NB Telegraph-Journal columnist David Campbell recently made a strong case for attracting more entrepreneurs to New Brunswick. As he puts it, entrepreneurship brings more and better choices for consumers…
Job losses and economic contraction will be substantial
By Alex Whalen and Elmira Aliakbari The Fraser Institute As the New Brunswick economy emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic and recession, the federal government’s new plan to raise its carbon tax will have major economic consequences for the province. Under the federal Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, the original plan was to raise the carbon…
The province should have stayed the course with its previous disciplined approach to the pandemic
By Renaud Brossard Canadian Taxpayers Federation and Kris Rondolo Generation Screwed As the vaccination campaign progresses, finance departments across the country are starting to shift their focus from mitigating COVID’s economic impacts to playing a role in its recovery. As things start to get better, governments can expect their revenues to go up and their…
Queen Elizabeth must juggle her duties with her family responsibilities. But in her case, the stakes are higher and the scrutiny is intense
The House of Windsor is making headlines around the world for all the wrong reasons. “The Firm,” as Prince Philip is fond of calling the British Royal Family, doesn’t look kindly on bad publicity. Ringing in my ears is a line from William Shakespeare’s play Henry IV: “uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.”…
Non-Indigenous fishers in Atlantic region need not be worried that Indigenous rights will come at the expense of conservation
A dispute in Ontario may help us understand ongoing tensions over the lobster fisheries on the East Coast and offer a solution. The war over Indigenous fishing rights has played out before in Canada. As we reflect on recent violence in Nova Scotia over the lobster fisheries, it’s important to know if there are any…
The government should be bolder on reform commitments and less grandiose in its promises
Canada and its Indigenous communities should finally commit this year to making the systemic reforms needed to ensure First Nations drinking water standards are the same as the rest of the country. For starters, Indigenous communities ought to experiment with more regional water authority agreements to deliver safe drinking water. In late 2020, Indigenous Services…
Governments have more resources and delays can drag on for years. Indigenous peoples pay heavily for the delays in resolving their claims
At any given time, the government of Canada is dealing with hundreds of legal matters with Indigenous Canadians. This is inevitable given the complexity of Indigenous rights, the history of Canadian policy and patterns of government ‘lawlessness’ that left the country liable for the administrative misdeeds of the past 150-plus years. The number, diversity and…
Based on the mood in government offices in Fredericton, you would think everything is rolling along smoothly with the top down. Yet, the province’s finances are headed straight for a brick wall. According to the independent Parliamentary Budget Officer’s latest report, there’s a $600 million gap between what New Brunswick currently spends and what it…
