Our high income tax rates discourage productive economic activity and put Canada at a competitive disadvantage
By Jake Fuss and Tegan Hill The Fraser Institute On July 8, the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will release a “snapshot” of federal finances, the first such update since the COVID-19 crisis began. The government may also soon look to raise taxes to try to increase government revenue, either to finance new spending…
“It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority,” Benjamin Franklin said. Canadians may complain that we have a small population and aren’t major players on the global stage. We’re certainly not a superpower but we can be quite influential. In addition, our elected officials on the federal level represent far fewer people…
By Ashley Stedman and Elmira Aliakbari The Fraser Institute Despite widespread need, particularly in Canada’s energy sector, the federal government’s Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility (LEEFF) program, meant to provide emergency funding to large companies, has yet to approve any applications. Why? To be eligible for LEEFF support, firms must agree to several environmental goals…
Addressing the more complex problems of narcotics, smuggling, and terrorism will yield more effective and durable results
By Paz Gómez Research associate Frontier Centre for Public Policy A prohibition is the easiest way out of a policy problem. In enacting one to target gun violence, the federal government has admitted failure to find a solution that preserves both rights and lives. The deadliest mass shooting in Canadian history took place in Nova…
Unfortunately, the list of ethical failures by the current Liberal government is very long
Canada recently failed in a bid to become a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. It’s something neither Stephen Harper’s nor Justin Trudeau’s government has been able to achieve. The last time Canada was on the Security Council was when Jean Chretien was prime minister in 2000. Before that, it was during the…
For a healthy working-age person, the risk of dying from COVID-19 is significantly lower than dying by accident or from other diseases
After being locked down since March 16, Canadians are emerging, as if after a hurricane, to assess the damage that has occurred in just 12 weeks. The main victims are, of course, the patients and valiant front-line workers who have succumbed to COVID-19. But shutting down the economy has ravaged businesses, jobs and savings, while…
Fewer Canadians (and fewer businesses) are in a position to give to charity, even as more of us need help from the sector
It didn’t take long for the federal government to help grieving families when an Iranian missile brought down a Ukraine passenger plane in January. There were 57 Canadians and 29 permanent residents among the 176 who died in the crash. Very quickly, Canada’s government set up a $1.5-million donation-matching program for a special charity created…
Something is terribly wrong when Canada’s political parties start applying for a federal wage subsidy
Canada, like many other countries, has introduced emergency relief services to help individuals and businesses facing financial hardship during COVID-19. The overall cost will be enormous once everything is said and done. An interesting recent twist with the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, however, is making some people wonder if our nation’s generosity is getting out…
There are people behind the scenes working hard to provide answers to hard questions, even if they’re hard to unravel
There’s been a lot of chatter over what was behind Justin Trudeau’s pregnant pause during a news briefing on June 2. Now, stopping to think before answering is not something politicians are known for. But in this case, it wasn’t a bad idea. After all, the prime minister had just been asked a very tricky…
Canada's separate environmental protection oversight unnecessarily delays development and approval
By Nigel Rawson and Mackenzie Moir The Fraser Institute The federal government plans to move ahead with major revisions in regulations governing the tribunal that sets ceiling prices for new prescription drugs in Canada. Revisions include: replacing countries with relatively higher drug prices with lower price countries in the international price-comparison analysis'; enforcing hard thresholds…
Canada has the raw materials and the industry to ensure its health system is prepared for the next big pandemic
Canada has its priorities all wrong when it comes to personal protective equipment (PPE) manufacturing and distribution. Through a series of missteps, the government put its citizens in danger. Negligence and mismanagement resulted in Canada shipping away vital PPE supplies, allowing foreign entities to purchase existing stock, and later importing poor-quality replacements at a time…
The best way toward economic recovery won’t be found in a pricey, jargon-filled federal government report
The federal government is shopping for high-priced “big ideas” to restart the economy. But maybe what we actually need is a simple plan that could give a big break to every business in the country. Unsurprisingly, it turns out the government’s big-ideas-generating process involves putting out a $3.7-million tender to 20 large accounting firms, with…
Canada needs to ensure effective use of resources. That means making certain that relief funds go to those genuinely in need
By Jason Clemens and Milagros Palacios The Fraser Institute There was a time when the policy debate in Canada focused on how generous government assistance should be for those in ‘need,’ mainly low-income Canadians. That resulted in targeted programs such as welfare for the working-age population, Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement for…
The notion that we can pile on debt ad infinitum is at the very least counterintuitive. In fact, it just seems reckless
Canada’s federal and provincial governments have rightfully focused on doing all they can to support people and businesses idled by the COVID-19 pandemic, and to keep people working where possible. But most advocates of aggressive spending always knew there would come a day of fiscal reckoning, in which we’d have to figure out how to…
By Aaron Wudrick and Franco Terrazzano Canadian Taxpayers Federation Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has chosen to make life more expensive for Canadians by increasing the federal carbon tax by 50 per cent amidst the COVID-19 economic and health crisis. Meanwhile, governments around the world are moving in the opposite direction because hiking taxes during a…