Who was Barbara Mitchell?
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First Nations and the Petroleum Industry—from Conflict to Cooperation

First Nations and the Petroleum Industry—from Conflict to Cooperation finds that, to increase Indigenous ownership in the oil industry, First Nations should focus on small and medium-sized projects rather than mega-projects that require massive assistance from government.

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A New (Old) Fiscal Rule for Non-Renewable Resource Revenue in Alberta

A New (Old) Fiscal Rule for Non-Renewable Resource Revenue in Alberta is a new study that examines how Alberta’s budget deficits and mounting debt are due in part to its treatment of non-renewable resource revenue in the budget. The study recommends reinstating fiscal rules that require a certain amount of resource revenues be saved in order to stabilize provincial finances.

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Understanding Universal Health Care Reform Options: Activity-Based Funding

Understanding Universal Health Care Reform Options: Activity-Based Funding is a new study that finds paying hospitals for each patient they treat, also known as activity-based funding, instead of allocating pre-defined annual budgets could improve the quantity and quality of health care services while reducing wait times for Canadians. Nearly every other developed country with a universal health-care system has moved towards activity-based funding in recent decades, whereas Canada is among the last to continue to use lump sum payments.

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Ford Government Fiscal Policy Approach Mirrors that of McGuinty and Wynne

Ford Government Fiscal Policy Approach Mirrors that of McGuinty and Wynne finds that the current Ontario government is continuing the fiscal approach of the previous Wynne and McGuinty governments, excluding emergency COVID spending. In fact, according to 2021 budget forecasts, over the next three years government spending (minus interest costs) will increase by a cumulative total of 8.5 per cent compared to 6.6 per cent from 2010 to 2012.

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Caution Required When Comparing Canada’s Debt to that of Other Countries

Caution Required When Comparing Canada’s Debt to that of Other Countries is a new study that finds Canada’s relative debt position is much worse than the federal government suggests when compared to a larger group of advanced countries. In fact, while Canada does have the lowest net debt to GDP in the G7, Canada’s position falls to 11th when the analysis is expanded to include 29 advanced countries, including many European countries and Australia. What’s more, when gross debt—and not net debt—are measured, Canada is the 25th most indebted country out of the 29 included in the study.

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Global Storm: The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Responses Around the World

Global Storm: The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Responses around the World is a detailed statistical analysis of nearly 200 countries and their experiences with and responses to COVID-19. It found that Canada ranked poorly compared to other industrialized countries on testing and hospital beds, which were determined to be key in responding to COVID-19.

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This year, Tax Freedom Day is Monday, May 24. If you had to pay all your federal, provincial and municipal taxes up front, you would give government every dollar you earned from January 1st to Tax Freedom Day, when Canadians finally start working for themselves. In 2021, the average Canadian family (with two or more people) will pay 39.1 per cent of its annual income in taxes, including income taxes, payroll taxes, health taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, fuel taxes, carbon taxes and more.

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