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referendum

The Imperative of a Referendum is the first in a series of essays on electoral reform in Canada—spotlighting the conventions that guide governments seeking to change electorar rules (i.e. first-past-the-post).  The essay also examines whether or not any changes to Canada’s electoral system, without consent from the electorate via referendum, would be constitutional.

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Annual Survey of Mining Companies: 2015

The Fraser Institute Survey of Mining Companies, 2015, rates 109 jurisdictions around the world based on a combination of their geologic attractiveness for minerals and metals and their policy attractiveness. For the second consecutive year, Saskatchewan ranks as the top jurisdiction in Canada and finishes second worldwide behind Western Australia.

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This year Tax Freedom Day falls on June 7.  Tax Freedom Day measures the total yearly tax burden imposed on Canadian families by all levels of government:  If you had to pay all your taxes up front, you’d give government every dollar you earned before June 7. This year, the average Canadian family (with two or more people) will pay $45,167 in total taxes or 42.9 per cent of its annual income.

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Expanding the Canada Pension Plan Will Not Help Canada's Most Financially Vulnerable Seniors

Expanding the Canada Pension Plan Will Not Help Canada's Most Financially Vulnerable Seniors finds that seniors living alone — especially single seniors with limited or no work history  — are the most financially vulnerable in retirement, and that an expansion of the Canada Pension Plan won’t benefit them.

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The Sustainability of Health Care Spending in Canada

The Sustainability of Health Care Spending in Canada spotlights projected government spending on health care over the next two decades. It finds that, in every province, health care spending is expected to consume an increasing portion of total program spending  triggering higher taxes, larger deficits, reduced spending or some combination of these three.

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Duty to Consult with Aboriginal Peoples

The Duty to Consult with Aboriginal Peoples: A Patchwork of Canadian Policies spotlights the legal duty to consult – a principle in Canadian law that obligates federal and provincial governments to consult Aboriginal peoples prior to making decisions that could affect Aboriginal or treaty rights. The study finds that the duty to consult has been implemented by provincial governments in different ways:  This has resulted in a patchwork of policies that can be difficult to navigate for Aboriginal people and for project proponents who are trying to advance development projects that cross provincial boundaries.

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Technological Change and Its Implications for Regulating Canada's Television Broadcasting Sector

Technological Change and Its Implications for Regulating Canada’s Television Broadcasting Sector finds that the low-cost methods of creating and distributing broadcasting content means that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s (CRTC) traditional policies to protect and subsidize Canadian content are increasingly unsustainable.