Who was Barbara Mitchell?
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Increasing the Minimum Wage in British Columbia: A Flawed Anti-Poverty Policy

Increasing the Minimum Wage in British Columbia: A Flawed Anti-Poverty Policy finds that despite misperceptions, more than 80 per cent of B.C.’s minimum-wage earners don’t actually live in low-income families. In fact, last year, the majority of minimum-wage earners in the province (55.7 per cent) were teenagers or young adults aged 15 to 24, almost all of whom (77.9 per cent) lived with their parents or other relatives.

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The Decline of the Other Alberta Advantage: Debt Service Costs in Alberta Are Rising

The Decline of the Other Alberta Advantage: Debt Service Costs in Alberta Are Rising finds that every Albertan will pay, on average, $442 this year in interest on the province’s growing debt, compared to just $58 a decade ago. And if the province’s debt trend continues, debt-servicing costs may exceed $1,000 per person within the next 10 years.

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The Private Cost of Public Queues for Medically Necessary Care, 2018

The Private Cost of Public Queues for Medically Necessary Care, 2018 finds that Canada’s long wait times for medically necessary treatments cost Canadians $1.9 billion—or $1,822 per patient—in lost wages and time last year. Including the value of lost time outside the traditional work week—evenings and weekends—the estimated cost of waiting jumps to $5.8 billion.

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Demographics and Entrepreneurship: Mitigating the Effects of an Aging Population spotlights declining small business startup rates across the developed world and what can be done to stem the adverse effects of demographic changes on entrepreneurial activity. The book, a collection of essays authored by leading scholars in Canada, the U.S. and Europe, is published in collaboration with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in the U.S., the Adam Smith Institute’s The Entrepreneurs Network in Britain and the Institute of Public Affairs in Australia.

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The Cost of Pipeline Constraints in Canada

The Cost of Pipeline Constraints in Canada finds that this year, the Canadian energy sector will lose $15.8 billion in foregone revenues as a result of a shortage of pipeline capacity in Canada, which drives down the price of Canadian oil because of an overdependence on the U.S. market and an increased reliance on oil-by-rail—a more costly (and less safe) mode of transport.

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Expansion of the Canada Pension Plan and the Unintended Effect on Domestic Investment

Expansion of the Canada Pension Plan and the Unintended Effect on Domestic Investment finds that by increasing the Canada Pension Plan payroll tax, the federal and provincial governments will inadvertently shrink the pool of money available for investments in Canada—potentially up to $114 billion by 2030.

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Is the Canada Health Act a Barrier to Reform?

Is the Canada Health Act a Barrier to Reform? finds that the provinces are discouraged from implementing proven health-care reforms that would improve the system and shorten wait times because of the Canada Health Act, which not only sets the rules around cash transfers from Ottawa to the provinces for health care, but also allows the federal government to withhold funds from any province deemed in violation of the Act.

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