Who was Barbara Mitchell?
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This year Tax Freedom Day falls on June 10. 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 10. This year, the average Canadian family (with two or more people) will pay $50,464 in total taxes or 43.6 per cent of its annual income.

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Understanding the Regulatory Framework Governing Private and Public Pensions

Understanding the Regulatory Framework Governing Private and Public Pensions finds that private pensions are subject to far more rules and regulations than the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), are more complex in their make-up and face higher costs as a result.

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Federal Reforms and the Empty Shell of Environmental Assessment

Federal Reforms and the Empty Shell of Environmental Assessment finds that environmental assessments for resource development projects, such as oil and gas pipelines, have always been arbitrary and political, and the federal government’s proposed reforms—contained in Bill C-69—do nothing to change that. If anything, the changes may increase uncertainty in the project approval process.

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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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