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April 30, 2009 | EST. READ TIME 2 MIN.

Fraser Forum - April 2009: Canada-US Relations

In this issue:

Up Front: Gangs, drugs, and the economy
At a recent Behind the Spin event in Calgary, Dr. Stephen Easton, Senior Fellow of the Fraser Institute, discussed the true costs of crime.

A blueprint for continued prosperity
by Charles Lammam and Niels Veldhuis
Despite the global economic downturn, Saskatchewan is expected to experience positive economic growth this year. The province should use this unique opportunity to solidify its reputation as one of the best places to invest in Canada.

Missed opportunities
by Niels Veldhuis and Milagros Palacios
Instead of increasing spending, the BC government should have used its 2009 budget to create incentives for investment and business development.

Centralizing America’s health care
by Mark Rovere
President Obama’s preference for increased government involvement in health care should be a cause for concern among Americans and Canadians alike.

The benefits of trade
by Fred McMahon
Canadian and American governments should resist the temptation to adopt “buy domestic” policies.

Key Concepts: Money
by Steven Horwitz
Money is one human institution that is so ubiquitous that we do not often step back and consider how it works and why.

Education and opportunity
by Kristin Fryer
For over 20 years, the Fraser Institute’s student programs have given young people the opportunity to examine public policy issues from a free market perspective.

Creating a common security perimeter
by Martin Collacott
Canada must step up its security if it wishes to avoid any further thickening of its border with the United States.

Obama’s radical remake of the US economy
by Jason Clemens
The Obama administration is using the current economic crisis to implement changes that will impair economic growth and prosperity in the future.

Give Quebec workers democratic rights
by Niels Veldhuis and Alex Gainer
Quebec’s “card check” system of union certification should be replaced by a formal secret ballot vote, which would give workers the ability to choose anonymously and democratically.

Refocusing on the Alberta Advantage
by Nadeem Esmail, Niels Veldhuis, and Milagros Palacios
The Alberta government needs to rein in its recent spending spree and return to prudent fiscal management.

The rising tide of protectionism in the United States
by Alan W. Dowd
Given the state of the US economy, it is unlikely that the protectionist impulse in the US will subside anytime soon.

Taking action in the Arctic
by Alexander Moens and Alan W. Dowd
It is time for the Canadian government to do more than talk about Arctic security and sovereignty.

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Niels Veldhuis

President, Fraser Institute

Niels Veldhuis serves as President of the Fraser Institute, Canada’s most influential think tank.In his over 20-plus-year career in public
policy, Niels has authored six books and more than 50 peer-reviewed studies on a wide range of economic topics. In 2011, he was awarded (along with his co-authors) the prestigious Sir Antony Fisher International Memorial Award for the best-selling book, The Canadian Century.Highly regarded for his opinions and perspectives on major economic and social issues, Niels appears regularly in the media across Canada and the United States. He has written hundreds of commentaries that have appeared in over 50 newspapers, including the Globe and Mail, Wall Street Journal, National Post, and The Economist.Known for his ability to explain matters of economics and government policy in a down-to-earth and easily understood manner, Niels travels widely across North America. His speaking engagements extend to diverse audiences, including business groups, corporate gatherings, community organizations, and students.Niels has had the privilege of sharing the stage and moderating discussions with prominent business and political leaders from around the world. Notable individuals include Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, and BC Premier Gordon Campbell. He has also moderated discussions with distinguished Canadian journalists such as Chantal Herbert, Andrew Coyne, and Rex Murphy, as well as diplomats such as Canada’s Ambassador to China and Israel’s Ambassador to Canada. Niels moderated a discussion between United States Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush in 2011 and has facilitated conversations with impactful authors like Mosab Hassan Yousef (author of "Son of Hamas") and Lord Conrad Black.Niels Veldhuis is an alumnus of Simon Fraser University, was one of Vancouver’s Top 40 under 40 by Business in Vancouver in 2010, and is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO).
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Charles Lammam
Milagros Palacios

Director, Addington Centre for Measurement, Fraser Institute

Milagros Palacios is the Director for the Addington Centre for Measurement at the Fraser Institute. She holds a B.S. in Industrial
Engineering from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and a M.Sc. in Economics from the University of Concepcion, Chile. Ms. Palacios has studied public policy involving taxation, government finances, investment, productivity, labour markets, and charitable giving, for nearly 10 years. Since joining the Institute, Ms. Palacios has authored or coauthored over 70 comprehensive research studies, 70 commentaries and four books. Her recent commentaries have appeared in major Canadian newspapers such as the National Post, Toronto Sun, Windsor Star, and Vancouver Sun.
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Fred McMahon

Resident Fellow, Dr. Michael A. Walker Chair in Economic Freedom

Fred McMahon is a Fraser Institute Resident Fellow and holder of the Dr. Michael A. Walker Chair in Economic Freedom.
He has an M.A. in Economics from McGill University. Mr. McMahon manages the Economic Freedom of the World Project and coordinates the Economic Freedom Network, an international alliance of over 100 think tank partners in about 100 nations and territories. His research focuses on global issues such as development, trade, governance and economic structure. Mr. McMahon is the author of numerous research articles and several books including, Looking the Gift Horse in the Mouth: The Impact of Federal Transfers on Atlantic Canada, which won the Sir Antony Fisher International Memorial Award for advancing public policy debate, Road to Growth: How Lagging Economies Become Prosperous, and Retreat from Growth: Atlantic Canada and the Negative Sum Economy.He has written for numerous publications including the European Journal of Political Economy, the SAIS Journal (School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University), the Wall Street Journal, Policy Options, National Post, Time (Canada), Globe and Mail, Ottawa Citizen, and most other major Canadian newspapers. Research articles he has recently authored or co-authored include: Economic Freedom of North America, Quebec Prosperity: Taking the Next Step, The Unseen Wall: The Fraser Institute's Annual Trade Survey, and Economic Freedom of the Arab World.
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Nadeem Esmail

Senior Fellow, Fraser Institute

Nadeem Esmail is a Senior Fellow of the Fraser Institute. He first joined the Fraser Institute in 2001, served as
Director of Health System Performance Studies from 2006 to 2009, and has been a Senior Fellow since 2010. Mr. Esmail has spearheaded critical Fraser Institute research including the annual Waiting Your Turn survey of surgical wait times across Canada and How Good Is Canadian Health Care?, an international comparison of health care systems. In addition, Mr. Esmail has authored or co-authored more than 30 comprehensive studies and more than 150 articles on a wide range of topics including the cost of public health care insurance, international comparisons of health care systems, hospital performance, medical technology, and physician shortages. A frequent commentator on radio and TV, Mr. Esmail's articles have appeared in newspapers across North America. Mr. Esmail completed his B.A. (Honours) in Economics at the University of Calgary and received an M.A. in Economics from the University of British Columbia.
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Alan Dowd

Senior Fellow, Fraser Institute

Alan W. Dowd is a Senior Fellow of the Fraser Institute, Senior Editor of Fraser Insight and Managing Director of
the Institute's EFNA Network. In addition, Dowd conducts research into defence and security issues. He co-authored the Fraser Institute report Cybersecurity Challenges for Canada and the United States; has contributed to the Institute’s Economic Freedom of North America Annual Report (EFNA); helped launch the Institute’s EFNA Network in 2014; and continues to manage and coordinate the EFNA Network, which today enfolds more than 60 member-organizations in 47 U.S. states, Canada and Mexico. An award-winning writer, Dowd is a frequent contributor to American Legion Magazine, Military Officer, The American, Landing Zone, and American Outlook. In addition, his writing has appeared in Fraser Forum, Claremont Review of Books, Policy Review, Parameters, Journal of Diplomacy & International Relations, Diplomat & International Canada, World Politics Review, World & I, National Post, Baltimore Sun, Washington Times, Washington Examiner, Sacramento Bee, Indianapolis Star, Detroit News, Vancouver Sun, Wall Street Journal Europe, Jerusalem Post, Financial Times Deutschland, and the online editions of the American Interest, National Review, and Weekly Standard. Dowd has served as an adjunct professor at Butler University and Anderson University; was a founding member of the Sagamore Institute leadership team, where he continues to hold a senior fellow post; and was director of Hudson Institute’s corporate headquarters. He earned a B.A. with departmental high honors from Butler University and an M.A. from Indiana University.
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Alexander Moens

Professor of Political Science, Simon Fraser University

Alexander Moens is a professor of Political Science at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, and a former Senior Fellow in
American Policy at the Fraser Institute. He teaches American Foreign Policy and the Political and Security Relations between Europe and North America. He is the author of Foreign Policy Under Carter, Boulder : Westview Press, 1990, and most recently The Foreign Policy of George W. Bush: Values, Strategy, Loyalty (Aldershot, Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing, November 2004).His work on European Security includes Disconcerted Europe: The Search for a New Security Architecture (Boulder: Westview Press, 1994). Co-edited with Christopher Anstis; NATO and European Security: Alliance Politics from the Cold War's End to the Age of Terrorism (Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers, 2003), Co-edited with Lenard Cohen and Allen Sens; and Foreign Policy Realignment in the Age of Terror (Toronto: Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies, 2003), Co-edited with Lenard Cohen and Brian Job.In 1992, Moens served in the Policy Planning Staff of Canada's Foreign Affairs Department and in the Spring of 1999 he was a visiting fellow at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. He is also a researcher with the Council For Canadian Security in the 21st Century, and a Fellow of the Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs Institute.
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Jason Clemens

Executive Vice President, Fraser Institute

Jason Clemens is the Executive Vice President of the Fraser Institute and the President of the Fraser Institute Foundation. He
has an Honors Bachelors Degree of Commerce and a Masters Degree in Business Administration from the University of Windsor as well as a Post Baccalaureate Degree in Economics from Simon Fraser University. Before rejoining the Fraser Institute in 2012, he was the director of research and managing editor at the Ottawa-based Macdonald-Laurier Institute and prior to joining the MLI, Mr. Clemens spent a little over three years in the United States with the San Francisco-based Pacific Research Institute. He has published over 70 major studies on a wide range of topics, including taxation, government spending, labor market regulation, banking, welfare reform, health care, productivity, and entrepreneurship. He has published over 300 shorter articles, which have appeared in such newspapers as The Wall Street Journal, Investors Business Daily, Washington Post, Globe and Mail, National Post, and a host of U.S., Canadian, and international newspapers. Mr. Clemens has been a guest on numerous radio and television programs across Canada and the United States. He has appeared before committees of both the House of Commons and the Senate in Canada as an expert witness and briefed state legislators in California. In 2006, he received the coveted Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 award presented by Caldwell Partners as well as an Odyssey Award from the University of Windsor. In 2011, he was awarded (along with his co-authors) the prestigious Sir Antony Fisher International Memorial Award for the best-selling book The Canadian Century. In 2012, the Governor General of Canada on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen, presented Mr. Clemens with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of his contributions to the country.
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Alex Gainer

Alex Gainer was a Research Economist in the Fiscal Studies Department at The Fraser Institute. He worked on a range
of policy issues including labour relations, government failure, business creation and charitable giving. Mr. Gainer is coauthor of Generosity in Canada and the United States: The 2008 Generosity Index, as well as Saskatchewan Prosperity: Building on Success. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Economics from the University of Alberta and a Master's Degree in Economics from the University of British Columbia.
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Martin Collacott

Martin Collacott (1933-2018) was for many years a Senior Fellow at The Fraser Institute, where he studied immigration policy, the treatment
of refugees, and related issues involving terrorism.Mr. Collacott had 30 years of distinguished service in the Department of External Affairs for Canada. His assignments included Director General for Security Services and in this capacity he was responsible for the coordination of counter-terrorism policy at the international level. Mr. Collacott represented Canada's Department of External Affairs in Indochina, Hong Kong, Lagos, and Tokyo. During the late 1960s, he served as the Chinese-speaking member of the Canadian negotiating team which established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China.Later in his career, Mr. Collacott was appointed as High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Ambassador to Syria and Lebanon, and as Ambassador to Cambodia. In the course of these assignments he had major responsibilities for delivering immigration and refugee programs.
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Mark Rovere
Steven Horwitz

Steven Horwitz was a Senior Fellow of the Fraser Institute and the John H. Schnatter Distinguished Professor of Free Enterprise
in the Department of Economics in the Miller College of Business at Ball State University in Muncie, IN. He was the author of several books including Monetary Evolution, Free Banking, and Economic Order and Microfoundations and Macroeconomics: An Austrian Perspective. He wrote extensively on political economy, economic and social theory of the family, monetary theory, and macroeconomics. Prof. Horwitz conducted nationally recognized research on the role of the private sector during Hurricane Katrina for the Mercatus Center, where he was an Affiliated Senior Scholar.In 2010, Prof. Horwitz was awarded the Hayek Prize by the Fund for the Study of Spontaneous Order; at St. Lawrence University, he was granted the Frank P. Piskor Lectureship for 1998-99 and received the J. Calvin Keene Award in 2003. Prof. Horwitz lectured across the U.S., Canada, Europe, and South America.He completed his MA and PhD in economics at George Mason University and received a BA in economics and philosophy from the University of Michigan.
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