The government must craft a credible short-term plan to eliminate the budget deficit
By Steve Lafleur and Jake Fuss The Fraser Institute The Ford government released Ontario’s 2020/21 third quarter fiscal update last week. As expected, the numbers were ugly. The Department of Finance now anticipates a $38.5 billion budget deficit for this fiscal year. Moreover, the Financial Accountability Officer projects that while the deficit will decrease substantially…
Governments inevitably make a mess of social welfare programs, wasting money, discouraging work and encouraging dependence
Long before the COVID-19 recession, the generosity of Canadians, measured by charitable donations, was already steadily falling. From 2008 to 2018, the percentage of tax-filers donating to charity fell from 24.1 per cent to 19.4 per cent. And the percentage of aggregate income donated to charity fell from 0.62 per cent to 0.54 per cent.…
Quebec spending per student is 13.6% less than in Ontario yet Quebec students achieve comparable results to students in Ontario
By Tegan Hill and Jason Clemens The Fraser Institute Policy-makers in Ontario often mistakenly think more spending on public education automatically means better results. But despite relatively high and increasing levels of spending on public schools, there hasn’t been a commensurate boost in student performance. More spending on public education doesn’t always mean better results.…
As Canadians watched this week’s presidential inauguration and the immediate aftereffects (which include a scuttled Keystone XL pipeline), many wonder what a Biden administration will mean for Canada. And for good reason. A dramatic change in governance in the United States will likely have significant implications for Canada so Canadian policymakers in both the private…
Deficits might seem like an abstract problem for the future but in Ontario this simply isn’t the case
By Steve Lafleur and Jake Fuss The Fraser Institute New Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy inherits a difficult job from Rod Phillips. The province’s fiscal challenges long predate the pandemic. The province has mostly run uninterrupted budget deficits since 2008-09. The governments of both Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne sketched out long paths to budget…
Canadian charities are increasingly strapped for resources and face larger financial obstacles
By Alex Whalen and Jake Fuss The Fraser Institute This holiday season, many Nova Scotians will spend their time and money giving back to charitable causes. In fact, every year, tens of thousands of residents in the province donate to charities. However, according to a new study released by the Fraser Institute, both the percentage…
A number of restrictions inhibit labour mobility, as well as the free trade of goods and services. And trade barriers add regulatory burdens on businesses
By Ben Eisen and Alex Whalen The Fraser Institute When many people think about threats to free and open trade to Canada, they immediately consider the protectionist outlook of departing U.S. President Donald Trump. In 2020, another obstacle to the free movement of products and people across boundaries has been the COVID-19 pandemic. However, even…
Patients in Canada face the longest wait time for elective surgery on record
By Bacchus Barua and Mackenzie Moir The Fraser Institute As we continue our battle against COVID-19, another separate health-care crisis rages on. Wait times. Patients in Canada face the longest wait time for elective surgery on record – 22.6 weeks (between referral from a family doctor to receipt of medically necessary treatment). Of course, the…
A cautionary tale about how higher energy prices lower competitiveness and damage economic prosperity
By Elmira Aliakbari and Jason Clemens The Fraser Institute Ontarians understand the personal costs of increased electricity prices caused largely by the province’s Green Energy Act. But the effect on Ontario’s competitiveness, particularly in manufacturing, has been largely ignored even though the costs continue to be substantial. The Green Energy Act mandated and subsidized renewable…
Fiscal federalism, the lifeblood of the region's economy, faces increasing pressure for reform, especially in the post-COVID-19 world
Massive government spending has landed the four Atlantic provinces at the bottom of economic freedom rankings among the 10 provinces and 50 U.S. states, according to the new Economic Freedom of North America report. Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island are tied at the bottom, just below Nova Scotia (58th) and New Brunswick (57th).…
By Steve Lafleur and Jake Fuss The Fraser Institute The Ford government released Ontario’s 2020/21 third quarter fiscal update last week. As expected, the numbers were ugly. The Department of Finance now anticipates a $38.5 billion budget deficit for this fiscal year. Moreover, the Financial Accountability Officer projects that while the deficit will decrease substantially…
