AIMS Director of Research Ben Eisen discusses a paper he coauthored with Mark Milke of the Fraser Institute, wherein they argue that Canada's equalization formula discourages natural resource development.
Last week, a group of university and private sector analysts released a report on shale gas that included an economic study that predicted New Brunswick could create between 5,900 and 7,900 full-time jobs, both directly and indirectly, if the industry annually drilled between 150 and 200 wells. That would translate into between $1.4 billion and $1.8 billion in economic growth. Another report released this week by the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies stated that shale gas could help enrich the region.
An essay published by two of Canada’s leading think-tanks–the Fraser Institute and Atlantic Institute for Market Studies–suggests New Brunswick and Nova Scotia dependence on federal equalization money is acting as a disincentive for natural resource development in those two provinces. New Brunswick has received $14.5 billion in equalization over the past decade and this gift of cash funnelled from the more prosperous regions of Canada still represents close to 40 per cent of provincial revenues.
Equalization is acting as a disincentive for natural resource development in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, according to a commentary released Tuesday by the Fraser Institute and the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies.
Telegraph Journal commentator Charles Moore discusses the AIMS publication "The Size and Cost of Atlantic Canada's Public Sector" and argues that it is time for reform.
AIMS Director of Research and Programmes Ben Eisen discusses the Nova Scotia Tax and Regulatory Review authored by Laurel Broten with CCPA Nova Scotia Director Christine Saulnier on CBC Information Morning!
Manitoba’s share of federal transfer payments has shrunk dramatically over the last five years and it’s mostly Ontario’s fault. A study released today by the Frontier Centre for Public Policy and the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies looked at federal equalization payments made to four small, historic "have-not" provinces–Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.
Manitoba's share of federal equalization money has shrunk dramatically over the last five years, and it's mostly Ontario's fault. That's according to a new study released Wednesday that bolsters the province's long-standing frustration over flat federal transfer payments. The study, done by the Frontier Centre for Public Policy and the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies (AIMS), found Manitoba's share of Ottawa's total equalization pie has shrunk more than 24 per cent since the recession. That's the biggest drop of any of the historic "have-not" provinces.
In a radio interview on the John Gormley show, 650 CKOM, AIMS policy analyst and co-author of "Declining Equalization Payments and Fiscal Challenges in the Small 'Have-not' Provinces" discusses the results of that report and argues that provincial governments in Canada must begin to recognize their own fiscal demands and choose policies that meet them rationally, instead of waiting for federal support.
NationTalk covers the release of a joint FCPP/AIMS paper outlining the fiscal challenges facing Canada's small 'have-not' provinces, particularly in the context of declining equalization payments.