The signs are clear: no more stimulus
Harry Koza, senior market analyst for Thomson Reuters in Toronto, anticipated the "great stimulus mania" in 2009, in a paper he wrote for the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies (AIMS).
NB Power rate increases inevitable says AIMS
AIMS President and CEO Charles Cirtwill says the power rates freeze in New Brunswick is only putting off what the government will eventually need to finance upgrades and changes to the energy system.
Pension turmoil: What is a small business to do?
Pension issues remain a key challenge facing small businesses today. AIMS President and CEO Charles Cirtwill thinks pooled registered pension plans (PRPPs) are an interesting option to look into.
There’ll be job opportunities, but will we have skills to fill them?
In this op-ed, AIMS Director of Research Don McIver argues that the government should pay greater attention to ensuring that all Nova Scotians are fully integrated into the workforce. As population aging generates sharp declines in the number of working-age persons over coming decades, skills mismatches will become increasingly apparent. McIver argues that: “Perhaps the least welcome outcome of the emerging aging predicament would be to introduce an aggressive immigration policy while simultaneously failing to ensure the active workforce inclusion of Nova Scotians with long and deep attachments to the province.”
OF INTEREST: Canada’s Medicare Bubble
Readers in Atlantic Canada may be alarmed to learn that, when all federal transfers are excluded from the calculation, government health care spending currently consumes 87.7 percent of all “own source” revenue in Nova Scotia; 74.2 percent in New Brunswick; 65.5% in Prince Edward Island, and 60.3% in Newfoundland & Labrador. This piece asks very simply - is this sustainable?
When will power rates rise?
AIMS president and CEO Charles Cirtwill is quoted discussing New Brunswick Power and the government's initiatives reagrding prices and regulation.
Backroom politics kill school review process
AIMS President and CEO Charles Cirtwill is interviewed about his thoughts regarding how descisions have been made regarding the prevention of school closures, and his take on backroom allegations made by southernshorenow.ca as a result of a freedom of information request.
Report ‘collects dust’ while school districts try to do more with less
Since having to face economic austerity measures, the New Brunswick government is tackling a need to continue to raise academic performance scores after poor results on studies and tests over the past decade. AIMS President and CEO Charles Cirtwill weighs in on the issues facing education in New Brunswick and compares policies and practices in the province to those of other province's in Canada.
A bold strategy for Prince Edward Island
In light of the recent annual gathering of the Committee on Internal Trade held at Brudenell, AIMS President and CEO Charles Cirtwill encourages PEI to forget about the Agreement on Internal Trade, join the New West Partnership, and do it today.
Stellarton tops list as best-run municipality
The municipality that came in first overall in Nova Scotia is Stellarton, according to a report released Wednesday by the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies.