Food inflation is on the way up, despite lower prices for other consumer goods. And COVID-19 has impacted incomes
Statistics Canada has confirmed what most of us knew already: Canada is becoming a hungrier place. According to a survey conducted by the federal agency in May, almost one in seven (14.6 per cent) Canadians indicated they lived in a household where there was food insecurity in the past month. In 2017-18, a similar survey…
The long-term view is frightening. With long gestation periods, new oil and gas projects may not get online when needed
International oil and gas exploration and production are in the doldrums and won’t likely rebound any time soon. Canada has curtailed its crude output by one million barrels per day (bpd). The country’s active oil and gas rig count had fallen to an all-time low of 17 in early June, Baker Hughes reported. That was…
By Jake Fuss, Tegan Hill and Alex Whalen The Fraser Institute As the federal and provincial governments shift their focus to economic recovery, there will be heightened calls for fiscal stimulus in an attempt to kick-start the economy. However, a new study by the Fraser Institute demonstrates that, based on past experience, stimulus measures will…
Provincial governments need to be sober, disciplined, realistic and do whatever they can to not lose money for their citizens
While crude oil’s startling and unprecedented recent price plunge into negative territory was notable, it didn’t mean that producers were actually paying others to take oil off their hands. It did point to major problems the industry faces, however. In the short term, the foremost issue is weak demand. And it raised a significant problem…
The Fair Deal Panel’s report had two key takeaways: Albertans are tired of being treated as the cash cow for politicians in other provinces, and there is no fair deal for Albertans until we tackle equalization. About two thirds of Albertans think we aren’t getting our fair share from Confederation, according to an Ipsos poll…
For a healthy working-age person, the risk of dying from COVID-19 is significantly lower than dying by accident or from other diseases
After being locked down since March 16, Canadians are emerging, as if after a hurricane, to assess the damage that has occurred in just 12 weeks. The main victims are, of course, the patients and valiant front-line workers who have succumbed to COVID-19. But shutting down the economy has ravaged businesses, jobs and savings, while…
It not only generates jobs in the short term, but results in greater productivity, employment and tax dollars in the future
How the economy will be rebuilt in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic is a major concern for us all. There are many unknowns, making the near future and the years ahead even murkier than usual. So uncertain is Canada’s federal government about economic and financial prospects that it’s not producing a budget, or even…
Fewer Canadians (and fewer businesses) are in a position to give to charity, even as more of us need help from the sector
It didn’t take long for the federal government to help grieving families when an Iranian missile brought down a Ukraine passenger plane in January. There were 57 Canadians and 29 permanent residents among the 176 who died in the crash. Very quickly, Canada’s government set up a $1.5-million donation-matching program for a special charity created…
The opposition to fossil fuels such as natural gas is driven by magical thinking and is against all empirical evidence
By Mark Milke and Lennie Kaplan Canadian Energy Centre As the lockdown from the COVID-19 pandemic ends, provincial and federal governments will still face the reality that arrived in its wake: a recession, and one made worse by a domestic energy sector that never really recovered from multiple injuries already in play. Those injuries included:…
The best way toward economic recovery won’t be found in a pricey, jargon-filled federal government report
The federal government is shopping for high-priced “big ideas” to restart the economy. But maybe what we actually need is a simple plan that could give a big break to every business in the country. Unsurprisingly, it turns out the government’s big-ideas-generating process involves putting out a $3.7-million tender to 20 large accounting firms, with…
At a time when the U.S. and Canada need it most, Keystone XL will generate more than 50,000 jobs
In the midst of the COVID-19-caused economic decline and huge job losses, it’s unfortunate that some, including Joe Biden, continue to smear Canada’s oil and gas industry. Biden, the presumptive U.S. Democratic presidential candidate, says if elected, he’ll shut down the Keystone XL pipeline project. The project is under construction, providing jobs to thousands of…
New Canadian rules shift all the burden and risks to consumers, and may push away investors
By Daniel Duarte Research associate Frontier Centre for Public Policy Canadian regulators are putting a crosshair on exchanges that hold cryptocurrencies for their clients. This business model, also called a custodial or centralized exchange, is prevalent all over the world but is headed for extinction in Canada, setting back the nascent financial technology (fintech) industry.…
Our ability to deal with the economic effects of COVID-19 is really a fiscal dividend from the actions of earlier governments
Canada was born in debt and continues to cycle back into deficit spending. According to the Parliamentary Budget Office, the 2020-21 fiscal year may see a federal deficit of over $250 billion. This follows deficits of $14 billion for 2018-19 and nearly $27 billion in 2019-20, based on the federal fall 2019 update. Given a…
Science makes evidence-based decisions, while businesses are prepared to underwrite a portion of loss based on risk taking
The COVID-19 global pandemic has set science and the economy on a collision course. Governments around the world face a debilitating dilemma: to select appropriate public policy in response to science or the needs of the economy. Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial governments aren’t immune to this dilemma. Should public policy be grounded on scientific…
Stores will open again, cars and trucks will begin to run and planes will fly. Our lives will continue – and life takes energy
Federal Green Party Leader Elizabeth May recently said “oil is dead” and her “heart bleeds for people who believe the sector is going to come back.” It’s foolish to assert “oil is dead” at any time, but it’s particularly ignorant to say it in the midst of an unprecedented global crisis. Canadians are relying on…