Reducing homelessness is an indisputable social good, and housing subsidies offer one way to do so. However, subsidies come in many different varieties and are intricately bound up with economic and social policies. This paper, written by one of North America's leading urban economists, cuts...

The Harper government has shown itself to be fully engaged and willing to take a public leadership position when it comes to the world's response to the Syrian crisis, but Canada has yet to commit to a military intervention. That may well be the most sensible approach.There are many reasons that...

Innovation is critical in the knowledge-based economy. It is generally accepted that governments have an important role to play in promoting innovative activity and R&D. Both the federal and provincial governments in Canada provide tax subsidies, and other forms of support, for R&D. Changes to...

A Canadian returning home from a visit to a physician has no idea of the cost of providing the service just received. This is true for two reasons. One is because he or she does not receive a bill to pay. The other reason has to do the myriad of ways provincial governments fund the provision of...

Recent studies show that Alberta has the fifth highest rate of police reported intimate partner violence and the second highest rate of self reported spousal violence in Canada, and despite a 2.3 percent decline over the last decade, the province’s rate of self-reported domestic violence has...

Rapid advances in assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) confront policymakers worldwide with dilemmas that touch on the fundamentals of human existence — life, death, and sexuality. Canada, following the lead of non-federal Britain, spent 15 years developing the comprehensive, national...

Most privatizations in Canada occurred in the 10-year period from the mid-1980s to the mid- 1990s, and while many of the remaining candidates are both politically and economically problematic, the Harper government has signaled its renewed interest in more privatizations. This paper, written by...

Despite a professed commitment to free trade, Canada has retained a staunchly protectionist supply management regime in several agricultural sectors, notably in the dairy industry. Canada’s dairy farms are governed by a byzantine system that prices milk based on intended usage, locks out most...

The federal budget contains some sensible changes to the SR&ED investment tax credit, but the decision to reduce support for large firms to provide additional support for small firms is a step in the wrong direction. The Jenkins Panel expressed concern about excessive subsidization of small and...

Canada lags behind many of its First World counterparts when it comes to business innovation, and urgently needs to improve its performance if it is to remain competitive and attractive to investment. The Expert Panel Report on Federal Support to Research and Development has recommended several...