Spending restraint is key to achieving a balanced federal budget over the next five years and should form part of Ottawa’s March Budget. This Backgrounder demonstrates how to limit the rise in the federal debt by prudently reining in spending growth rather than raising taxes, so that past and...

Spending restraint is key to achieving a balanced federal budget over the next five years and should form part of Ottawa's March Budget. This Backgrounder demonstrates how to limit the rise in the federal debt by prudently reining in spending growth rather than raising taxes, so that past and...

Governments are major employers, and usually provide defined-benefit (DB) pension plans with full inflation indexing and generous early retirement provisions. Hence, changes in thinking about, and accounting for, the costs of DB pension plans have major implications for government finances. Both...

Tax measures announced in the latest Quebec budget strike a balance between good economic outcomes and attention to fairness in how tax burdens are shared. The author assesses Quebec’s budget measures according to their impacts on the tax burden and how well provincial taxes match citizens’...

Every year, legislators in Canada vote for budgets that set out targets for the coming fiscal year. But every year, governments tend to spend more than they promise at budget time. The result: accountability between legislators and voters breaks down. Canadians should demand better.

Near-term turbulence should not distract Ottawa budget-makers from critical long-term tasks. This 2008 shadow federal budget will move Canada a key step forward by providing improved incentives and rewards for Canadians' work and saving, and a more congenial environment for investment and...

Canadian governments are projecting large amounts of red ink in their 2009 budgets. Notwithstanding the impact of the economic slump on government finances, it is natural for Canadians to ask whether this new borrowing is partly the result of insufficient fiscal discipline during the good times,...

A rapidly aging population means the Atlantic provinces face the prospect of shrinking workforces as early as 2010. To stem the population pressures of tomorrow, a suite of policies – such as those that boost workforce participation and others that prefund demographically sensitive government...

Government-mandated cartels in eggs, dairy and poultry products impose high costs on consumers and harm Canada’s standing in international trade. The authors offer compelling evidence of the high costs to Canadian consumers and limited benefits to farmers arising from the supply management...

Military reservists have become a vital component of Canada’s forces at home and abroad, and like their counterparts in the regular forces, provide a service for all Canadians. However, owing to recent federal and provincial job protection legislation, employers of reservists tend to bear a...