CategoryPublic Finance and Fiscal Federalism
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Continue Reading →: Why the Canada Pension Plan Is a Ponzi Scheme
Why the Canada Pension Plan Is a Ponzi Scheme
The following is an abridgement of chapter 4 in the recently published book Financial Sovereignty for Canadians (March 2024), authored by Fergus Hodgson. It is published here with the author’s kind permission. There is a silver lining to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s pursuit of a provincial pension system. Alberta’s potential departure from the Canada Pension…
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Continue Reading →: Remembering Brian Mulroney (1939-2024)
Remembering Brian Mulroney (1939-2024)
The 18th prime minister of Canada, Brian Mulroney, passed away on February 29, weeks short of his 85th birthday. He is being buried today. Consequential? “One of the most consequential Prime Ministers” is the expression you may have seen about Brian Mulroney half a dozen times since yesterday. It is a formula empty of substance to…
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Continue Reading →: It’s Procurement, Stupid!
It’s Procurement, Stupid!
We should not be surprised but it rarely fails that in this country the proposed solution to every problem in government and every problem in the bureaucracy seems to be to hire more bureaucrats (or spend more money, which in most cases amounts to the same thing).
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Continue Reading →: From Peronismo to Libertarianism: Javier Milei’s Argentine Climate Change, Part 1.
From Peronismo to Libertarianism: Javier Milei’s Argentine Climate Change, Part 1.
The climate has radically changed in Argentina; the political and economic climate of ideas, that is. Argentina has a new president, who promises to usher in a new era for the country’s beleaguered economy and its political culture. His name is Javier Gerardo Milei, and he was elected on November 19, 2023. He is practically unknown…
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Continue Reading →: Haultain Research Welcomes David A. McLellan as Senior Fellow
Haultain Research Welcomes David A. McLellan as Senior Fellow
CALGARY, ALBERTA – 10 November 2023 The Haultain Research Institute, a leading independent educational organization dedicated to addressing structural inequities affecting landlocked Canadian provinces, is thrilled to announce the newest addition to its team, Mr. David A. McLellan, who joins as a Senior Fellow and will co-host the Institute’s podcast, “Thought Farming.” Haultain President, Dr.…
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Continue Reading →: Toward the Alberta Advantage
Toward the Alberta Advantage
Late in 1978 and early 1979, the Peter Lougheed government embarked on a mission to lower the “small business” income tax in Alberta. This move accompanied Alberta’s withdrawal from a federal tax collection agreement, marking a significant milestone in what we now recognize as The Alberta Advantage. The historical context of Alberta’s departure from the federal…
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Continue Reading →: Shandro gun announcement shows how Sovereignty works
Shandro gun announcement shows how Sovereignty works
In mid September (2022), Premier Jason Kenney openly disagreed with UCP leadership hopeful Danielle Smith over Smith’s proposed Alberta Sovereignty Act (ASA). Kenney said the legislation would be destabilising, unconstitutional and a disaster for Alberta. Kenney’s former principal secretary levelled similar accusations, which Kenney happily quoted: it should be called “the Alberta suicide act.” Kenney…
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Continue Reading →: Contextualizing the Cost of COVID: Will Canada Ever Pay it Off?
Contextualizing the Cost of COVID: Will Canada Ever Pay it Off?
It has become routine, every morning around 11:15 a.m. EDT thousands of Canadians gather around their television sets to hear the daily national briefing. Closely watching as our national leaders soberly descends down the stairs and step up to the microphone. Citizens and mainstream media all wait with bated breath to learn about the nation’s COVID state…