Crackdowns fail to recognize that alternative lenders are the last hope for Canadians shut out of the traditional lending market
The media often portray alternative lenders as slippery, unethical loan sharks who exploit the poor. When targeting the sector and not just a few bad apples, such stories are easy, cheap hit jobs. New Brunswick Sen. Pierrette Ringuette, for example, recently described alternative loans to CBC Marketplace as “an abusive financial process that needs to…
A swamp of vested, bureaucratic interests hobbled by dogma, enriched by institutional entitlements and bloated by fat pay packages. Surely not these two now-merged think-tanks
Now that Canada’s most famously libertarian think-tank has merged with the Atlantic provinces’ premier government-thrashing mouthpiece, does their union augur a future for exemplary new standards of public policy along the East Coast? After all, both the Fraser Institute and the Atlantic Institute of Market Studies have, over the years, made many of their major…
The bridge is a prime example of a private-public partnership gone right. Shifting the burden to taxpayers and non-users is simply unfair
The recent campaign to remove tolls on the Confederation Bridge is a popular policy topic where rhetoric has become misguided. Prince Edward Island Sen. Percy Downe has pushed to remove the toll from the bridge, while P.E.I. Premier Dennis King has pledged to work on lowering the toll on the island’s primary connection to the…
The gig economy is gaining traction, for better or worse. Who needs benefits or job security when you can work on a high wire?
Are you weary of your reliable job? Do your paid vacation, company pension plan and full medical coverage leave you cold? Are you pining for the sort of precarious work that only self-employment can promise? Well, friend, you’ve come to the right place. Here, at GigsRUs, we won’t bore you with bromides about workplace security,…
Despite government hyperbole, small businesses know that innovation is difficult, costly and sometimes reveals unfortunate truths
A handy term that invokes sweet dreams of big scores for small businesses everywhere is ‘innovation.’ Government officials, burdened with the otherwise boring work of economic development, are obsessed with it. Its mere mention, they think, virtually guarantees a contact high. Hey folks, their websites screech, roll up and read all about our “Superclusters Initiative,”…
Canadians are gradually accepting Green politicians as worthy of support. That will drain yet more support from the federal Liberals
Voters in Prince Edward Island choose a new government today. They could end up making history in provincial politics and lead to a potential realignment on the federal scene. P.E.I. has only had Liberal and Conservative governments since it joined Confederation in 1873. Liberal Premier Wade MacLauchlan was consistently ahead in popular support from 2015,…
Investment makes workers more productive, creates better jobs and drives income growth. Fracking offers a simple, safe solution
By Matthew Lau and Marco Navarro-Genie Contributors The new government in New Brunswick faces no shortage of challenges. One of the most important to address is the dearth of business investment in the region. Hydraulic fracturing offers a solution. On a per capita basis in 2017, investment in non-residential structures, machinery, equipment and intellectual property…
Adopting the Alberta charter school model would give parents and children more choice and allow them to enjoy the benefits of competition
Canadians experience the enormous economic benefits of competition daily. For most consumer goods, over time, Canadians pay less and get more. Businesses compete to offer customers the best products at the lowest prices; those with offerings that consumers judge unsatisfactory are eventually forced to go out of business. As long as there’s competition, consumers are…
P.E.I. introduced standardized testing and student achievement substantially improved. Other provinces should take note
The latest test results from the Pan-Canadian Assessment Program (PCAP) reveal that Prince Edward Island students scored among the highest in the country. It’s impressive, but even more so when we remember that a decade ago P.E.I. scored at the bottom of Canadian provinces. One shouldn’t read too much into the results of one assessment,…
It’s time to focus on preserving public safety while permitting a market system to thrive through the entire supply chain, from producer to consumer
By Alex Whalen and Ian Madsen Contributors In October 2012, Gerard Comeau left his home in Tracadie, N.B, and drove to Quebec to buy alcohol. Comeau, a retired power lineman, knew he could buy the same alcohol for less in Quebec. However, upon returning to New Brunswick, Comeau was stopped by the RCMP and charged…
The media often portray alternative lenders as slippery, unethical loan sharks who exploit the poor. When targeting the sector and not just a few bad apples, such stories are easy, cheap hit jobs. New Brunswick Sen. Pierrette Ringuette, for example, recently described alternative loans to CBC Marketplace as “an abusive financial process that needs to…
