The Globe is reporting on the strong increase in EI beneficiaries in the past month. The report intones that the growth in the number of employment insurance beneficiaries was “especially strong in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario, all of which recorded…
Continue ReadingWarning! Public service is dangerous work
Just got a look at the new workforce absenteeism tables from Statistics Canada. Did you know the average public sector worker takes double the days off for illness or disability than the average worker in the construction sector? Time to recalibrate…
Continue ReadingFilm industry
I am not as big a fan of the movie/TV biz as some economic development types but I do see its potential – particularly as it relates to building a creative culture in the province. I see here that there…
Continue ReadingWhither conservativism in NB?
The subtext, of course, to the overwhelmingly positive response to the NB budget is what to do if you are a conservative. The rightest of the right wing think tanks, AIMS, was gushing like a love struck teenager in the…
Continue ReadingIs road building the best way to create jobs?
Nova Scotia will invest $1.9 billion over the next three years in infrastructure, one of the largest such commitments in the province’s history. Funds will be channelled through the Building for Growth plan, the premier’s office announced. Investment and job-creation…
Continue ReadingClarifying the corporate tax issue
In light of the Fraser Institute’s assertion that cutting the corporate tax rate a few points will stimulate massive new business investment, I thought I would refresh our collective memories about the overall impact of taxes on total business costs. …
Continue ReadingIt will ‘dramatically attract business investment’: Fraser Institute
I wonder if this guy even looked at it. Niels Veldhuis, senior economist at the Fraser Institute, called the corporate tax reductions a dramatic move by government. “This will drastically improve the investment incentives for not only businesses currently in…
Continue ReadingA little free advice to the pols
Here’s a little free advice to the politicians. If you are getting positive coverage of a budget on the editorial page of the Times & Transcript you are doing something wrong. For example, the T&T says: The Graham government has…
Continue ReadingMassive corporate tax cuts
Hey, I read this morning that New Brunswick is getting a massive corporate tax cut. $6 million worth in 2009 alone! There are 40,000 businesses in New Brunswick. That’s a cut of $150 per business per year or about $3…
Continue ReadingTax consumption
I have already received two emails this morning aghast at my notion of increasing the HST by 4 points. Think about this for a minute. I am not calling for a 4 point increase in the HST and that’s it. …
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