I was talking with a colleague the other day and we got into a lively debate about Equalization – the federal program that provides additional funding to provinces that do not generate enough taxes locally to ensure their public services…
Continue ReadingInculcating neo-McKennaism
I have written on this subject in the past but I think it is well worth repeating as we head into a new year. One of the only policy initiatives from the McKenna era that worked was his focus on…
Continue ReadingThe Conservative platform for Atl. Canada
The Telegraph Journal is reporting that Stephen Harper will unveil his strategy for Atlantic Canada early in the new year. The article states: Even Atlantic Conservatives complained following the 2004 federal election that their new party had failed to explain…
Continue ReadingLearning from the forestry bailout
It was announced just before Christmas that the Lord government would be investing $250 million into the forestry industry over the next five years. That’s on top of the $67 million to reopen the pulp mill in Nackawic. $317 million…
Continue Reading‘We give it six months’
This week’s Macleans has a segment entitled ‘We give it six months’ referring to thing that won’t last six months in the opinion of the newly renovated magazine editors. For example, the Stephen Harper/Jack Layton marriage or the treaty between…
Continue ReadingDeloitte Competitiveness Index
What do the USA, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany and the UK have in common? They all rank higher than Canada in the latest Deloitte Competitiveness Index (DCI) which ranks countries on what it views as the main factors behind wealth…
Continue ReadingOn population growth
Some of you will undoubtedly find this overkill but I’ll post it anyway. The attached chart shows the estimated population of all U.S. states and Canadian provinces for 2005 and their estimated growth since 2004. New Brunswick’s population performance from…
Continue ReadingOn natural gas and economic development
Did you know that there is natural gas out near Sussex in the McCully field? There is and in fact, the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan has been using that gas for its local operation for several years. Now a new…
Continue ReadingYou’ve gotta love the hansard
I now have an appreciation for what journalists covering the legislature have to deal with on a daily basis. There is almost a separate vocabulary the politicians use that intricately mixes non-answers, vague denials, double speak and teeth gritting irony.…
Continue ReadingFrank McKenna running for mayor
If you have been following my blog, you will know that I occasionally report on the status of Frank McKenna’s political ambitions. Frank McKenna, head of a business lobbying group in Liverpool, England, that is. Yes, old Frank is tired…
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