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This year's survey results show that more Canadians were waiting to receive medical treatment in 1996 than in 1995. According to the study, 172,766 Canadians were waiting for surgical procedures, an increase from 1995's (updated) estimate of 155,969.

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In the debate over global warming, the relevant economic concern is to weigh the costs of taking action against the costs of doing nothing. As global warming is a theory and not a fact, doing nothing about it might indeed be costless. But, even if global warming is occurring, many scientists agree that delaying action by 15 to 25 years would not impose serious additional costs. Furthermore, the costs of any global warming that might be occurring (whether the result of human activities or not) are likely to be exaggerated. Several of the authors in this book show that there may be benefits from warming.

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The purpose of this paper is to take the opportunity offered by the Alberta experience with liquor retailing privatization to examine the sort of market structure and its characteristics that are produced by market forces under privatization and to compare these with the market structure and characteristics of the government-owned system. The impact of government-imposed restrictions on the evolution of an efficient retail distribution system under privatization is also assessed.

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Government-sponsored training programs are increasingly being seen as a panacea for improving prospects in the workplace for disadvantaged workers. In Canada, federal and provincial governments have already embarked on such programs and are poised to invest more money.

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In The Harris Government: A Mid-term Review , authors Marc Law, Howard Markowitz, and Fazil Mihlar argue that the overall performance of the Harris government has been satisfactory, and award the Ontario government an overall letter grade of C+. The reports makes 25 recommendations for reforming the role of government that would help promote greater economic growth and employment for all Ontarians.

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As a natural extension of its interest in the ways in which the private sector reacts to the activities of government, The Fraser Institute has long studied the underground economy. In pursuing this research, the Institute assembled a roster of experts in Vancouver in April 1994. They included government officials, accountants, economists, lawyers, federal police, politicians, and public policy analysts from Canada, the United States, Britain, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Russia, and Hong Kong.

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Today, only a few years after the collapse of the Atlantic cod stocks, the evidence that the Pacific salmon fishery is facing a similar crisis is overwhelming. Conservation and the fleet's economic viability are now at stake. The federal government's solution is to implement yet another program of fleet reduction and license restriction in an effort to reduce the total number of fish caught by Pacific fishermen. There is no evidence, however, that this plan will solve the long-term problems plaguing the industry. If the Pacific salmon is not to suffer the fate of the Atlantic cod, an alternative to the government's solution must be found.