Although the merits of free trade are widely accepted by economists and policy makers, criticism of free trade as sound economic policy is still widespread. In both Canada and the United States, critics of free trade attract substantial public attention. Protectionists and economic nationalists argue that free trade causes economic ruin and the loss of national identity.

A Secondary Schools Report Card for British Columbia collects a variety of relevant, objective indicators of school performance into one easily accessible public document so that all interested parties-parents, school administrators, teachers, students, and taxpayers-can analyze and compare the performance of individual schools.

More than a decade ago, Michael Walker, the Executive Director of The Fraser Institute in Vancouver, Canada, and Nobel laureate Milton Friedman organized a series of conferences with the objective of clearly defining and measuring economic freedom. They were able to attract some of the world's leading economists including Gary Becker, Douglass North, Peter Bauer, and Assar Lindbeck to participate in the series and provide input for the study.