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1. The federal government doesn’t owe Ontario—or Alberta—more money

   Appeared in the National Post In a year when two heavyweight provinces, Ontario and Alberta, which together constitute 55 per cent of Canada’s GDP, are running substantial deficits, there are three ways to reduce the red ink. Strategy one: cut (and reform ...

2. Islanders Should Take Less and Contribute More

   Appeared in the Charlottetown Guardian Souris Mayor Dave MacDonald recently told the Premier's Council on EI that recent changes to the federal EI program are killing his town. Unfortunately, Mr. MacDonald did not note that Islanders receive three ...

3. Ontario, the Diffident Enabler, Needs to Change

   Appeared in the Toronto Star and Winnipeg Free Press For many years, Ontario has been the quiet enabler for the vast system of subsidies the federal government provides to Atlantic Canada, Quebec and Manitoba. With rare exceptions, it has stood by as ...

4. Unseen Equalization: Provincial Subsidies in Federal Programs

   In recent years, evidence has accumulated that regional subsidies incorporated in federal programs are substantial, affect all parts of Canada, and often have a direct impact on everyday life. These arrangements are not well understood because the funding ...

5. Equalization: A lousy deal for Ontario and the West

   Appeared in the National Post In a recent drive from Saint John to St. Andrews, New Brunswick, I marvelled at the mostly four-lane highway that connected the two points on the map and how empty it was on a Friday evening on a long weekend.  I compared it ...

6. Super-sized Fiscal Federalism

   In 2012/13, the federal government?s total transfers to the provinces amounted to $60.1 billion, or $1,725 per capita. This study examines one of those federal transfer programs, equalization. Equalization is an unconditional transfer of federal funds to ...