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1. Ontario’s decade of spending decadence

   Appeared in the Windsor Star The Ontario government has never made a secret of its desire to have the federal government help fund Ontario’s provincial budget. It even started its own think-tank with $5 million in 2009, which regularly publishes reports ...

2. Alberta’s budget: $11.4 billion in extra taxes

   Appeared in the Calgary Herald Premier Jim Prentice dropped hints for months that the 2015 provincial budget was a once-in-a-generation chance to “fix” Alberta’s finances. That didn’t happen. Instead, the province raised taxes on Albertans in a manner ...

3. Balancing the Ontario budget by 2017-18 just a pipe dream

   Appeared in Waterloo Region Record, Stratford Beacon Herald, Woodstock Sentinel Review, and Winnipeg Free Press Ontario’s provincial government wants a balanced budget for the 2017-18 fiscal year, and Finance Minister Charles Sousa is adamant that Ontario ...

4. Alberta's opaque budget represents a failure to learn from the past

     If you listen to Alberta Finance Minister Doug Horner, the province's public finances are under control.  The government's budget imposes no new taxes, spending growth has been moderated, and Alberta is running an operational budget surplus ...

5. Too early to declare the deficit slain(2)

   Appeared in the Vancouver Sun, Kelowna Daily Courier, and Penticton Herald, November 2013 After federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty unveiled his latest financial plan Tuesday, much of the media hype centred on the government's larger than expected ...

6. Balanced budget requires tough choices, not wishful thinking

   Appeared in Globe and Mail Economy Lab “There’ll be no doubt that we’re balanced in 2015,” federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told reporters after recently meeting with a group of private sector economists. This is among Mr. Flaherty’s most categorical ...

7. Ottawa drops hints for 2014 budget

     Fiscal policy is really about taxes and spending and the federal government recently provided some hints on its plans in these areas. In the recent Speech from the Throne, the government reaffirmed its commitment to balancing the budget by 2015-16 and ...

8. Spending Beyond Our Means; Sticking it to the Next Generation

   Appeared in the National Post Over the course of the past several months, outgoing Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney and Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty have repeatedly warned that Canadians are spending beyond their means and taking on too much ...

9. It's not our problem; Ontario Liberals kick deficit can down the road

   Appeared in the Financial Post The May 2 minority Liberal budget is a politically expedient document that likely avoids an election but unfortunately fails to tackle Ontario's looming fiscal crisis. The longer the province waits, the more difficult ...

10. The stimulus spending never stopped

    Appeared in the Financial Post The key litmus test for the Harper government’s 2013 budget was always going to be how realistic it was with respect to achieving a balanced budget by 2015-16. The governing Tories have staked both their economic and ...