Search

Search results

1. Cut the growth of growth commissions

   I hardly ever disagree with Jack Mintz, former president of the C. D. Howe Institute, former director of the University of Calgary School of Public Policy, and for the past decade or two the dean of Canadian policy economists. But I do ...

2. Not fake, but misleading news on minimum wages

   CBC’s The National ran a very touching story this week about the hard choices faced by three Toronto men holding down minimum wage jobs. It was both empathetic and sympathetic. Good. We shouldn’t skimp on either for people who are worse ...

3. If Premier Wynne wants to boost low-wage worker pay, she should cut Ontario’s corporate tax rate

   The flaws in Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s plan to raise the pay of low-wage workers are quickly becoming apparent. On Jan. 1, the Wynne government increased Ontario’s minimum wage sharply by 21 per cent and it immediately backfired ...

4. Rather than name-calling, Premier Wynne should take responsibility for her government’s minimum wage policy

   Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne recently accused Tim Hortons franchise owners of being bullies for reducing employee benefits in response to the province’s sharp minimum wage hike. This sentiment is echoed by others who have called for a ...

5. Minimum wage hikes—negative effects may hit lower-wage regions of Ontario particularly hard

   Between now and 2019, Ontario will increase its minimum wage to $15 per hour. In total, this will be an increase of more than 30 per cent in less than a year-and-a-half. Canadian evidence consistently shows that higher minimum wages tend ...

6. Upcoming minimum wage hikes threaten younger and less-skilled Ontarians

   In January, Ontario’s minimum wage will increase to $14 an hour, up from $11.60 today. In January 2019, the wage floor will increase by another dollar to $15 per hour. There are good reasons to worry that such a rapid increase in the ...

7. Want more automation? Then raise the minimum wage

   These days the phrase “rise of the machines” has taken on a new poignancy for some Canadians. Governments across Canada are giving low-skilled workers reason to worry their jobs will be replaced by machines—thanks to plans to hike the ...

8. Obstacles to business investment in Ontario—high labour costs

   A recent study by the Fraser Institute showed that weak business investment remains a serious problem for Ontario’s economy, with important implications for the province’s medium- and long-term growth prospects. While the provincial ...

9. Ontario’s planned $15 minimum wage will likely hurt young and low-skilled workers

   Ontario’s Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs is currently touring the province to get feedback on Bill 148, which proposes various amendments to the Employment Standards Act including, among other labour policy changes, a ...

10. Rising cost of doing business in Ontario chasing away business investment

    After more than a decade of comparatively weak economic performance, there are finally some green shoots for Ontario’s economy. Unemployment in the province is at its lowest in 16 years, and the province is expected to be near the top of ...