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1. With Ottawa on track to balance the budget, what comes next?

   Appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press, Waterloo Region Record, Guelph Mercury, and New Brunswick Telegraph Journal, February 2014 "Some people will say this budget is boring," finance minister Jim Flaherty remarked after unveiling Tuesday's ...

2. Cut spending; don't just slow its growth

   Appeared in the Financial Post With federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty poised to unveil his 2014 budget on February 11th, early signs point to a business-as-usual budget with his government staying focused on eliminating the deficit in 2015 and ...

3. Canada 2020: The Right Scope and Size of Government

   Appeared in Canadian Government Executive The Clerk of the Privy Council's Blueprint 2020 exercise is a positive step in redefining the role and functions of the federal public service in Canada. It asks important questions about how the public ...

4. 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 ...

5. 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 ...

6. 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 ...

7. Canada today not what the fathers of Confederation envisioned

   Appeared in the Calgary Herald, Vancouver Sun and Huffington Post Canada is a superb creation and initial credit for that must, obviously, go to Canada's fathers of Confederation. How we came about is a fascinating tale of seemingly intractable ...

8. The Harper government's multi-billion dollar transparency problem

   Appeared in the Calgary Herald Canadians who don’t regularly track how governments spend money might be surprised to find how myths crop up about government expenditures. Exhibit A is a new report that claims Canada needs even more “industrial policy,” ...

9. 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 ...

10. Crony capitalism the enemy of free enterprise

    Appeared in the Calgary Herald If business leaders ever wonder why a chunk of the public disdain business and call for higher corporate taxes or sector-specific increases (higher royalty rates for energy and mining, higher stumpage fees in forestry) or ...