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1. B.C. government sending all the wrong signals to investors

   Appeared in the Vancouver Province, March 20, 2018 Consumer spending and a hot real estate market have helped buoy British Columbia’s economy in recent years. But they have also helped mask deep-rooted economic problems including B.C.’s dismal level of ...

2. Workers, not businesses, will ultimately pay B.C.’s new payroll health tax

   A key policy announcement in B.C.’s 2018 budget is the elimination of Medical Services Premiums (MSP) in 2020 and introduction of a new payroll tax—the employer health tax (EHT). Some claim this tax swap will lift the financial burden ...

3. B.C. throne speech latest hint that government set to abandon fiscal prudence

   Premier John Horgan’s NDP government campaigned on balanced budgets. ...

4. When tabling its budget, the B.C. government should learn from past success

   Appeared in the Vancouver Sun, February 14, 2018 As the old cliché goes, if you don’t learn from past mistakes you’re doomed to repeat them. But the opposite is also true—learning from the successes of the past can be as valuable. With its first full ...

5. Will British Columbia’s New NDP Government Abandon Past Spending Discipline?

   In many respects, British Columbia can currently boast of having the soundest fiscal position of any Canadian province. While other provinces, including Ontario and Alberta, have struggled in recent years with comparatively large budget deficits ...

6. NDP may break campaign promise with big spending budget

   Appeared in the Vancouver Province, September 15, 2017 John Horgan’s NDP government this week tabled its first budget, which ramps up spending and shrinks last year’s $2.7 billion surplus to almost zero, despite enacting a host of economically damaging ...

7. B.C. budget delivers blow to competitiveness in the province

   In British Columbia’s recent budget speech, Finance Minister Carole James (pictured above) said: “We’re competitive as a province, a destination for investors, and we’re committed to seeing that continue.” This is the right talk. ...

8. B.C. at fiscal crossroads—next week’s budget update will reveal path new government takes

   Appeared in the Vancouver Sun, September 8, 2017 While in office, every government faces a few defining moments. Often, a government’s first budget is one of them because it sets its immediate and longer-term priorities. It’s also a chance for the public ...

9. Tax relief in B.C. budget misses ‘pro-growth’ mark

   Appeared in the Vancouver Sun, February 25, 2017 When touting the tax cuts in B.C.’s 2017 budget this week, Finance Minister Michael de Jong (pictured above) said the cuts will leave money “in the pockets of British Columbians to let them make the choices ...

10. Memo to Elizabeth May—B.C.’s carbon tax was not revenue neutral

    Yesterday in the House of Commons, our recent study documenting how B.C.’s carbon tax was and is not actually revenue neutral, received considerable attention. Unfortunately, some of the statements made by members of parliament ...