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1. Bringing government employee compensation in line with private-sector norms key for B.C. budget

   Appeared in the Vancouver Sun, June 25, 2018 During last year’s election campaign, and in his first full budget as premier, John Horgan (pictured above) promised to balance British Columbia’s operating budget. If his NDP government remains committed to ...

2. Time to rethink using the minimum wage as an anti-poverty tool in Ontario

   Appeared in the Ottawa Sun, June 20, 2018 Former prime minister Kim Campbell once famously quipped that “an election is no time to discuss serious issues.” Unfortunately, this is often true, as exemplified by the lack of meaningful debate on minimum wage ...

3. Time to rethink minimum wage as an anti-poverty tool in Ontario

   Appeared in the Toronto Sun, June 20, 2018 Former Prime Minister Kim Campbell once famously quipped that “an election is no time to discuss serious issues.” Unfortunately, this is often true, as exemplified by the lack of meaningful debate on minimum wage ...

4. Deficit spending not a free lunch—it’s a bill to future taxpayers

   Appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press, June 12, 2018 It’s official. According to the federal government’s fiscal monitor, Ottawa ran a $19.4 billion budget deficit for 2017/18. And this government’s appetite for deficit spending shows no signs of relenting. ...

5. Prime Minister Trudeau conflates taxes and transfers in Question Period

   Appeared in the Winnipeg Sun, June 5, 2018 In a recent exchange during Question Period, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was again asked about a Fraser Institute analysis of how federal tax policy changes have increased the amount of income tax paid by the ...

6. Raising B.C.’s minimum wage wrong way to help working poor

   Appeared in the Vancouver Sun, May 29, 2018 On June 1, the minimum wage in British Columbia will increase from $11.35 to $12.65 per hour—the first in a series of hikes on route to $15.20 in 2021. That’s a 34 per cent increase in three years. Despite ...

7. Provincial policies making B.C. inhospitable to investment

   Appeared in the Whitehorse Daily Star, May 28, 2018 According to a new Angus Reid poll, more British Columbians think the province is on the “wrong track” than the right one. And indeed, there’s good reason to be concerned about B.C.’s policy direction. ...

8. An unconditional basic income—a bad idea for many reasons

   Appeared in the National Post, May 1, 2018 Almost 50 years ago, a Canadian Senate report declared that a basic income “is an idea whose time has come.” Ever since, the idea resurfaces every so often, with support that spans the political spectrum. Most ...

9. Canadians—there was no middle-class tax cut

   Appeared in the Vancouver Province, April 30, 2018 With tax season just behind us, many Canadians are realizing the full weight of the income taxes they paid in 2017, and some may wonder about the much-heralded middle-class tax cut promised by the ...

10. Cost of tax compliance in Canada—no relief in sight

    Appeared in the Toronto Sun, April 29, 2018 For millions of Canadians, the tax return deadline is a reminder of the drudgery and cost of complying with an increasingly complicated income tax system. Back in 2016, to the excitement of many, Prime Minister ...