Between 1999-2000 and 2010-11, total government program spending increased by 36.4%, from $7,505 per capita to $10,240 on a constant dollar basis. Nowhere is the need to bring expenditures and revenue into alignment more obvious and critical than in health care... with the population aging –...

Canadians should hold off on declaring a slowdown in government healthcare spending to sustainable growth rates, says a C.D. Howe Institute report released today. In “Bending Canada’s Healthcare Cost Curve: Watch Not What Governments Say, But What They Do,” author William B.P. Robson finds...

Quebecers are carrying a $682 billion fiscal burden – the higher tax bill for increased healthcare costs over the next half-century – and should prepare now for the coming demographic squeeze, says a report released today from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “An Aging Population Fiscal...

Spending on healthcare in the western provinces and Canada has increased over time, outpacing growth in other government program spending. Further, the trend is expected to continue given the aging population and an increase in demand for new technology and treatments, which is a concern for the...

We know there is nothing more important to Manitoba families than the health of their loved ones. That’s why health care has always been our top priority. Mr. Speaker, we are focused on expanding care instead of costs.” (Manitoba Budget Address 2012, p. 3).

Reform is required for social program rules that prevent the poor from saving in Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs) and Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs), according to this study. The author says that encouraging asset accumulation, even in small amounts, is crucial in helping to lift...

How do parents, teachers, taxpayers and school administrators know if their children attend a good school? Parents, in particular, deserve more information than they can glean from parent-teacher nights or award-filled graduation ceremonies. More meaningful information would allow them to fairly...

Canada’s generally good labour market performance over the past several years, exemplified in a 33-year, record-low unemployment rate, masks strikingly large regional disparities. In September 2007, the national unemployment rate was 6 percent, but it ranged from 2.8 percent in central Alberta...