PEF home page and weblog
I’ve just written a blog post about the fiscal situation of Canada’s ‘oil rich’ provinces (i.e., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador). It consists of a summary of key points raised at a PEF-sponsored panel at this year’s Annual Conference of the Canadian Economics Association. Points raised in the blog post include the following: -The […]
Posted by Nick Falvo under aboriginal peoples, Alberta, Balanced budgets, budgets, corporate income tax, corporate profits, debt, deficits, economic growth, economic thought, employment, energy, fiscal policy, heterodox economics, homeless, housing, income, income distribution, income support, income tax, Indigenous people, industrial policy, inequality, labour adjustment, labour market, Newfoundland and Labrador, oil and gas, PEF, poverty, progressive economic strategies, public services, Role of government, Saskatchewan, social policy, taxation, transportation, unemployment.
June 19th, 2017
Comments: 1
I had the following comments in yesterday’s front-page story on Vale’s decision to postpone its proposed $3-billion potash mine at Kronau, Saskatchewan: Regina economist Erin Weir, who is widely expected to run for the leadership of the provincial NDP, said in a statement Friday that the Vale announcement “represents a failure of the Saskatchewan government’s […]
Posted by Erin Weir under media, Newfoundland and Labrador, potash, Saskatchewan.
August 19th, 2012
Comments: 1
On June 7, I gave a keynote address to the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees Education Sector Conference. My PowerPoint presentation (with full references) can be found at this link. Points I raised in the address include the following: -Canada’s economy has been growing quite steadily over the past three decades, even when one adjusts […]
Posted by Nick Falvo under BC, competition, Conservative government, corporate income tax, debt, demographics, education, fiscal federalism, fiscal policy, household debt, income distribution, income tax, inequality, macroeconomics, Newfoundland and Labrador, P3s, part time work, post-secondary education, privatization, productivity, public infrastructure, Quebec, rankings, regulation, Role of government, social policy, student debt, student movement, taxation, user fees, working time, young workers.
June 7th, 2012
Comments: 4
Saskatchewan’s Minister of Energy and Resources replied to my op-ed and letter on Dutch disease and resource royalties. On Friday, he was promoted to Minister of Everything. Columnist Murray Mandryk wrote, “Given the amount of power Bill Boyd now has in his super-economy portfolio, he may be one fluffy Persian cat and remote desert island […]
Posted by Erin Weir under media, Newfoundland and Labrador, oil and gas, potash, Sask. Election 2011, Saskatchewan.
May 30th, 2012
Comments: 2
Last Friday, I blogged here about the Quebec student protests. Â Subsequently, I was invited to appear on 580 CFRA News Talk Radio, with hosts Rob Snow and Lowell Green. I should note that Mr. Green is the author of several books, including: -How the Granola Crunching, Tree Hugging Thug Huggers are Wrecking our Country; –Mayday […]
Posted by Nick Falvo under debt, education, fiscal federalism, household debt, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, part time work, post-secondary education, privatization, Quebec, social policy, student debt, student movement, user fees, young workers.
April 26th, 2012
Comments: 1
On CBC’s The National last night, Rex Murphy weighed in on Quebec’s student protests; the transcript can be found here,  and the three-minute video here.  He calls the protests “short sighted,” points out that Quebec already has the lowest tuition fees in Canada, and suggests the students’ actions are “crude attempts at precipitating a crisis.” He […]
Posted by Nick Falvo under education, fiscal federalism, housing, Newfoundland and Labrador, post-secondary education, poverty, Quebec, social indicators, social policy, student debt, student movement, user fees, young workers.
April 20th, 2012
Comments: 12
Carleton University’s Ted Jackson teaches a graduate seminar course on post-secondary education in Carleton’s School of Public Policy and Administration. Earlier this month, I was invited to give a guest presentation to Professor Jackson’s class. I focused the presentation on affordability challenges faced by students wanting to pursue post-secondary education. My slide presentation can be […]
Posted by Nick Falvo under education, fiscal federalism, income distribution, inequality, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, post-secondary education, Quebec, social indicators, social policy, student debt, student movement, user fees, working time, young workers.
February 29th, 2012
Comments: 2
Last March, Keith Dunne and I wrote an opinion piece on Danny Williams’ post-secondary education (PSE) legacy in Newfoundland and Labrador. Among other things, we pointed out that average undergraduate tuition fees (for domestic students) in Newfoundland and Labrador are $2,624/yr., compared with $5,138 for Canada as a whole and $6,307 in Ontario. With a provincial election slated to take […]
Posted by Nick Falvo under debt, education, fiscal federalism, NDP, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, party politics, post-secondary education, progressive economic strategies, Role of government, social policy, socialism, student debt, student movement, user fees.
September 16th, 2011
Comments: 4
A shorter version of this analysis appears at the Globe and Mail’s Economy Lab. See article and comments here. Last fall Premier Danny Williams wondered what could drive anyone to let hundreds of millions of dollars slip through their fingers. Last week he got his answer. The Roil report on the 18-month strike at Voisey’s […]
Posted by Armine Yalnizyan under Canada's North, development, economic growth, foreign investment/ownership, globalization, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, resources, unions.
May 20th, 2011
Comments: 15
I recently had the chance to read a 2008 book entitled Who Goes? Who Stays? What Matters? Accessing and Persisting in Post-Secondary Education in Canada. Edited by Ross Finnie, Richard Mueller, Arthur Sweetman and Alex Usher, the anthology features 14 chapters written by a total of 21 authors.   I found Chapter 4 (co-authored by […]
Posted by Nick Falvo under Alberta, education, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, part time work, post-secondary education, race, social policy, student debt, student movement, user fees, women, working time.
April 20th, 2011
Comments: none
Keith Dunne and I have an opinion piece out on what we consider to be one of the best-kept secrets in Canadian social policy: Danny Williams’ post-secondary education (PSE) legacy. Among other things, the piece points out that: -Since 2003, the Newfoundland and Labrador government has increased funding for PSE by 82 percent. -Average tuition […]
Posted by Nick Falvo under Newfoundland and Labrador, post-secondary education, student debt, student movement, user fees.
March 18th, 2011
Comments: 1
As sometimes happens, I started writing a comment on Jim’s excellent post and then realized that there was enough material for a new post. I agree with Jim that Ottawa’s $130-million settlement with AbitibiBowater deserves more attention, but I have been waist-deep in potash. I think that my initial take on Abitibi’s NAFTA challenge still holds up […]
Posted by Erin Weir under big business, federalism, NAFTA, Newfoundland and Labrador.
August 28th, 2010
Comments: none
           Canada’s federal government made an important announcement this week.  It was kept deliberately quiet: with a news release issued at 4:45 pm on a calm Tuesday in the middle of the late-summer news “dead zone.” But it should set alarm bells ringing for anyone concerned with the anti-democratic direction of global trade law. Enjoy […]
Posted by Jim Stanford under free trade, NAFTA, Newfoundland and Labrador.
August 27th, 2010
Comments: 6
Vale, the company against which my union has been on strike since July 2009, released its first-quarter earnings this evening. The release deflates Vale’s rationale for demanding labour concessions and confirms that the strike is hurting its bottom line. The company wants to eliminate defined-benefit pensions for new employees and drastically reduce the bonus paid […]
Posted by Erin Weir under big business, foreign investment/ownership, media, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, unions.
May 5th, 2010
Comments: 2
Vale, the company against which my union has been on strike since July of last year, released its fourth-quarter earnings this evening. This release deflates the company’s rationale for demanding labour concessions and confirms that the strike is hurting its bottom line. Vale wants to eliminate defined-benefit pensions for new employees and drastically reduce the […]
Posted by Erin Weir under big business, foreign investment/ownership, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, unions.
February 10th, 2010
Comments: 7
Vale, the company against which my union has been on strike since July, presented its third-quarter earnings this morning. These figures confirm that Vale does not need the concessions it has been demanding and that the strike is costing it significantly. The company wants to eliminate defined-benefit pensions for new employees and drastically reduce the […]
Posted by Erin Weir under big business, foreign investment/ownership, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, resources, unions.
October 29th, 2009
Comments: 1
I have generally been underwhelmed by media coverage of AbitibiBowater’s prospective NAFTA challenge of Newfoundland and Labrador’s decision to reclaim natural resources that the company previously used to operate paper mills in the province. I watched a panel discussion on Mike Duffy Live (before his Senate appointment) that focussed entirely on NAFTA’s nondiscrimination provisions. But […]
Posted by Erin Weir under foreign investment/ownership, NAFTA, Newfoundland and Labrador, resources.
January 9th, 2009
Comments: 1
Jim’s recent mini-study emphasized that profits now occupy gargantuan shares of GDP in the oil-rich provinces. He and The Jurist have noted the total disconnect between corporate profits and personal income in two of those provinces: Saskatchewan and Newfoundland. To explore this issue further, I have pulled some figures out of the recently-released 2007 Provincial […]
Posted by Erin Weir under big business, labour market, Newfoundland and Labrador, oil and gas, Saskatchewan, StatCan.
May 18th, 2008
Comments: none
In April 2006, Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams walked away from proposed Hebron development because the multinational oil companies were not offering sufficient benefits for his province. The national media and federal government heaped scorn on this decision. A couple of days ago, Williams secured a new deal that gives the province a 4.9% equity stake […]
Posted by Erin Weir under big business, federalism, Newfoundland and Labrador, oil and gas, taxation.
August 25th, 2007
Comments: 1