Another argument for replacing the PATs with an assessment at the beginning of the year is that the data will help teachers target their instruction to the needs of their students. This is a weak argument since one of the main reasons teachers’ unions give for their opposition to standardized testing is that teachers already know where their students are at. In other words, teachers shouldn’t need the data from a provincial assessment to provide good instruction. At least that’s been the consistent message of teachers’ unions until now.
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New prescription drugs are constantly being developed to relieve suffering and help us live longer. Unfortunately, little seems to be done by governments to shorten the approval process so that they can get to patients who need them. Recent studies indicate that it often takes more than two years for new medicines to be approved and made available in Canada. (~2 min.)
Join us weekly across the prairies for our hard hitting policy commentary broadcast across the Goldenwest Radio Network and more - Click here for a list of 17 stations and broadcast times.
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~2 min
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May 17, 2013 —
Improving Access to the Newest Medicines
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~55 min
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May 17, 2013 —
Schizophrenic Government Climate/Energy Policies (CFRA radio, Ottawa)
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~88 min
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May 16, 2013 —
To Heat or Eat: Europe's Climate Policy Fiasco (Benny Peiser)
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~2 min
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May 10, 2013 —
Government Set to Move on First Nations Equality Law
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~6 min
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May 8, 2013 —
Climatism has Become a Religion for Many (CFRA radio, Ottawa)
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~1 min
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May 8, 2013 —
The Crocus Story – Short Version
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~21 min
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May 7, 2013 —
Arctic Ice Melt Nothing to Worry About (CKNW radio, Vancouver)
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~67 min
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May 6, 2013 —
The Crocus Story – An Insider’s Perspective (Jack Dalgliesh)
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~2 min
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May 3, 2013 —
School Boards Should Offer Parents Choices
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~2 min
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April 26, 2013 —
A Fracking Revolution
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~15 min
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April 24, 2013 —
Property Rights Ranking in Canada (Stateless Man)
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~10 min
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April 24, 2013 —
April 22, 2013 – Earth Day Must Divorce Climatism (CJBK radio, London)
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Latest Publications
— May 20, 2013
Alberta education minister Jeff Johnson recently announced plans to scrap the Provincial Achievement Tests (PATs) currently written by grade 3, 6 and 9 students. More “student-friendly” assessments will be written at the beginning of the year. This is a disappointing development, especially since Alberta has long been the top-performing province in the country.
— May 16, 2013
PowerPoint slides which accompanied Benny Peiser's speech To Heat or Eat: Europe's Climate Policy Fiasco that he gave in Calgary on May 14, 2013.
— May 14, 2013
Ben Eisen and Romy Yourex demonstrate that Canada’s natural environment has generally been growing cleaner and greener by examining a number of indicators across several dimensions of environmental sustainability including urban air pollution, GHG emissions, freshwater withdrawals, freshwater quality, agricultural soil quality and forestry.
— May 14, 2013
Ben Eisen and Romy Yourex examine a number of performance measures to assess important trends surrounding the health and vitality of Canada’s natural environment.
— May 13, 2013
With provincial government expenditures rising far in excess of inflation since 1999, Manitoba does not have a case for raising any of its taxes, which are among the highest in Canada. The province clearly has a spending problem, not a lack of revenue problem, and simply needs to manage spending in more innovative and smarter ways.
— May 10, 2013
Professor Barry Cooper reviews Bricker and Ibbitson’s book The Big Shift and discusses the implications for Canadian identity and over all policy.
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 Policy Notes
- A One Page Policy Discussion
2013-05-20 –
Scrapping the Provincial Achievement Tests will join race to the bottom
2013-04-22 –
Selinger's Broken Tax Promise is the Least of it
2013-04-19 –
Suggestions for the Next Liberal Platform
» View More Policy Notes
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2013-04-16 –
Toward More Prosperous Cities
2013-04-01 –
Options for the CBC
2013-03-11 –
More Police Does Not Equal Less Crime
» View More Frontier Backgrounders
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 Perspectives
- Thoughts from the Advisory Board...
2013-04-21 –
How Rich Rockefellers Battle the People’s Pipeline
2013-04-08 –
EI for Seasonal Workers is a Corrosive Economic Policy
2013-04-03 –
Important Questions for Obama Nominees
» View More Perspectives
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 Policy Series
- Longer Reports & Studies
2013-05-14 –
The Environmental State of Canada
2013-03-25 –
The Future of E-Government in Saskatchewan
2013-03-08 –
The Supply Management Cartel:
» View More Policy Series
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2013-02-07 –
Dr. Stephen Blank, Transport Expert
2012-11-07 –
Pierre Desrochers, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.
2012-11-01 –
Aruna Papp, MA, ADR, MEd.
» View More Conversations
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2013-01-21 –
9th Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey
2012-09-07 –
Polar Bear Propaganda
2012-06-10 –
Transfer Disease?
» View More Special Reports and Publications
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2013-03-25 –
Government Must Stand up for Farmers and Commit to Ending Supply Management
2013-01-31 –
How would Canadian Prairie Agri-Business deal with a Dalton Minimum Repeat?
2011-11-30 –
NDP Stuck in the 1930s on CWB
» View More Rural Renaissance Notes
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2013-05-16 –
To Heat or Eat: Europe's Climate Policy Fiasco (Peiser)
2013-05-06 –
The Crocus Story - An Insider's Perspective (Dalgliesh)
2013-03-22 –
Hunting for Habitat: On the Private Production of Ecological Goods and Services (Knopff)
» View More PowerPoint Slides from Events
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2013-05-01 –
Manitoba Has It Right On First Nation Equality
2013-04-15 –
First Nations Should Welcome New Transparency Law
2013-04-04 –
Volume Never Wins Arguments
» View More Aboriginal Voices from Ground Zero
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 Worth a Look
- In our Virtual Library...
2013-05-16 –
To Eat or Heat? That’s the EU’s Question
2013-05-15 –
B.C. Vote Shifted on One Word: Pipelines
2013-05-09 –
In Defense of Carbon Dioxide
» View More Worth a Look
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2013-03-19 –
Looking For a Better Way to Sell the Keystone Pipeline
2013-02-13 –
Political Potshots won’t clean up Lake Winnipeg
2013-02-04 –
Obama’s Path Toward Energy Poverty
» View More Modern Environmentalist
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 Charticles
- A Graphical Look at Issues
2013-05-13 –
Manitoba Government Spending Rising Rapidly
2013-04-03 –
Canadian Property Rights Index
2012-08-29 –
Quebec Tuition Fee Dispute - The Stats
» View More Charticles
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2013-04-25 –
Speaker Argues Against Compact Cities
2013-04-11 –
Borough Takes Over Sidewalk Repairs
2013-04-02 –
Alberta Workers Taste Reality
» View More Frontier Centre in the Media
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2012-09-11 –
Alberta Carbon Capture Opportunity Cost Calculator
2010-12-01 –
Now Available: Frontier Centre iPhone Application
2009-03-14 –
The Frontier Goods & Services Interactive InfoMap
» View More Interactive Policy
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2013-05-08 –
Climatism has Become a Religion for Many (CFRA radio, Ottawa)
2013-05-07 –
Arctic Ice Melt Nothing to Worry About (CKNW radio, Vancouver)
2013-04-24 –
Property Rights Ranking in Canada (Stateless Man)
» View More Frontier Media Appearances
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2013-05-17 –
Improving Access to the Newest Medicines
2013-05-10 –
Government Set to Move on First Nations Equality Law
2013-05-03 –
School Boards Should Offer Parents Choices
» View More Frontier Radio Commentary
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2013-05-16 –
To Heat or Eat: Europe's Climate Policy Fiasco (Benny Peiser)
2013-05-08 –
The Crocus Story – Short Version
2013-05-06 –
The Crocus Story – An Insider’s Perspective (Jack Dalgliesh)
» View More Frontier Audio (Speeches/Events)
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2013-05-17 –
Schizophrenic Government Climate/Energy Policies (CFRA radio, Ottawa)
2013-04-22 –
April 18, 2013 – Al Gore-trained speaker debated (CFRA, Ottawa)
2013-04-15 –
Yes Minister in Ottawa (CBC Radio)
» View More Frontier Recommended Audio
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2013-04-08 –
Options for a New Equalization Formula
2013-03-24 –
Alberta Government makes a mistake with New York Times ad
2013-03-14 –
Smart on Crime (SunTV)
» View More Frontier Channel - Video
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2013-05-20 –
Episode 9 with Lawrence W. Reed - Adam Smith and the birth of economics
2013-05-13 –
Episode 8 with Michael Walker - The Freedom Index
2013-05-06 –
Episode 7 with Richard A. Epstein - Dos and don'ts advices to the US President
» View More Frontier Recommended Video
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RE: Make School Day Work Smarter, Not Longer
— December 17, 2012
99.5% of the time I agree with the Frontier's views but on this one I have to provide a different viewpoint. The existing school system at the elementary level is modeled on the same system that existed in the 60's, 50's, 40's, etc. Children are present in school from 9:00am to 3:30pm. Let's take the average family of the 21st century whereby both Mom and Dad are both present in the workforce (unlike the 60's, 50's, etc. where Mom's were "stay at home"). The standard workday is 8:00 to 4:00 or 9:00 to 5:00. Either parent is now forced to either rearrange their work schedule in order to pick up their child(ren) or find suitable after school daycare (for children under the age of 12).
Now take this situation one step further and apply it to a single parent family that is living at or below a middle income level. The parent gets two weeks vacation per year. The average number of Professional Development days teachers receive are a minimum of 1 per month not including early dismissals. The single parent must arrange and pay for an after school sitter or daycare when their child is released from school at 3:30pm. The cost of this to the parent is significant in terms of percentage of their annualized income. Factor in that the parent must arrange for a sitter 10 days a year not including the two weeks at Xmas and the summer and one can see the system is fine if we were living in 1952 but doesn not work for 2012.
I would argue that the average school day should not only coincide with the average work day but should be 8:30 to 5:30 to allow parents to fullfill their career/job obligations and help contribute to our economy by allowing for more work time and more disposable income directed to things the family needs vs going to after school daycare.
Email - Winnipeg, Mb
RE: Quebec Shouldn’t be Given its Gun Registry Data
— September 21, 2012
This column was an eye-opener. Not so much for Navarro-Genie's gun registry argument, but for the examples he gave of the intrusion of the Quebec government in people's lives.
I was aware of the requirement of women to maintain their maiden names upon marriage, but had forgotten, or was un-aware that, among other restrictions, all housing leases must expire at the same time, and that state permission must be sought in naming a child, or to send one to a non-French school. Top it off with the edict that all outdoor commercial signs must be exclusively in French and you have, I believe, the most totalitarian, intrusive regime in Canada.
As with all of their entrenched information-gathering systems already in place, the gun registry in-formation is merely another nail in the coffin for individual freedom in that sad imitation of a democracy.
Eric Hindson, Calgary
RE: Quebec Shouldn’t be Given its Gun Registry Data
— September 21, 2012
Question: Why do you care if Quebec keeps registering long guns, you are in Calgary, does it really affect you? The majority of Canadian's wanted to keep the registry.
Honestly, I'd be perfectly content if Alberta was the one to leave the country. You can take Stephen Hitler with you, and continue to ruin your local environment with all the tar sands production and those ugly tailing ponds. Email from William Groombridge
RE: Unravelling Child Poverty
— December 4, 2003
Kudos for taking on the poverty industry on this issue. Keep up the good work. - Email from Winnipeg
RE: Artificially Cheap Hydro Power
— June 7, 2012
In a well-meaning gesture towards national unity and equality, the good people and generous industries of Ontario have allowed themselves to be robbed blind by this Equalization Program, since its inception. Money which should have been invested in Ontario was instead sent to Ottawa where it was handed over to other provinces, so the people there would not have to work hard to create the same standard of living as Ontario, nor live within their means, nor move to find opportunity. In return, the rest of the country whines, complains, and sends hatred and ill-will to Ontario, especially its capital, Toronto, which is where most of the wealth in the country has traditionally been generated, then taxed away and sent to these ingrates. It has been a grand vote-buying scheme which has gone wrong. Now that Ontario can no longer afford to sacrifice itself in order to buy off the rest of the country, it is the target of ridicule and even more hatred, not sympathy. Yet due to the institutionalized insanity of the program, it continues to pay into it even though now considered a 'have-not', it receives a token amount back. Time for the program to end. Comment from zerozero
RE: Let's Have Real Elections at the Assembly of First Nations
— May 25, 2009
I read your article in the National Post entitled " This isn't democracy". Very interesting indeed. I have been talking for years about how the Assembly is governed and you are right it is totally undemocratic.It must change and for the life of me I don't know how to approach the situation. I have stated my views to many people near my home who are aboriginal, I have tried to organize off reserve natives to try and come together and form some sort of group that address some of the issues facing first nations. The problem I see is that the best interests of the "little guy" are not being served. Fontaine and company are so preoccupied with their own nest that things will never change. I find it extremely hard to get involved at any level because the the status quo is much more attractive to the chiefs than the alternative. I personally am a status Indian. I am from Killarney Ontario. You being from Sudbury probably know where that is and the close proximity to Wikewemikong. I live in Richmond B.C. now and have for some twenty years. However I still vote by mail for Chief and council and still try to keep abreast of the happenings back in Ontario. It's time aboriginals adopted a one person one vote for the assembly of first nations. Only then will it be truly representative of all. Your statement "The AFN speaks for the institutional interests of chiefs--not for ordinary band members" jumped right off the page at me and I thought, finally somebody had the guts to say that in print. Good Article. -- E-mail from Dean Beauvais, Richmond B.C.
RE: Drug Dealers and Global Warming - Parallel Parables?
— September 30, 2007
Continue with your campaign of attacking anyone and everyone who is concerned or wants action on global warming. Continue with your campaign of attacking science and scientists who want nothing more than their governments to STOP spending money to study the issue and start funding measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Continue with these things, if you have no attachment to truth and honesty and God. - E-mail from Sean Morrisy, Winnipeg
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Private Water Management Helps The Poor
The vast majority of the management of the world’s waterworks are in government hands, where political decisions are made to ignore necessary infrastructure upgrades. The result is that health, and especially the health of the poor, suffers. Government ownership is most often the problem, not the solution, on water quality issues.
Healthcare Problems We Share
If Canadian hospitals and doctors faced market pressure, and if Canadian patients had viable alternatives, the overall cost of health care might decrease sharply while clinical outcomes improve.
First Nations Need Independent NGOs
Native people will need to fill the vacuum that will be created when the Indian Act comes tumbling down.. If anything, it will take more autonomy than what the government wants to give, and it’s more than what our leaders are capable of. Lately the cry has been “down with the Indian Act,” but it will take more than a political voice to replace it. It will take a great effort, and it will have to start with grassroots community efforts. All great movements start this way.
Inconvenient Indoctrination
In his ruling, Judge Burton identified nine scientific errors in the movie that were serious enough to warrant correction. Among other things, Judge Burton found that some claims in the movie, such as the contention that sea levels could increase by as much as 20 feet in the near future, were exaggerated by several orders of magnitude, while other claims, namely that disasters such as Hurricane Katrina are occurring because of human-caused global warming, are simply not supported by the evidence.
The Biggest Carbon Bomb is Disinformation
Disinformation and public myth-making has left people believing that carbon dioxide is a “pollutant,” yet, nothing could be further from the truth. Or that CO2 exists in overwhelming volume in the air. CO2 is a trace gas in the air – an essential one for all of life at that.
New Grand Chief Should Lead Reform
It’s essential to know how the candidates or the eventual winner would react to changes to the Indian Act, not bravado. Last year, AFN National Chief Shawn Atleo said he wants to replace the Indian Act and recently, he said he wants the Aboriginal Affairs bureaucracy dismantled. If serious movement on this comes, how would the grand chief for Manitoba lead? Would he lead boldly and make hard decisions or retreat to the status quo?
An Open Letter To Robert Kennedy, Jr.
This area had been logged out in the 1940’s but had rebounded to its present mature state, just like the boreal forest has done since time immemorial. And that was before the days of modern forestry and environmental practices. Manitoba’s logging industry mimics the fires that have always been a part of the boreal forest ecosystem.
London Transport's Nick Newton
Well certainly the overheads in terms of operating garages fell. Again, traditionally the public sector provider had very large, very expensive architecturally-designed garages. What the private sector operator realized was that this wasn't necessary to run the service. The vehicles should have been out on the road providing service most of the day - you didn't need to keep them in comfort. They actually utilized existing supermarket car parks and that sort of thing and only had covered accommodation to maintain the vehicles -- some of which are contracted out anyway.
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Upcoming Events
Good Governance is Key with Chief David Crate
May 29, 2013 — Winnipeg
Dam-nation: Rolling the Dice on Manitoba’s Future with Graham Lane
June 5, 2013 — Winnipeg
Upcoming FCPP Appearances
Visionary Conversations: Our Education System: The Good, the Bad, and the Solutions
Speaker: Rodney Clifton, Senior Fellow for Frontier Centre for Public Policy
Date: May 22, 2013
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: Robert B Schultz Theatre, St. John's College, University of Manitoba, Fort Garry Campus
Community Policy Forum
Speaker: Steve Lafleur, FCPP Policy Analyst
Date: May 28, 2013
Time: 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Place: Grant Park McNally Robinson, Winnipeg, Mb
Wed May 22, 2013

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