While some environmental advocacy groups and commentators insist that environmental pollution is getting worse and that Canada’s track record in this area should be a source of national shame, an objective examination of the data across a broad range of indicators tells a very different story. Over the past four decades, Canada has made impressive environmental progress. The health and vitality of the country’s natural environment have improved steadily.
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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 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.
— May 10, 2013
Professor Barry Cooper reviews Bricker and Ibbitson’s book The Big Shift, and emphasises that Canada is entering an era of greater plurality when it comes to the way in which we understands who we are as a country.
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 Policy Notes
- A One Page Policy Discussion
2013-04-22 –
Selinger's Broken Tax Promise is the Least of it
2013-04-19 –
Suggestions for the Next Liberal Platform
2013-04-18 –
Secure Property Rights A Necessity
» 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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2013-05-13 –
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
2013-04-29 –
Episode 6 with Richard A. Epstein - Liberty and the law
» 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: An ‘F’ for Social Promotion
— September 14, 2009
The flip side of social promotion and "putting in your time" is what it does to gifted children.
I know of a child who was doing introductory calculus as he finished first grade. The school staff insisted he do second grade the next year with the same students and the same dumbed down curriculum. The attitude of the school was "we will catch up with him." They even blamed the parents for teaching him beyond their level. They wouldn't consider finding an environment where he could be challenged. They kept talking about socialization and insisted his intellectual development would take care of itself.
We are throwing away both the top and bottom by forcing them to stay with their age peers. This is why the dropout rate is so high on both ends. -- E-mail from Washington
RE: The True Cost of Fixing Natural Gas Prices
— November 18, 2005
I just about fell out of my chair when I saw this the other day. Hydro is nothing more then a political tool being used by the government of the day. SELL IT before they completely destroy it! If I was Bob Brennan I would resign over this. - E-mail from Winnipeg
RE: Transit Blasphemies
— February 18, 2005
"As always …excellent stuff! The central planners will not be amused but anyone who likes rational debate will love this stuff!"- Email from Vancouver
RE: Taxi Industry Reports Tired and One Sided
— September 27, 2010
Thank you for the excellent piece by David Seymour in Saskatoon's The Star Phoenix of September 24, 2010. On two fronts, the piece succeeds. First, Mr. Seymour shows that the paid expert Professor Mundy presumes that more rather than less taxi regulation is necessary. Second, Mr. Seymour scrutinizes the selective and dated scholarship that underlies Professor Mundy's pre-ordained conclusions. Similar criticisms of Professor Mundy's reports have emerged in St. Lake City and Denver. Perhaps being away from the coasts clears the heads of Canadians and Americans and allows us to see these taxi reports for what they are. - Prof. Thomas D. Russell, J.D., Ph.D. University of Denver Sturm College of Law
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Nav Canada
About two dozen countries have shed direct state control of air navigation over the last 15 years. Poole and Butler attribute NavCan’s radical performance improvement – it’s now the best in the world – to its innovative corporate structure.
The Case for Dumping Hydro Subsidies
There’s about a $300-million annual subsidy to domestic rates. I think it’s a crazy policy. It’s understandable historically, and there’s a certain lag time in changing practices. But given the current level of export earnings and our knowledge of efficiency, it’s a crazy policy.
After the Indian Act
Just as observers in Old Europe knew there were problems with the Divine Right of Kings, aristocracy and feudalism, it is widely recognized that the act is paternalistic, distorts First Nation democracy and locks reserves out of the economy. But to avoid the kinds of shocks experienced in Old Europe, First Nation citizens, policy makers and governments must carefully think about what would actually fill the vacuum left by any winding up of the Indian Act.
Former Indianapolis Mayor Stephen Goldsmith
It is naïve to assume a city and its mayor, manager and employees are good at everything. No business is good at everything. Why is City Hall good at everything? The City Hall has a responsibility to provide services so managed competition says that even with the city having responsibility sometimes it can hire-out or tender out those services more effectively than it can produce them themselves. And managing the competition between the private and private and public sectors is one way to drive value.
It's Getting Better All the Time
In a giant setback for the global doom-mongers' movement, eminent American economist Indur Goklany has collected in one volume the long-term trends in the most significant indicators of human and environmental well-being. The evidence is compelling. In The Improving State of the World: Why We're Living Longer, Healthier, More Comfortable Lives on a Cleaner Planet, Goklany demonstrates that, contrary to popular belief, global economic growth, free trade and technological change have led to unprecedented improvements in the human condition.
Mandate Letters Will Increase Universities’ Troubles
Ultimately, undermining university autonomy achieves the opposite of what Lukaszuk claims to be after. And by reducing meaningful choice and work against the liberty to decide what to study, it will likely reduce creativity and muffle innovation. It will yield followers instead of forming leaders. The minister’s plan, however well-intended, is half-baked and dangerous to universities.
Immigration Can Be an Antidote to Urban Decay
Recently, Detroit too has experienced economic benefits from two groups of immigrants: Arabs and Latinos. Arab American employment now contributes $7.7 billion to the city’s economy, and provides $544 million in tax revenue to the state. They now support over 140,000 jobs in the city. Latino immigrants are being credited with helping to revitalize Southwest Detroit, which saw $200 million of investments between 1993-2008, and the area’s population grew by nearly 7% between 1990-2000 even as most of the city declined. The City is now home to nearly 50,000 Latinos, up from under 20,000 in 1990.
School Choice in Alberta and B.C.
Education Secretary Rod Paige attributes this to the fact that they “serve as laboratories of innovation—they can be public education’s ‘R&D’ arm. With greater autonomy than traditional public schools, and with a tendency to attract pioneering educators, they can try out new approaches to education that, if proven effective, can be transplanted back into the larger public education system.”
Eco-Fascists
Eco-Fascists deals with two related topics: (1) the difficulties Nickson experienced in securing permission to subdivide her property on Salt Spring Island and (2) the larger context of North American environmentalism within which this local process unfolded. The two are linked because the “incidents” she encountered on Salt Spring ‘came from a plan, one that has been carefully devised and put into place over the past thirty years.’ Let us begin with the Salt Spring story.
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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
Sat May 18, 2013

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