Author Archives: Steve Lafleur

When Toronto privatized garbage collection west of Yonge street last year, ideologues on the left panicked. They argued that it would lead to worse service, pointing to initial collection delays when private collection began. A local union even created a complaint line. As I argued in a National Post article on the subject, this highlights all that is right with contracting out services: it’s much easier to hold private companies accountable than government. Continue reading →

The Frontier Centre recently released a backgrounder I co-authored over the last few months on the effect of police levels on crime. The conclusion was simple: the evidence suggests that Canadian cities have sufficient police resources. This has predictably ruffled some feathers. I’ll address some of the criticisms I’ve received, though, frankly, most of the points were already addressed in the paper. Continue reading →