The state, it cannot be repeated too often, does nothing, and can give nothing, which it does not take from somebody - Henry George
Forget the doom and gloom - check out the data in The Environmental State of Canada - getting better all the time . . .          The Third Annual Aboriginal Governance Index - the best governed First Nations on the Prairies . . .           Canada ranks 23rd of 32 countries in our latest comparison of European-style health care systems - read the 2009 Euro-Canada Health Consumer Index released in partnership with Brussels-based Health Consumer Powerhouse . . .          Opening up the daycare markets on the Prairies - a new Frontier Backgrounder . . .          Ending tax exemptions for Crown Corporations - how to level the playing field and help pay down the deficit - a new Backgrounder . . .          Why school boards should resist the pressure by some groups to ban homework . . . A Frontier Backgrounder . . .          Why America (and Canada) Doesn’t Need Another New Deal - the case for not over-reacting to the recession - Policy Series Paper . . .          The Problems with the Living Wage Concept - Policy Series Paper . . .          The Case for Taxi Deregulation - a consumer perspective - Policy Series Paper . . .          Amid Unprecedented Turbulence, Canadian Housing Remains Among the Most affordable in English Speaking World - The 5th annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey . . .          Frontier debuts on international ranking of the Global"Go to Think Tanks" . . .          Getting out of government owned and operated public housing would free up resources to help 21,000 more Manitobans - see how the numbers were done in a Frontier Backgrounder . . .           Comparing the financial performance of 79 Canadian cities - we release the 2nd annual Local Government Performance Index . . .          A look at welfare before the welfare state - read the Policy Series paper - Forced Entry - How Government Came to Dominate Welfare . . .           How public subsidies prop up Canada's separatists - Read the provocative backgrounder . . .          "It’s hard to imagine that set of bureaucracies that have particular bureaucratic interests will be able to respond effectively to this challenge of high tech medical care." - from Frontier's Conversation with Futurist George Gilder . . .          Getting rich by exporting water to the United States . . .          Spend real money burying carbon dioxide in a hole or on more useful things - Alberta Carbon Capture Opportunity Cost Calculator . . .           "Politicians don’t realize that the science is not settled on climate change. They think it’s a done deal and it’s inevitable that they have to take action so the question that they face is what type of action should we take? But I think they need to step back and do the science because it’s not clear that there is a problem because of climate change. There may be no problem at all." - Frontier's conversation with Lawrence Solomon, author of "The Deniers" . . . .           "As a thought experiment, if SaskPower, SaskEnergy and SaskTel were privately owned and independently regulated, would the public of Saskatchewan support a government policy to borrow billions of dollars to nationalize them?" - a Frontier conversation with Sheldon Schwartz . . .           Although Human Rights Commissions were founded to address insupportable abuses in the areas of employment and accommodation, their mandate has been unwisely expanded to include what is, in effect, a censor’s role. Read the Policy Series Paper . . .           Frontier's first video documentary debuts - Watch "Your Land is not Your Land" - How the RM of Ellice expropriated an 87 year old farmer's property for murky "tourism development" purposes.          Professor Bryan Schwartz explores Manitoba as a "supplicant society" - A Conversation on the Frontier . . .          Test your climate change knowledge on Frontier's Smart Green Climate Change Quiz . . .          A smarter way to fight poverty - "Removing more people at the bottom of the income ladder entirely from the tax code is a superior means of fighting poverty." - Read the Policy Series Paper . . . .          David MacKinnon, Ontario critic of regional subsidies discusses how "unthinking money" from Ontario and Alberta retards Manitoba's policy landscape, a Conversation on the Frontier . . .          Taking all the cars off Canada’s roads would get us only halfway to Kyoto’s targets for greenhouse gas reductions. . . 10 "Smart Green" ideas to reduce greenhouse gases. . .           Modernizing environmental policy in Canada - the seven principles for making policy "smart green" - A Frontier Policy Series Paper . . .           
Welcome...

The Frontier Centre for Public Policy is an independent public policy think tank whose mission is "to broaden the debate on our future through public policy research and education and to explore positive changes within our public institutions that support economic growth and opportunity." ...More

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Why Our Independence Matters to You

1. No Government Funding

Because we seek to comment objectively on public policy, FCPP is the only registered Prairie-based think tank which declines government grants.

2. Diversified Funding Base

We diversify our funding base as much as possible to ensure that we are not beholden to any particular industry, interest or persons. Individuals and businesses that see value in exploring better policy support FCPP. The bulk of our funding comes from charitable foundations that support public policy work in Canada.

3. Board/Staff Firewall

A respected Board of Research Advisors guarantees the independence and integrity of our work. The Centre has a formal policy, embodied in a Board of Directors resolution, that forbids any direct Board involvement or influence in the Centre's education efforts.

For an objective, arm's length take on public policy you can trust the very independent . . . Frontier Centre for Public Policy.


About Frontier     Get Involved     Speaker's Bureau     Get Frontier Email     Frontier Fax     Media Room     FCPP Toolbox     Low Res Site High Res Site

Media Release - Free Parking v. Sensible Cities - Grasping the real and potential benefits of parking reform, as some overseas cities have already done, requires a shift in urban transport planning away from ‘predict and provide’ to ‘price and manage. This shift must occur, and the sooner the better.

In Defense of GDP - The concept of Gross Domestic Product, or GDP, has come under attack as a misleading and overused indicator of national success. GDP has one very appealing feature that – aside from government spending -- every dollar that goes towards GDP is the result of a conscious decision by a citizen to voluntarily buy or sell something. Join us weekly across the prairies for our hard hitting policy commentary broadcast across the Goldenwest Radio Network - Click here for a list of 9 stations and broadcast times.---

 RECENT UPDATES 
Latest Publications...
2009-07-02 - Puncturing "Public" Auto Insurance Myths
2009-07-01 - US Government’s Climate Con-Job
2009-06-30 - The High Cost of Canada’s “Free” Parking
2009-06-30 - The Environmental State of Canada
2009-06-29 - Media Release - Free Parking v. Sensible Cities
2009-06-29 - How Free is Your Parking?
Latest Audio & Video...
2009-07-02     How Free is Free Parking? (CHQR) [Audio]
2009-06-29     30 Years of Environmental Progress (Winnipeg) [Audio]
2009-06-26     In Defense Of GDP [Audio]
2009-06-01  GM-Chrysler Bailout (CBC-Newsworld) [High Speed]
2009-05-29  Euro-Canada Health Consumer Index 2009 (CITY TV - Calgary) [High Speed]
2009-03-27  Earth Hour Misses Point? (CBC TV) [High Speed]


Policy Notes - A One Page Policy Discussion
2009-07-02 - Puncturing "Public" Auto Insurance Myths
2009-06-30 - The High Cost of Canada’s “Free” Parking
2009-06-29 - Gay Activists Plus Conservative Pastor: Thank Government for the Unnatural Pairing
Frontier Backgrounders- Short Analyses
2009-06-29 - How Free is Your Parking?
2009-06-03 - More Government Constraints = Less Value
2009-04-27 - Flunking Global Warming 101
Perspectives- Thoughts from the Advisory Board...
2009-07-01 - US Government’s Climate Con-Job
2009-06-23 - Ontario Can't Be Canada's ATM
2009-06-05 - Climate Change “Morality”
Policy Series - Longer Reports & Studies
2009-06-17 - The Environmental State of Canada
2009-06-11 - The Third Annual Aboriginal Governance Index
2009-05-25 - Euro-Canada Health Consumer Index 2009
Conversations - with Policy Innovators
2009-05-29 - Livio di Matteo, Professor of Economics at Lakehead University
2009-04-17 - Mark Chamberlain, Entrepreneur, Business and Community Leader
2009-02-13 - Frances Widdowson, Co-Author of Disrobing the Aboriginal Industry
Special Reports and Publications
2009-06-26 - NO Second Class Citizens
2009-06-10 - Competitiveness in Canadian Agriculture
2009-06-07 - Manitobans Split on Whether to Sell Water to the United States
Rural Renaissance Notes
2009-02-26 - Food Safety: Quality Matters, Not Just Price
2009-02-17 - President Obama Is COOLing It
2008-11-02 - Governments Sleepwalking Into Water Crisis
PowerPoint Slides from Events
2009-06-30 - The Environmental State of Canada
2009-05-31 - Tim Ball on Our Cooling Atmosphere
2009-03-08 - On the Verge ... of the Greatest Farming Challenge in History
Aboriginal Voices from Ground Zero
2009-05-28 - Put the Lives of First Nation Women Above Politics
2009-05-11 - Enough with Band Election Shenanigans
2009-04-05 - Let's Have Real Elections at the Assembly of First Nations
Worth a Look - In our Virtual Library...
2009-06-30 - The Climate Change Climate Change
2009-06-29 - Study Cites Privatization In Productivity Gains
2009-06-26 - Just Call It 'Cap-and-Tax'
Modern Environmentalist
2009-06-25 - Don’t Fear the Environmental Bogeyman
2009-06-15 - Short Term Gain For Long Term Pain
2009-06-06 - Global Warming Advocates Shifting Goalposts
Frontier Radio Commentary
2009-06-26 - In Defense Of GDP 
2009-06-19 - Retaliation Is The Wrong Approach 
2009-06-12 - New Aboriginal Rankings Are In 
Charticles- A Graphical Look at Issues
2009-03-16 - Winnipeg’s Low Property Taxes and Municipal Revenue
2009-02-09 - Canada’s Taxi Markets: Market Failure or Regulatory Failure?
2009-01-27 - Canadian Cities Lead World Housing Affordability
Frontier Channel - Audio
2009-07-02 - How Free is Free Parking? (CHQR) 
2009-06-29 - 30 Years of Environmental Progress (Winnipeg) 
2009-06-16 - Why a Government Spending Surge is Not a Good Idea (CHQR) 
Frontier Centre in the Media
2009-06-22 - The Myth of Cheap Public Auto Insurance
2009-06-16 - Report, then Reform Reserves
2009-06-16 - Reserves’ Rankings Have Silver Lining
Frontier Channel - Video
GM-Chrysler Bailout (CBC-Newsworld) [High]
Euro-Canada Health Consumer Index 2009 (CITY TV - Calgary) [High]
Earth Hour Misses Point? (CBC TV) [High]
Interactive Policy
2009-03-14 - The Frontier Goods & Services Interactive InfoMap
2008-09-15 - Saskatchewan Carbon Capture Opportunity Cost Calculator
2008-09-11 - Alberta Carbon Capture Opportunity Cost Calculator
YouTube - Video
Cap and Trade: Will It Save the Earth?
Green Energy Act Paradox
Home Invasion David Suzuki Style

Over the past year, anecdotal evidence for a cooling planet has exploded. China has its coldest winter in 100 years. Baghdad sees its first snow in all recorded history. North America has the most snowcover in 50 years, with places like Wisconsin the highest since record-keeping began. Record levels of Antarctic sea ice, record cold in Minnesota, Texas, Florida, Mexico, Australia, Greece,Iran, South Africa, Greenland, Argentina, Chile -- the list goes on and on.

 



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Upcoming FCPP Events
More events coming soon. Please join us then as we explore the frontier of public policy.
 
Upcoming FCPP Appearances

Broad Brushstrokes of Public Policy
Speaker: David Seymour, Director Saskatchewan Office and Senior Policy Analyst
Date: 2009-07-10
Time: 11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m..
Place: Saskatoon Club, 417 21st St E, Saskatoon.

As a spokesman for an independent think tank, David Seymour will address the power of ideas in politics and the role of government in a free society. The presentation is a dispassionate look at the principles of public policy set aside from partisan politics, and gives high level concepts for making Saskatchewan a winning society in the 21st century. Contact Saskatchewan Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs at saskatoon@sype.ca if you are interested in attending.

 
In The News

2009-06-25
Canadian Health Care Earns Dismal Finish In International Ranking
For the second time in less than two weeks, the Canadian public health care system has flunked an international comparison test, says the Health Consumer Powerhouse (HCP), a research organization. Canada's health care system ranks 23rd among 32 nations surveyed for quality, access and innovation.

The second annual Euro-Canada Health Consumer Index measures patients' rights and information, waiting times for treatment, outcomes, the range and reach of services provided and access to pharmaceuticals. Out of the 1,000 points available, the Index ranked countries in the following manner:

o The Netherlands was in the top spot with 824 points.

o Austria was second with 813 points.

o Luxembourg and Denmark took third and fourth place with 795 and 794 points, respectively.

o Germany came in fifth with 769 points.

o Canada placed 23rd with a score of just 549 points.

According to researchers, wait times to see a doctor and receive treatment dragged the Canadian ranking toward the bottom:

o Patients were waiting between 3-15 months for treatment, when they could have received the same quality of care in Germany, France or the Netherlands in two weeks.

o While Canada is one of the highest per capita spenders on health care, patients don't get much for their money.

o On the so-called "bang for the buck scale," that measured health care results for the number of dollars spent, Canada ranks dead.

Moreover, the Canadian system is in some respects held hostage by vested interests, such as public sector unions, say researchers. Some of these groups like to attach themselves to one method of service delivery, and they become religious about it. They become kind of fundamentalists about public health care delivery, as opposed to saying how can we do it like Europe, and have a variety of service providers.

Source: Mike McCourt, "Canadian health care earns dismal finish in international ranking," Metro News, May 26, 2009; based upon: Arne Björnberg and Daniel Eriksson, " Euro-Canada Health Consumer Index 2009," Health Consumer Powerhouse and The Frontier Centre for Public Policy, 2009.