A crisis is a terrible thing to waste . . .
How public subsidies prop up Canada's separatists - Read the provocative new backgrounder . . .          "We are extremely skeptical of the motivations behind carbon tax and "cap and trade" proposals, especially since these programs will almost certainly not result in any measurable change in future climates." - Frontier's conversation with Niger Innis, Co-Chair, Campaign to Stop the War on the Poor . . .          Reducing greenhouse gases by eliminating traffic lights and separating roadways - In the latest Frontier Policy Series Study . . .           Canada Health Consumer Index 2008 - Brussels-based Health Consumer Powerhouse and Frontier Centre release first consumer-focused bench-marking of Canada's provincial healthcare systems - How do our provinces rank?           "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 . . .          Spend real money burying carbon dioxide in a hole or on more useful things - Alberta Carbon Capture Opportunity Cost Calculator . . .           Drilling down into the latest Arctic Ice Cap Melting Panic - why you don't need to worry - a new Frontier Backgrounder . . .          How education policy is impacted by teacher unions - read the Frontier backgrounder . . .          "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 . . .           Allowing public housing tenants the "right to buy" - a Frontier Policy Series Paper . . .           Getting rich by exporting water to the United States - read our provocative Frontier Backgrounder . . .          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 . . .          Making the case for fiscal constitutions in the provinces - Leveling the Spending Field - a Policy Series Paper . . .          Our schoolkids are being taught a particular environmental ideology - why that's a problem - A Frontier Education Backgrounder . . .           When factors such as household income are controlled, there is no evidence that greater access to computers at school has a positive correlation with academic achievement . . . Read the Frontier Backgrounder on computers in our schools . . .          Indigenous Peoples from an International Perspective - Comparing aboriginals in Australia, New Zealand and Canada - Policy Series Paper . . .          The Frontier Centre for Public Policy releases its 2nd Annual Aboriginal Governance Index, based on a weighted composite of scores evaluating six broad areas of good governance. This year's index covers 112 Aboriginal communities in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Read Canada's only independent assessment of First Nations governance here . . .          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 . . . .          The line losses on Manitoba's planned west side transmission line alone will generate greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to an extra 40,000 cars a year. Read the Policy Series Paper - "A Thread Down a Football Field" . . .           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 . . .           
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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.


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WHAT IS PODCAST?

Podcasting is a term used to describe a group of technologies for distributing audio or video programs over the Internet using a publisher/subscriber model. It differs from earlier online delivery because it automates the transfer of digital media files to the user's computer for later use. Podcasting enables independent producers to create self-published, syndicated "shows," and gives broadcast radio or television programs a new distribution method. Subscribing to podcasts allows users to collect individual programs from a variety of sources for listening or viewing at the user's convenience. In contrast, traditional broadcasting provides only one source at a time, and the time is broadcaster-specified. "Streaming" media files from the Internet removes the specified-time restriction, but is still limited to a single source. "Aggregating" programs from multiple sources is a major part of the attraction of podcast-listening.

Any digital audio player or computer with audio-playing software can play podcasts. From the earliest RSS-enclosure tests in 2000 and 2001, feeds have been used to deliver video files as well as audio, and other media such as photographs and text are transferable by podcast. The term "cast," however, still refers largely to audio distribution.

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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

Public Choice and Public Policy: Curbing Self-Interest in Government
Speaker: Peter Holle, President
Date: 2008-11-22
Time: 10:30 – 11:30 a.m.
Place: University of Waterloo, Room HH373 Philosophy Dept..

Some basics on public choice theory and how it can be used to discourage interest group capture problems in public policy. For more information contact Matt Bufton at 519.819.3037 or matt@liberalstudies.ca.

The Media and Climate Change
Speaker: Peter Holle, President
Date: 2008-11-28
Time: 7:30 a.m.
Place: Legislative Dining Room Basement Legislative Building, 450 Broadway Avenue, Carleton Club Breakfast.

Frontier's recent comprehensive nation wide opinion poll reveals a public frustrated with the media's narrow fixation on human-caused global warming theory, which is just one of many climate change theories. We drill down into the scandalous one-sided climate change debate. Contact Bob Baron at 269.5222 for more details.

2008 Canadian and U.S. elections: The impact on Manitoba and Canada
Speaker: Peter Holle, President
Date: 2009-01-08
Time: 12:30 p.m.
Place: Masonic Temple, 420 Corydon at Crazy Corner.

How will the recent elections in Canada and the United States impact Manitoba? Challenging global economic circumstances will push the Harper and Obama Governments in some interesting directions – some are likely to sideswipe Manitoba's comfortable policy inertia. Hosted by the Canadian Pacific Pensioners Association (MB). Please contact Allan Denton at 783.8629 for more details.

The Media and Climate Change
Speaker: Peter Holle, President
Date: 2009-01-15
Time: 12:15 p.m.
Place: Rotary West luncheon at the CanadInn Polo Park.

Frontier's recent comprehensive nation wide opinion poll reveals a public frustrated with the media's narrow fixation on human-caused global warming theory, which is just one of many climate change theories. We drill down into the scandalous one-sided climate change debate. Contact John Melnick at jmelnick@mts.net for more details.

 
In The News

2008-11-19
Another $150,000 Please
Each Canadian taxpayer is on the hook for C$150,211 (about U.S.$140,472.30) that their government has racked up in debt and unfunded program obligations. The combined total debt is C$1.3 trillion (about U.S.$1.21 trillion). The problem stems from the fact that the governments in each province have committed themselves to programs that are not fully funded or that have been updated in the last four decades, says the Fraser Forum.

Consider the Old Age Security (OAS) program -- Canada's retirement income system. Pensions are available to all citizens 65 years or older and are to be paid from federal tax revenues.

Unfortunately, the program is based on demographic assumptions from the 1960s that do not ring true today, says Fraser:

o In 1956, only 7.7 percent of Canadians were over 65 years old; in 2006, that proportion increased to 13.3 percent, and is expected to rise to 26.5 percent by 2040.

o This change in Canada's demographic makeup has increased and will continue to increase the portion of federal revenues need to fund OAS benefits.

o The difference between the stream of promised benefits and the expected future stream of revenues is estimated to currently be C$356 billion (about U.S.$341 billion).

Moreover, Canada's Medicare obligations suffer the same ills:

o In 2006-2007, Medicare consumed 19.1 percent of total federal, provincial and local government revenue.

o Given that those 65 years old account for approximately 44 percent of all health spending, and the fact that the percentage of the population over 65 will increase dramatically, the portion of revenue currently used to fund Medicare will not be sufficient.

o As such, Medicare's unfunded liability stands at C$364 billion (about U.S.$340 billion).

The good news is that Canadians have, for the most part, come to realize the seriousness of continually increasing government debt. Indeed, most governments are making an effort to balance their books and some are paying down debt. At the federal level, many consider running a deficit a sure way to commit political suicide, says the Forum.

Source: Niels Veldhuis and Milagros Palacios, "Another $150,000 please," Fraser Forum, July/August 2008.