2011‑2022, and is preserved here for archival purposes.
Peter Menzies looks into a planned major expansion of federal regulatory powers over the Internet. It’s enough to take your breath away, he reports.
Were the consequences not so serious, Canada’s chaotic venture into the regulation of content on the Web might be consigned to the realm of thigh-slapping farce.
The government’s goal, it was learned last week, will be to focus programming funding on...
Matthew Lau explains why the late eminent economist remains his personal hero. Hint: it has to do with letting individuals decide whether to wear army boots.
Most sports fans have a favourite player. Readers of novels will usually have a favourite author. People who are interested in economics also have their heroes – a favourite economist. For me and many others, that economist is Milton Friedman, who – were he...
Canadians’ charitable donations as percentage of their income are at a 20-year low. Substituting government services in place of charitable gifts is not a worthy trend, writes contributor Matthew Lau.
Charitable donations as a percent of total income have reached a 20-year low in Canada, says a Fraser Institute study released last mo...
Gifts often come with the expectation of reciprocation, writes Timothy deVries. A true gift is hard to come by in our culture and economy of exchange.
It is seldom that people give without the expectation of a return. With a birthday or Christmas gift, we expect “thank-you,” a positive reaction, the feeling of satisfaction in knowing that a gift is wanted or appreciated. Research suggests that philanthrop...
Anticipating next week’s Cardus study on pay day loans, and a vote by the city of Kitchener to regulate the sector, Convivium’s Rebecca Darwent talks to Cardus Work and Economics Program Director Brian Dijkema about helping low-income Canadians gain fair and equal access to credit.
Rebecca Darwent: Can you start by bringing us up to speed on the work you have been doing to set the stage for what has led to the paper we are expecting for release next week?
Brian Dijkema: We have done six reports on payday lendin...
Gillette has tried to make profits from selling social good. But where marketing and politics mingle, there lies danger, warns Peter Stockland.
It’s tempting to take the week’s “controversy” over the Gillette shaving company’s new advertising campaign at something less than face value.
For starters, controversy itself is no longer the conversational cutting edge it once was. In this era of f...
The idea is sound. As noted in a recent report by Cardus, Banking on the Margins, payday lenders and the loans themselves are structured in such a way as to encourage their customers to become dependent. The loans, while quick and easy, do not build credit, and they require customers to pay back the original amount borrowed plus substantial interest in one lump sum. Too often this results in adding a significant deluge of spending for people who are already struggling to maintain a responsible cash-flow. An unemployed construction worker from Fort McMurray who has trouble making ends meet one week can be crippled by the automatic withdrawal of his previous week’s shortage plus interest rates that, in Alberta at an annual rate of 839% on a ten-day term, are the second highest in the country. And, as our research suggests, the struggle doesn’t stay with the individual. The lack of funds and the increase in debt are linked to mounting costs to families, significant physical and mental health problems, increased criminal activity, and a host of other problems which ultimately strain society – and often the government.
In the throne speech this month, Lieutenant Governor Lois Mitchell announced the Notley government’s intention to “protect Albertans who are experiencing economic d...