Frontier Centre

Manitoba may be the best place to live in Canada, if you enjoy being self-employed.

The Frontier Centre for Public Policy has recently launched its first Entrepreneurial Index.

It examines and ranks the best places in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand to be self-employed.

The research involved analysis and comparison of a variety of laws and regulations that affect self-employed workers in the different provinces, states, and territories.

Some of the factors that were examined include income tax withholding rules, medical insurance regulations, contract laws, and processes for resolving disputes.

New Zealand enjoyed the top ranking overall, but Canada was close behind.

Provinces that scored well were Manitoba, New Brunswick, the Northwest Territories and the northern territory of Nunavut.

British Columbia and Quebec are the lowest ranked Canadian provinces, registering a similar low ranking to states and territories in Australia.

The research suggests that self-employment may represent up to 25% of the workforce in most major developed countries.

All of us in Canada, and our elected officials should consider the importance of self-employment and entrepreneurship, and the impact that regulation can have on the wider economy.

I’m Roger Currie. Join us again next week for more thoughts on the Frontier.

To find out more about the Entrepreneurial Index, go to: www.entrepreneurial-index.org. Or visit our main website www.fcpp.org

Manitoba may be the best place to live in Canada, if you enjoy being self-employed.

The Frontier Centre for Public Policy has recently launched its first Entrepreneurial Index.

It examines and ranks the best places in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand to be self-employed.

The research involved analysis and comparison of a variety of laws and regulations that affect self-employed workers in the different provinces, states, and territories.

Some of the factors that were examined include income tax withholding rules, medical insurance regulations, contract laws, and processes for resolving disputes.

New Zealand enjoyed the top ranking overall, but Canada was close behind.

Provinces that scored well were Manitoba, New Brunswick, the Northwest Territories and the northern territory of Nunavut.

British Columbia and Quebec are the lowest ranked Canadian provinces, registering a similar low ranking to states and territories in Australia.

The research suggests that self-employment may represent up to 25% of the workforce in most major developed countries.

All of us in Canada, and our elected officials should consider the importance of self-employment and entrepreneurship, and the impact that regulation can have on the wider economy.

I’m Roger Currie. Join us again next week for more thoughts on the Frontier.

To find out more about the Entrepreneurial Index, go to: www.entrepreneurial-index.org. Or visit our main website www.fcpp.org

New Brunswick has ranked high in the first ever Entrepreneurial Index released by the Frontier Centre for Public Policy and Ken Phillips. He discusses the results on McLean in the Morning.

New Brunswick has ranked high in the first ever Entrepreneurial Index released by the Frontier Centre for Public Policy and Ken Phillips. He discusses the results on McLean in the Morning.

Teachers play a vital role in providing our children and grandchildren with the knowledge and skills they need to become productive members of society.

However, that role is greatly diminished for many teachers these days.

They are given little choice but to follow the directives of school administrators, who micromanage anything and everything from how to write comments in report cards to the teaching methods that can and should be used in the classroom.

Constructivist teaching is often imposed on teachers, particularly in Alberta.

It's a method that encourages students to discover facts and concepts on their own and avoid direct instruction from teachers.

The value of such risky, new methods is rarely evident, but teachers are reluctant to complain because in their professional evaluations, administrators will consider whether teachers applied these “student-centered” methodologies in the classroom.

We should all be wary of teaching methods that are fads which lack any strong evidence of success.

Administrators should give teachers the freedom and allow them to adapt their methods to needs of their students to yield positive and measurable results.

Teachers should teach in the way they think best, as long as they can prove their students are learning.

I'm Roger Currie. Join us again next week for more thoughts on the Frontier.

For more on education policy, visit our website www.fcpp.org

Teachers play a vital role in providing our children and grandchildren with the knowledge and skills they need to become productive members of society.

However, that role is greatly diminished for many teachers these days.

They are given little choice but to follow the directives of school administrators, who micromanage anything and everything from how to write comments in report cards to the teaching methods that can and should be used in the classroom.

Constructivist teaching is often imposed on teachers, particularly in Alberta.

It's a method that encourages students to discover facts and concepts on their own and avoid direct instruction from teachers.

The value of such risky, new methods is rarely evident, but teachers are reluctant to complain because in their professional evaluations, administrators will consider whether teachers applied these “student-centered” methodologies in the classroom.

We should all be wary of teaching methods that are fads which lack any strong evidence of success.

Administrators should give teachers the freedom and allow them to adapt their methods to needs of their students to yield positive and measurable results.

Teachers should teach in the way they think best, as long as they can prove their students are learning.

I'm Roger Currie. Join us again next week for more thoughts on the Frontier.

For more on education policy, visit our website www.fcpp.org

Gender roles in Canadian society have changed dramatically over the decades.

With women participating more fully in the workforce, men are taking on more of the responsibility of child care.

Despite this change in family dynamics, the courts still treat mothers and fathers quite differently.

In the event of a split, primary custody is almost always awarded to the mother.

The courts seem to assume that the mother is the better parent and a father’s most important contribution is financial support.

Child support is important, but enforcement can pose a great burden on low-income fathers.

While the law does allow for monthly child support payments to be reduced in cases of financial hardship or shared parenting, some judges don't always agree to reducing the monthly payment.

The notion of deadbeat dads seems deeply ingrained, but over 80% of fathers make support payments on-time and in the full amount.

Courts need to recognize that fathers contribute much more than financial resources to their children.

Studies have repeatedly shown that children do better with both parents actively involved in their lives.

Judges should aim to see that children maintain relationships with all significant people in their lives.

I’m Roger Currie. Join us again next week for more thoughts on the Frontier.

To download a copy of the book Ideology and Dysfunction in Family Law, visit our website www.fcpp.org.

Gender roles in Canadian society have changed dramatically over the decades.

With women participating more fully in the workforce, men are taking on more of the responsibility of child care.

Despite this change in family dynamics, the courts still treat mothers and fathers quite differently.

In the event of a split, primary custody is almost always awarded to the mother.

The courts seem to assume that the mother is the better parent and a father’s most important contribution is financial support.

Child support is important, but enforcement can pose a great burden on low-income fathers.

While the law does allow for monthly child support payments to be reduced in cases of financial hardship or shared parenting, some judges don't always agree to reducing the monthly payment.

The notion of deadbeat dads seems deeply ingrained, but over 80% of fathers make support payments on-time and in the full amount.

Courts need to recognize that fathers contribute much more than financial resources to their children.

Studies have repeatedly shown that children do better with both parents actively involved in their lives.

Judges should aim to see that children maintain relationships with all significant people in their lives.

I’m Roger Currie. Join us again next week for more thoughts on the Frontier.

To download a copy of the book Ideology and Dysfunction in Family Law, visit our website www.fcpp.org.

With debts of more than $18 Billion, the city of Detroit was declared bankrupt last year, but it's not the largest American city to ever face such a crisis.

New York filed for bankruptcy in 1975 but the process was stopped at the last-minute.

Detroit is also not alone in dealing with dramatic loss of population. St. Louis has lost a larger share of its population, yet remains fiscally solvent.

Serious financial stress is becoming a major problem for other American cities, including Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Jose.

Research shows a strong association between large population and both higher taxes and higher per capita spending.

As governments become larger, the individual voter becomes less relevant, and less engaged in the community. When this happens, organized special interests make more demands and seem to exert greater influence.

As municipal spending rises, residents resist tax increases. Then cities have to borrow more, and eventually they default on their debt.

Such problems have mostly been avoided where local governments are smaller, because elected officials remain more responsive to the needs of the voters.

The best chance for the future in Detroit may be in multiple, independent local jurisdictions.

Canadians should pay close attention to what happens to large American cities and strive to keep governments here more local.

I’m Roger Currie. Join us again next week for more thoughts on the Frontier.

For more on local government, visit our website www.fcpp.org.

With debts of more than $18 Billion, the city of Detroit was declared bankrupt last year, but it's not the largest American city to ever face such a crisis.

New York filed for bankruptcy in 1975 but the process was stopped at the last-minute.

Detroit is also not alone in dealing with dramatic loss of population. St. Louis has lost a larger share of its population, yet remains fiscally solvent.

Serious financial stress is becoming a major problem for other American cities, including Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Jose.

Research shows a strong association between large population and both higher taxes and higher per capita spending.

As governments become larger, the individual voter becomes less relevant, and less engaged in the community. When this happens, organized special interests make more demands and seem to exert greater influence.

As municipal spending rises, residents resist tax increases. Then cities have to borrow more, and eventually they default on their debt.

Such problems have mostly been avoided where local governments are smaller, because elected officials remain more responsive to the needs of the voters.

The best chance for the future in Detroit may be in multiple, independent local jurisdictions.

Canadians should pay close attention to what happens to large American cities and strive to keep governments here more local.

I’m Roger Currie. Join us again next week for more thoughts on the Frontier.

For more on local government, visit our website www.fcpp.org.