Frontier Centre

An Elder Speaks: “Deprive The System Of Its Money And You Empower The Ordinary"

“The reason for bringing in this radical change is the imutability of the system and its ability to resist any change over the years and the necessity of doing what they’re now proposing to do in the case of cancers, which is deprive the cancer of its source of blood. In this case you deprive the system of its money, of a good chunk of its money, and you empower the ordinary Indian so that he can then hold the system accountable and bend it to his interests. That’s the purpose of the proposal on treaty money.  It’s ironical that the people who developed the treaty in the first place understood this and had set up the system to be self-correcting. And the reason it lost its ability to self-correct is that the individual was deprived of his strength - treaty money.”

-   Jean Allard

An Elder Speaks: “Deprive The System Of Its Money And You Empower The Ordinary"

“The reason for bringing in this radical change is the imutability of the system and its ability to resist any change over the years and the necessity of doing what they’re now proposing to do in the case of cancers, which is deprive the cancer of its source of blood. In this case you deprive the system of its money, of a good chunk of its money, and you empower the ordinary Indian so that he can then hold the system accountable and bend it to his interests. That’s the purpose of the proposal on treaty money.  It’s ironical that the people who developed the treaty in the first place understood this and had set up the system to be self-correcting. And the reason it lost its ability to self-correct is that the individual was deprived of his strength - treaty money.”

-   Jean Allard

An Elder Speaks: Racism Is a Justification for Self-Interests by Frontier Centre

An Elder Speaks: Racism Is a Justification for Self-Interests by Frontier Centre

An Elder Speaks: “It's Like a Province With No Accountability" by Frontier Centre

An Elder Speaks: “It's Like a Province With No Accountability" by Frontier Centre

Danielle Smith interviews Dr. Marco Navarro-Génie and Dr. Barry Cooper, senior research fellows at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy about their new book The Politics of Pandemic Moral Panic.

Danielle Smith interviews Dr. Marco Navarro-Génie and Dr. Barry Cooper, senior research fellows at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy about their new book The Politics of Pandemic Moral Panic.

Since the 1990s zombie firms have been on the rise; in fact, the Bank of Canada states that the number of zombie firms in the country is higher than in other countries. These zombies are anything but the fictional ones referred to in movies, these ones are very real! A zombie firm refers to any business who is unable to pay its debt-servicing costs from its current profits over an extended period of time. The measures taken during the COVID crisis by the federal government and the Bank of Canada to tackle the economic downturn are leading to a direct increase of zombie firms. The federal government’s economic response included wage subsidies of 75% for all employers who experienced a loss in gross revenues of at least 15% in March and 30% in April and May. In order to improve market liquidity, the Bank of Canada has lowered interest rates and began purchasing Government of Canada securities and Canada Mortgage Bonds. While this had reduced the financial pressure on firms at the time the creation of really low-interest-rate environments -- consequently creating the perfect conditions for zombie firms to rise. Zombie firms have lower labour and factor productivity that hinder potential growth and investment opportunities for productive firms. Although it is critical that governments focus on flattening the COVID curves, it is equally important for governments to address the rise of zombie firms and ensure that economic measures are getting to the productive firms.

Since the 1990s zombie firms have been on the rise; in fact, the Bank of Canada states that the number of zombie firms in the country is higher than in other countries. These zombies are anything but the fictional ones referred to in movies, these ones are very real! A zombie firm refers to any business who is unable to pay its debt-servicing costs from its current profits over an extended period of time. The measures taken during the COVID crisis by the federal government and the Bank of Canada to tackle the economic downturn are leading to a direct increase of zombie firms. The federal government’s economic response included wage subsidies of 75% for all employers who experienced a loss in gross revenues of at least 15% in March and 30% in April and May. In order to improve market liquidity, the Bank of Canada has lowered interest rates and began purchasing Government of Canada securities and Canada Mortgage Bonds. While this had reduced the financial pressure on firms at the time the creation of really low-interest-rate environments -- consequently creating the perfect conditions for zombie firms to rise. Zombie firms have lower labour and factor productivity that hinder potential growth and investment opportunities for productive firms. Although it is critical that governments focus on flattening the COVID curves, it is equally important for governments to address the rise of zombie firms and ensure that economic measures are getting to the productive firms.