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Although Canada has been successful in lowering its national unemployment rate, Michael Mendelson states that for the nation’s Aboriginal peoples unemployment is consistently higher than that of the population in general.

This diagnostic report uses empirical data to provide an accurate picture of how Aboriginal Canadians are faring in post-secondary education (PSE).

Philippe H. Trudel, Bruce W. Johnston, and Michel Bédard explore what kinds of health care reforms can occur under existing laws. They also examine how much room the provinces have to manoeuvre under current federal legislation, namely, the Canada Health Act, as well as which laws reform-minded provincial governments could modify.

Darrin Qualman’s article “Free Trade:” Is it Working for Farmers? argues that free trade agreements have dramatically altered the relative size and market power of players in the agri-food production chain. While Canadian agri-food exports have experienced dramatic increases since the institution of free trade agreements, realized net farm income has remained stagnant. Qualman claims free trade has two effects on agriculture: 1) it turns the world into a single hyper-competitive market, and 2) it facilitates agribusiness mergers and conglomeration.

Norma Kozhaya says this model of daycare benefits some parents and harms others. Researchers estimated that families with annual incomes between $25,000 and $40,000 were worse off under the new system, while families with incomes of $60,000 or more benefit most.

This paper compares and contrasts the ways in which the BSE crisis affected Britain in 1996 and Canada in 2003.

This study provides information on rural Nova Scotia. Jean Lambert looks at seven factors to profile rural Nova Scotia: demographics, employment and income, housing, education, and health status, natural resouces and crime. Each of these factors are exmined in depth with the use of statistical data.

The Alberta government’s 2005 budget will be the first since the provincial debt was eliminated. According to the Parkland Institute’s Committee on Alberta’s Finances, this budget should lay the foundations for a vision to build a socially sustainable and equitable economy.

The Parkland Institute's Committee on Alberta's Finances prepared this report. The authors contend the Alberta government is stuck in yesterday’s rhetoric of debt crisis.

In this report Blair Hamilton examines whether or not an agricultural land trust is suitable for the Rural Municipality of Franklin, Manitoba.

In this Commentary Richard Barichello, Timothy Josling and Daniel Summer discuss the many trade disputes involving agricultural products that have arisen between the United States and Canada. As they explain, the development of free trade between the two nations has resulted in a high level of integration between their agricultural markets.When trade disputes develop, however, they are costly for both consumers and producers. Accordingly, the purpose of the authors study is to help reduce the number of agricultural trade disputes by better understanding them.

As Robert Roach argues, the WEOC was a milestone in the evolution of Western Canada’s relationship with the federal government. In this report, he outlines the WEOC proceedings in detail.

This report by Liv Friedricksen is one of the annual surveys of metal, mining, and exploration companies, published by the Fraser Institute since 1997. The purpose of these reports: to assess how mineral endowments and public policy factors such as taxation and regulation affect exploration investment.

This report by Fred McMahon is one in an annual survey of metal mining and exploration companies which have been published by the Fraser Institute since 1997. The purpose of these reports: to assess how mineral endowments and public policy factors (such as taxation and regulation) affect exploration investment. Results of the survey are based on the opinions of exploration managers around the world.

Nathalie Elgrably begins her economic note by explaining several categories of subsidies to business: 1) direct subsidies in the form of unconditional or conditional transfers; 2) tax expenditures, which are tax advantages such as exemptions, deductions, lower tax rates, and refundable or non-refundable tax credits; 3) interest-free or low-interest loans; 4) loan guarantees; 5) financial involvement in a commercial company through shares or units; and, 6) non-monetary assistance such as consulting services.

Ellen Gould’s report argues against the implementation of the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA) between the governments of BC and Alberta.

This paper explores five key questions that require attention in the determination of the viability of an ethanol industry for a small jurisdiction with a small local ethanol demand.

This article by Scott Sinclair and John Jacobs examines the proposed Atlantica or Atlantic International Northeast Economic Region (AINER) agreement.

The ultimate objective of Paul Earl’s study is the potential applicability of the Australian experience to Canada’s Supply Management system. To this end, he presents some statistics on dairy farming in Australia, outlines the previous price support and subsidy regime, reviews the main features of the new program that was introduced, and describes some of the major impacts of the change.

In this brief report Mark Mullins explores Statistics Canada’s ‘mismeasurement’ of auto insurance premiums from 1996 to 2002. Over this period, Mullins argues, StatsCan squeezed several years of increases into a single 12-month period. As Mullins notes, this resulted in an exaggerated inflation rate which had two main impacts: 1) the Bank of Canada raised interest rates twice based on false information; and, 2) the New Brunswick electorate was irritated by exaggerated insurance increases, enough to almost defeat the provincial government in an election being held at the time.

This paper by Terisa Turner and Diana Gibson deals with Canada's loss of control over her energy resources since the signing of NAFTA. The study focuses on the Celanese petrochemical plant in Alberta which was forced to shut down production in search of a less expensive production location. The authors find connections between the closure, the unstable price of natural gas, the inaction of the Alberta government and energy provisions in NAFTA. Turner and Gibson also discuss possible solutions to the problems that they believe NAFTA has created in the energy sector.

According to Terisa Turner and Diana Gibson, Canadians question why Canada traded its energy sovereignty with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

In this paper Ben Parfitt discusses, in detail, the crisis he believes is looming in the Interior forests of British Columbia.

This publication, edited by Ervin, Holtslander, Qualman and Sawa, examines modern hog production. Modern hog production does not merely mean more hogs in larger barns; today, new operations such as Intensive Livestock Operations (ILOs) or Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) are emerging.

Beyond Our Borders: Western Canadian Exports in the Global Market, by Robert Roach, of the Canada West Foundation, examines the role of international exports and foreign demand in Western Canada’s economy.