Ken Boessenkool is co-author of Ordered Liberty: How Harper’s Philosophy Transformed Canada for the Better. Does Canada need a fiscal stimulus program? The Liberal federal government certainly thinks so. Alberta and other natural-resource-producing provinces could certainly use a shot in the…

A number of armchair economic quarterbacks have taken to criticizing the federal government for accelerating the GST cut to 5 per cent earlier this year. These armchair dwellers point to the cut as wrong-headed fiscal policy and bad economic policy.

In 1997, the provinces and Ottawa reached two important agreements, one about benefits directed toward children and the second about the provinces’ flexibility in designing their own tax systems. Together these agreements give the Atlantic provinces a historic opportunity to…