insight & evidence

AuthorPolicy Wonks

The Policy Wonks are Dr. Peter Nicholson, Jeff Larsen, and Bernie Miller.

House Of Commons Committee Consideration Of Bill C-49

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By Dr. Peter Nicholson – Opening Statement 5 February 2024 Let me begin by thanking the Committee for providing this forum to address the potential for massive offshore renewable energy development off our Atlantic coast, a scale of opportunity that has been greatly underestimated. Realization of the opportunity will depend on many factors, but one essential precondition is an appropriate...

What Motivates Trump’s Base?

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By Peter Nicholson George Monbiot, writing in the Guardian, argues for a broader and deeper analysis of the Trump phenomenon, positing that Trump voters possess an “extrinsic” value set, while Biden voters are more likely to express “intrinsic” values.[1] Monbiot is right that Trump represents the epitome of extrinsic values and thus may be powerfully attractive to those of a similar values...

Catching the Wind

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How Atlantic Canada Can Become an Energy Superpower By Peter Nicholson for public policy forum INTRODUCTION Less than 200 kilometres off the coast of Nova Scotia lies the fabled Sable Island, known to generations of seafarers as the Graveyard of the Atlantic, a testament to the countless ships that foundered on its shallow, sandy reefs. Famous for its unique herd of feral horses that have...

The Perils of Forced Growth:

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Lessons for Canada from Nova Scotia’s Experience by Bernie Miller Introduction: Volkswagen and Canada’s Ambition for Leadership in the Green Economy Imagine it is late 2027 and the Volkswagen plant in St. Thomas, Ontario, funded with a $16B federal subsidy, is ready to go into production. There is a grand ceremony. Dr. Oliver Blume, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG addresses...

Economic Policy and Well Being

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By Bernie Miller Economics and public policy have lacked a unifying, people focused objective. Committing to an overriding objective of promoting opportunities for the well-being of all citizens could be our best economic development policy. This paper is intended to assimilate and generate knowledge about new ways of approaching the question of how to achieve inclusive economic growth and...

One Size Fits One:

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Place Based Economic Policy By Bernie Miller Developing economic policy for a region has traditionally tended to follow political, jurisdictional boundaries. Therefore, there was always a Nova Scotia economic development policy – one size fits all. If positive GDP growth were achieved overall, it would be deemed a success. More frequently, if it resulted in low overall growth, a failure. To the...

PERSPECTIVES ON HEALTH CARE IN CANADA

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What the Data Tell Us By Peter Nicholson This document presents a statistical portrait of the pre-pandemic state of health care in Canada. The data are placed both in an international comparative context and also disaggregated by province.[1] The portrait is focussed on 2019 and the years immediately preceding, owing partly to the latest data that is available, and partly to avoid the exceptional...

The Case for a Recovery Blueprint:

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Achieving Well Being through Convergence, Collective Action and Collective Impact by Bernie Miller The 40 years prior to the pandemic was far from a “golden age of shared prosperity in North America” and it was more like the “Gilded Age” of the late 19th Century. In March 2020, when COVID-19 changed lives across the globe, Nova Scotia – and many other societies — were faced with puzzles...

A “SMART” TESTING STRATEGY

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TO CONTROL COVID-19 IN CANADA Testing is not an end in itself but is undertaken to inform the decisions needed to control the virus responsible for COVID-19 while minimizing unintended consequences. In A “Smart” Testing Strategy To Control Covid-19 In Canada, Vivek Goel has partnered with the PolicyWonks, Peter Nicholson and Jeff Larsen, to argue that Canada should be testing a great deal more...

COVID-19: Protecting Canada’s Border

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PROTECTING CANADA’S BORDER AGAINST INTRODUCTION OF COVID-19 Updated July 14, 2020 COVID-19 continues to pose a social and economic challenge at our border. In Protecting Canada’s Border Against Introduction Of Covid-19 Peter Nicholson and Jeff Larsen have partnered with Dr. Vivek Goel to propose a procedure to manage international entry to Canada in a way that minimizes the risk of introducing...

insight & evidence