The Harris Government: A Mid-term Review

CRITICAL ISSUES BULLETIN ....1997

by Marc T. Law, Howard I. Markowitz, and Fazil Mihlar

CONTENTS

About the authors
Acknowledgments
Summary: Main Policy Recommendations
Introduction
Spending Policy
Taxation Policy
Social Policy
Labour Policy
Health Policy
Education Policy
Regulatory Policy
Privatization Policy
Municipal Affairs
Final Thoughts
References

About the authors

Marc T. Law is a student intern with The Fraser Institute. He has a B.A. in Honours Economics from the University of British Columbia and an M.A. in Economics from Queen's University. His fields of interest include applied macroeconomics and public policy. In 1996, he co-authored with Fazil Mihlar an extensive review of the economic and social policies of the federal Liberal government entitled The Federal Liberal Government in Action: A Report Card Issued to the Chretien Government.

Howard I. Markowitz is a third-year law student at Osgoode Hall, York University. He has a B.Comm. in Strategic Planning from McGill University. He has won a number of awards and honours for his skills as a debater, is a regular legal panelist on CBC Newsworld, and has written legal commentary for Fraser Forum and the Canadian Student Review.

Fazil Mihlar joined the Fraser Institute in 1994 and is now a senior policy analyst. He is the author of several reports on the economic performance of provincial governments, and has written reports and articles on subjects ranging from labour-market policy to regulation policy. His latest publications include, Regulatory Overkill: The Cost of Regulation in Canada (1996) and Unions and Right-to Work Laws: The Global Evidence of their Impact on Employment (1997). He is also the coordinator of the Survey of Senior Investment Managers and the Centre for Economy in Government. His articles have appeared in several newspapers, including The Globe and Mail, The Financial Post, The Calgary Herald and The Vancouver Sun. Before joining the Institute, Mr. Mihlar worked at The Small Business Consulting Group at Simon Fraser University as a Business Consultant. He holds a B.A. in Economics from Simon Fraser University, an M.A. in Public Administration from Carleton University, and a Marketing Diploma from the Chartered Institute of Marketing, London, England.

Acknowledgments

The Fraser Institute wishes to thank the Donner Canadian Foundation for providing the funding for 1997 summer internships for Marc Law and Howard Markowitz. The authors also wish to thank Michael Walker and Filip Palda for detailed comments and suggestions. The authors, of course, take full responsibility for any errors and omissions and as they have worked independently, their views do not necessarily represent the views of The Fraser Institute or of its trustees and members.

Summary: Main Policy Recommendations

For more detailed explanations of the following policy proposals, please see the relevant sections in the main text.

Spending policy

• Use Unit Assessment (UA) techniques for all property tax assessments.

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