MLI Newsletter
Vol. VI, No. 6
May 11, 2015

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In this edition...
Events: Next Great Canadian Debate on May 26
Justice: Perrin recommends changes to life in prison law
Economy: MLI authors analyse the federal budget
Event recap: Great Canadian Debate tackles the value of a university degree
Aboriginal peoples: New Coates book explains the Idle No More phenomenon
Taxes: National Post endorses Cross paper in editorial
Intellectual property: Crowley and Dawson discuss IP protection at US embassy
Health care: MLI continues reform debate with paper on lessons from Asia
Other MLI news

Great Canadian Debates 2015: Is Canada's democracy in crisis?

Canada's democracy is in crisis: agree or disagree?

Postmedia columnist Andrew Coyne and author John Pepall will square off over that resolution in the third and final entry for the 2015 Great Canadian Debates schedule.

The event will take place on May 26 at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.

For tickets, click here.

 

Macdonald-Laurier Institute Senior Fellow Benjamin Perrin set the agenda for the debate about the government's "life means life" legislation, which would deny the chance for parole after 25 years to the most heinous murderers.

Perrin authored a report for MLI arguing that without changes the legislation risks being struck down by a constitutional challenge.

Perrin appeared on CTV's Power Play to discuss the report and authored an op-ed for the Globe and Mail. The findings were also the focus of a story in the Globe and Mail, the Ottawa Citizen and appeared in a column by Postmedia's Andrew Coyne. 

 

Macdonald-Laurier Institute authors were all over the news media in April offering insight into the federal government's latest budget.

Senior Fellow Christian Leuprecht spoke with the Ottawa Citizen about security measures contained in the budget, while Philip Cross appeared on CTV's Power Play beforehand to discuss what measures the budget might contain.

Managing Director Brian Lee Crowley authored a few columns on issues surrounding the budget. One argued that income splitting was a long-overdue fix for Canada's tax system. Another made the case that it is time to get on with drafting balanced-budget legislation.

Event review: Coates and Axworthy debate Canadian post-secondary education

Ken Coates and Lloyd Axworthy squared off over the value of a university degree in the second Great Canadian Debate of 2015, held April 29, 2015 at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.

The two debaters also authored op-eds for the National Post. Coates argued in favour of the motion "Too many Canadian kids are going to university". Axworthy argued against.

CPAC also posted video from the event. 


Macdonald-Laurier Institute Senior Fellow Ken Coates has published a book examining the lasting impact of the Idle No More movement, #IdleNoMore and the Remaking of Canada.

Coates, who has also published extensively on Aboriginal issues with MLI, received coverage in the Globe and Mail and the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.

MLI also released an excerpt from the book as a commentary and Coates authored a column for the Huffington Post.

 

The National Post has used a recent paper from the Macdonald-Laurier Institute's Philip Cross to explain why a greater emphasis on wealth distribution isn't going to help lift Canadians out of poverty, given that Canada's tax and transfer system is already highly progressive.

Cross' paper, titled "Giving and Taking Away: How taxes and transfers address inequality in Canada", explains that looking at tax rates doesn't tell the whole story, a view strongly endorsed by the Post.

 

Macdonald-Laurier Institute Managing Director Brian Lee Crowley and Senior Fellow Laura Dawson spoke last month at an event that recognizes the importance of intellectual property in building national economies.

The event featured the Global Intellectual Property Centre's international IP index, which ranks countries according to how well they protect intellectual property. 

The event, organized by the United States Chamber of Commerce and the American Chamber of Commerce in Canada, took place on Tuesday, April 21 at the United States embassy in Ottawa.
Bruce Heyman, the U.S. ambassador to Canada, was also in attendance.

MLI continues leading research on health-care reform with paper on Asia

The Macdonald-Laurier Institute has staked out space in the Canadian public policy debate as a leader on health-care reform.

That continued in April, with the release of a new paper on lessons Canadian governments could learn about reducing costs while still providing robust services.

"An Asian Flavour For Medicare" examines how successful experiments in Japan, Korea and Taiwan could change the debate in Canada.

The authors, Ito Peng and James Tiessen, also authored an op-ed for the Ottawa Citizen.
Other MLI news

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The Macdonald-Laurier Institute is the only non-partisan, independent national public policy think tank in Ottawa focusing on the full range of issues that fall under the jurisdiction of the federal government. It initiates and conducts research identifying current and emerging economic and public policy issues facing Canadians.

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