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Fraser Institute

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The Fraser Institute
Formation1974
TypePublic policy think tank
Headquarters1770 Burrard Street
Location
President & CEO
Brett J. Skinner
Websitewww.fraserinstitute.org

The Fraser Institute is an independent research and educational organization (think tank) based in Canada that espouses free market principles.[1] Its stated mandate is "to measure, study, and communicate the impact of competitive markets and government intervention on the welfare of individuals."[2]

Named for the Fraser River, the Institute is headquartered in Vancouver, with offices also located in Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal, and ties to a global network of 80 think-tanks through the Economic Freedom Network.[3]

In 2010, the Fraser Institute was ranked No. 1 among 97 think-tanks in Canada, for the third year in a row, in the University of Pennsylvania's Global Go-To Think-Tank Index,[4] a global survey of close to 1,500 scholars, policy makers, and journalists. The report also named the Fraser Institute as the only Canadian organization in the Top 25 leading think-tanks in the world in 2010, out of a global group of 6,480 think-tanks.


History

The Fraser Institute was founded in 1974 by Michael Walker, an economist from the University of Western Ontario, and businessman T. Patrick Boyle, then a vice-president of MacMillan Bloedel. It obtained charitable status in Canada on October 22, 1974, and in the United States in 1978.[5]

Sir Antony Fisher, previously instrumental in setting up the UK's Institute of Economic Affairs, was appointed acting director in 1975, until Walker became executive director in 1977.[5] In its first full year of operation, 1975, the Institute reported revenues of $421,389.[5] In 1988, revenues exceed $1 million, and in 2003, $6 million.[5]

From 1979 to 1991, the Institute's senior economist was Walter Block.


Research and publications

Economic Freedom

The Institute is well known for its annual Economic Freedom of the World[6] index, which ranks the countries of the world according to their degrees of economic freedom. The Institute has also published regional and sub-national reports ranking the economic freedom of North America, Latin America, the Arab World, and the Francophonie.[7] These reports are distributed worldwide through the Economic Freedom Network, a global network of 80 think-tanks.[3]

Waiting Your Turn

Waiting Your Turn: Wait Times for Health Care in Canada[8] is the Institute's annual report on hospital waiting times in Canada, based on a nationwide survey of physicians and health care practitioners. The twentieth annual survey, released December 2010, found that the total waiting time between referral from a general practitioner and delivery of elective treatment by a specialist, averaged across 12 specialties and 10 provinces surveyed, had risen from 16.1 weeks in 2009 to 18.2 weeks in 2010.[8]

Survey of Mining Companies

Every year, the global Survey of Mining Companies[9] ranks the investment climates of mining jurisdictions worldwide, based on the opinions of mining industry executives and managers. In 2011, the companies participating in the survey reported exploration spending of US$2.43 billion in 2010 and US$1.86 billion in 2009.[10]

Global Petroleum Survey

An annual survey of petroleum executives regarding barriers to investment in upstream oil and gas exploration and production in various jurisdictions around the globe.[11]. The exploration and development budgets of companies participating in the most recent survey, released June 2011, totaled about $300 billion in 2010, which represents more than 60 per cent of global upstream expenditures in 2010.[11]

Canadian Provincial Investment Climate

A series of reports measuring the extent to which Canadian provinces embrace public policies that contribute to, and sustain, positive investment climates.[12]

School Report Cards

Every year, the Institute publishes a series of School Report Cards ranking the academic performance of schools in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec, based on the publicly available results of standardized testing mandated and administered by the provinces.[13] The website www.compareschoolrankings.org allows anyone to compare up to five schools at once, based on a variety of performance indicators.[14]

Tax Freedom Day

The Institute's annual Tax Freedom Day report calculates the day the average Canadian family can "start working for themselves" after having paid off the total tax bill imposed on them by all levels of government.[15] In 2011, Tax Freedom Day was June 6.[15] The Institute also offers a personal Tax Freedom Day calculator.[16]

Periodicals

The Institute publishes three magazines: Fraser Forum, a bi-monthly review of public policy in Canada; Perspectives, a French-language review of public policy in Quebec and la Francophonie; and Canadian Student Review, a look at current affairs written for students, by students.[17]

Other notable studies

In March 2010, the Institute released Did Government Stimulus Fuel Economic Growth in Canada? An Analysis of Statistics Canada Data[18], a report critical of the Harper government's Economic Action Plan, concluding that the stimulus package did not have a material impact on Canada's economic turnaround in the latter half of 2009.


Education Programs

The Institute periodically hosts free seminars across Canada for students, teachers, and journalists, focusing on key economic concepts and timely issues in public policy.[19] In 2010, the Institute hosted eight one-day student seminars, attracting more than 775 participants.[20]

The Fraser Instite also offers an internship program, to which more than 431 individuals applied in 2010.[20]


Other initiatives

Children First

Canada's first privately funded program of its kind, Children First: School Choice Trust[21] offers tuition assistance grants to help parents in financial need send their children to an independent school of their choice.

Donner Awards

Canada's largest non-profit recognition program, the Donner Canadian Foundation Awards for Excellence in the Delivery of Social Services[22] recognize non-profit social service agencies that, despite budget limitations, excel in terms of management and service delivery. Winners are selected every year in a variety of categories, and share in $60,000 prize money.[22]

School Chain Showcase

A global database of school chains available online at www.schoolchains.org. The mutlilingual website allows anyone to connect with school chain operators around the world.[23]


Funding

As a registered charity with the Canada Revenue Agency, the Institute files annual registered charity information returns. In 2010, the Institute reported having $4.5 million CAD in assets and $10.8 million in annual revenue.[24]

The Institute does not accept government grants or payments for research, but depends on contributions from thousands of individuals, organizations, and foundations.[25]


Governance

The Institute is governed by a board of trustees. Current members of the board are: Peter Brown (chairman), Mark Mitchell (vice-chairman), Edward Belzberg (vice-chairman), Salem Ben Nasser Al Ismaily, Gordon Arnell, Kathy Assayag, Ryan Beedie, Brad Bennett, Joseph Canavan, Alex Chafuen, Derwood Chase Jr., James Davidson, John Dielwart, Stuart Elman, Dave Filmon, Greg Fleck, Paul Fletcher, Shaun Francis, Ned Goodman, John Hagg, Paul Hill, Stephen, Hynes, Charles Jeannes, Kent Jespersen, Andrew Judson, Robert Lee, Brandt Louie, David MacKenzie, James McGovern, George Melville, Mark Mitchell, Gwyn Morgan, Eleanor Nicholls, Roger Phillips, Herb Pinder, Jack Pirie, Kevin Reed, H. Sanford Riley, Gavin Semple, Rod Senft, Anthony Sessions, Bill Siebens, Anna Stylianides, Arni Thorsteinson, Michael Walker, Jonathan Wener, Charles Barlow Jr., Sonja Bata, Everett Berg, Jim Chaplin, Serge Darkazanli, John Dobson, Raymond Heung, Bill Korol, Bill Mackness, Fred Mannix, Art Grunder, Everett Berg, Conrad Riley, and Catherine Windels.[26]


High-profile figures

The Institute has attracted some well-known individuals to its ranks, including founding member Friedrich Hayek and politicians such as former Reform Party leader Preston Manning, former Ontario premier Mike Harris, former Alberta premier Ralph Klein, and former Newfoundland & Labrador premier Brian Tobin.


Political stance

The Fraser Institute describes itself as "an independent international research and educational organization"[1], an envisions "a free and prosperous world where individuals benefit from greater choice, competitive markets, and personal responsibility."[2]

Forbes has referred to the organization as libertarian.[27] The New York Times has described the Institute as libertarian[28] and conservative.[29]


Controversy

According to an article published in CBC News Online, some people allege that Michael Walker helped set up the Institute after he received financial backing from forestry giant MacMillan-Bloedel, largely to counter British Columbia's NDP government[30] then led by premier Dave Barrett. The CEO of MacMillian-Bloedel at the time supported wage and price controls. The Institute has been criticized by trade unions for its recommendations to abolish minimum wage.

In 1999, the Fraser Institute was attacked by health professionals and scientists for sponsoring two conferences on the tobacco industry entitled Junk Science, Junk Policy? Managing Risk and Regulation and Should Government Butt Out? The Pros and Cons of Tobacco Regulation. Critics charged the Institute was associating itself with the tobacco industry's many attempts to discredit authentic scientific work.[30]

In 2002, a study by Neil Brooks of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives concluded that the Institute's widely promoted Tax Freedom Day, described as the date each year when the average Canadian's income no longer goes to paying government taxes, included flawed accounting. The Brooks study claimed that the Institute's methods of accounting excluded several important forms of income and inflated tax figures, moving the date nearly two months later in the year.[31]

In late 1997, the Institute set up a research program emulating the UK's Social Affairs Unit, called the Social Affairs Centre. Its founding Director was Patrick Basham. The program's funding came from Rothmans International and Phillip Morris.[32] When Rothmans was bought by British American Tobacco (BAT) in 1999, its funding ended,[33] and in 2000 the Institute wrote to BAT asking for $50,000 per year, to be split between the Social Affairs Centre and the Centre for Risk and Regulation.[32] The letter highlighted the Institute's 1999 publication Passive Smoke: The EPA's Betrayal of Science and Policy,[34] "which highlighted the absence of any scientific evidence for linking cancer with second-hand smoke [and] received widespread media coverage both in Canada and the United States".[32] At this time the CEO of BAT's Canadian subsidiary, Imasco, was also on the Fraser Institute's Board of Trustees.[33] The Fraser Institute ceased disclosing its sources of corporate funding in the 1980s.[33] In 2000 the Institute published another industry-friendly paper, a History of Tobacco Regulation by Filip Palda.[35]


References

  1. ^ a b Who We Are Fraser Institute
  2. ^ a b Mission Fraser Institute
  3. ^ a b Economic Freedom Network Fraser Institute
  4. ^ McGann, James. "Global Go-To Think-Tank Index 2010" (PDF). University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
  5. ^ a b c d The Fraser Institute at 30: A Retrospective Fraser Institute
  6. ^ McMahon, Fred. "Economic Freedom of the World: 2010 Report" (PDF). Fraser Institute. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
  7. ^ Economic Freedom Network Regional and Sub-National Reports
  8. ^ a b Skinner, Brett. "Waiting Your Turn: Wait Times for Health Care in Canada 2010 Report" (PDF). Fraser Institute. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
  9. ^ McMahon, Fred. "Survey of Mining Companies: 2010/2011" (PDF). Fraser Institute. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
  10. ^ News Release: Survey of Mining Companies 2010/2011 Fraser Institute
  11. ^ a b Angevine, Gerry. "Global Petroleum Survey 2011" (PDF). Fraser Institute. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  12. ^ Veldhuis, Niels. "Canadian Provincial Investment Climate 2010 Report" (PDF). Fraser Institute. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
  13. ^ School Report Cards Fraser Institute
  14. ^ <Compare School Rankings Fraser Institute
  15. ^ a b Tax Freedom Day in Canada Fraser Institute
  16. ^ Personal Tax Freedom Day Calculator Fraser Institute
  17. ^ Magazines Fraser Institute
  18. ^ Veldhuis, Niels. "Did Government Stimulus Fuel Economic Growth in Canada? An Analysis of Statistics Canada Data". Fraser Institute. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
  19. ^ Education Programs Fraser Institute
  20. ^ a b "Fraser Institute Annual Report 2010" (PDF). Fraser Institute. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  21. ^ Children First: School Choice Trust Fraser Institute
  22. ^ a b <Donner Canadian Foundation Awards
  23. ^ School Chain Showcase Fraser Institute
  24. ^ 2010 Registered Charity Information Return for THE FRASER INSTITUTE Canada Revenue Agency
  25. ^ Funding Overview Fraser Institute
  26. ^ Board of Directors Fraser Institute
  27. ^ Tim W. Ferguson (September 20, 2004). "Competitive and Not". Forbes.com. Retrieved 2010-01-11.
  28. ^ With Interest : Turning the tables on reform The New York Times
  29. ^ In Canada, private medicine spreads The New York Times
  30. ^ a b CBC News Indepth: Fraser Institute/
  31. ^ Neil Brooks (16 June 2005). "Tax Freedom Day - A Flawed, Incoherent, and Pernicious Concept" (PDF). Retrieved 2005-12-11.
  32. ^ a b c Fraser Institute letter of 28 January 2000 to British American Tobacco chairman Martin Broughton, Letter to Martin Broughton regarding research program in emulation of the social affairs unit, disclosed via Legacy Tobacco Documents Library.
  33. ^ a b c Donald Gutstein, rabble.ca, 14 October 2009, Following the money: The Fraser Institute’s tobacco papers
  34. ^ John Luik and Gio Batta Gori (1999), Passive Smoke: The EPA's Betrayal of Science and Policy, Vancouver: Fraser Institute
  35. ^ Filip Palda (2000), "The History of Tobacco Regulation: Forward to the Past", Public Policy Sources, The Fraser Institute, July 2000.


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