Fraser Institute
Encyclopedia
The Fraser Institute is a Canadian
think tank
. It has been described as politically conservative
and right-wing libertarian
and espouses free market
principles. Its stated mandate is "to measure, study, and communicate the impact of competitive markets and government intervention on the welfare of individuals."
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.
, 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.
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. In its first full year of operation, 1975, the Institute reported revenues of $421,389. In 1988, revenues exceed $1 million, and in 2003, $6 million.
From 1979 to 1991, the Institute's senior economist was Walter Block
.
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, 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.
Forbes
has referred to the think tank as libertarian
. The New York Times
has described the Institute as libertarian and conservative. The Calgary Herald
called it conservative, the Langley Times classified it as right-of-center libertarian
, while philosopher Kai Nielsen referred to the Fraser Institute as an "extreme right-wing libertarian think tank."
, 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.
The Institute does not accept government grants or payments for research, but depends on contributions from individuals, organizations, and foundations. As the institute is a registered charity, individual donors may claim tax credits for donations, and corporate donors may claim tax deductions.
According to Dobbin (2003), 31 % of Fraser Institute's revenue come from corporations and 57 % from "business-oriented charitable foundations" such as the right-wing Donner Foundation and the free-market-oriented John Dobson Foundation. Critics of Fraser Institute such as David Suzuki
have also named Exxon
, Koch
and Scaife
as the Institute's donors.
. 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. These reports are distributed worldwide through the Economic Freedom Network, a global network of 80 think-tanks.
, including firearms registry.
, Alberta
, Ontario
, Quebec
, and Washington state
based on the publicly available results of standardized testing mandated and administered by the provinces. The website www.compareschoolrankings.org allows anyone to compare up to five schools at once, based on a variety of performance indicators.
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. In 2011, Tax Freedom Day was June 6. The Institute also offers a personal Tax Freedom Day calculator.
and la Francophonie
; and Canadian Student Review, a look at current affairs written for students, by students.
The Fraser Institute also offers an internship program, to which more than 431 individuals applied in 2010.
(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.
and politicians such as former Reform Party of Canada
leader Preston Manning
, former Progressive Conservative Ontario premier Mike Harris
, former Progressive Conservative Alberta premier Ralph Klein, and former Liberal Newfoundland & Labrador premier Brian Tobin
.
's NDP government 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 union
s for its recommendations to abolish minimum wage
.
In 1999, the Fraser Institute was criticized 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.
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. According to the Brooks study, 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.
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. When Rothmans was bought by British American Tobacco
(BAT) in 1999, its funding ended, 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. The letter highlighted the Institute's 1999 publication Passive Smoke: The EPA's Betrayal of Science and Policy, "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". At this time the CEO of BAT's Canadian subsidiary, Imasco, was also on the Fraser Institute's Board of Trustees. The Fraser Institute ceased disclosing its sources of corporate funding in the 1980s. In 2000 the Institute published another industry-friendly paper, a History of Tobacco Regulation by Filip Palda
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
. It has been described as politically conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
and right-wing libertarian
Right-libertarianism
Right-libertarianism names several related libertarian political philosophies which support capitalism. The term is typically used to differentiate privatist based forms of libertarianism from Left-libertarianism; which generally supports forms of economic democracy and...
and espouses free market
Free market
A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...
principles. Its stated mandate is "to measure, study, and communicate the impact of competitive markets and government intervention on the welfare of individuals."
Named for the Fraser River
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...
, the Institute is headquartered in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, with offices also located in Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, and Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, and ties to a global network of 80 think-tanks through the Economic Freedom Network.
History
The Fraser Institute was founded in 1974 by Michael WalkerMichael Walker (economist)
Michael Walker, Ph.D is a Canadian economist. He is best known as the founder of The Fraser Institute....
, an economist from the University of Western Ontario
University of Western Ontario
The University of Western Ontario is a public research university located in London, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus covers of land, with the Thames River cutting through the eastern portion of the main campus. Western administers its programs through 12 different faculties and...
, and businessman T. Patrick Boyle, then a vice-president of MacMillan Bloedel
MacMillan Bloedel Limited
MacMillan Bloedel Limited, sometimes referred to as "MacBlo", was a Canadian forestry company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was formed through the merger of three smaller forestry companies in 1951 and 1959. Those were the Powell River Company, the Bloedel Stewart Welch Company,...
. It obtained charitable status in Canada on October 22, 1974, and in the United States in 1978.
Sir Antony Fisher
Antony Fisher
Sir Antony Fisher was one of the most influential background players in the global rise of libertarian think-tanks during the second half of the twentieth century, founding the Institute of Economic Affairs and the Atlas Economic Research Foundation. Through Atlas, he helped establish up to 150...
, previously instrumental in setting up the UK's Institute of Economic Affairs
Institute of Economic Affairs
The Institute of Economic Affairs , founded in 1955, styles itself the UK's pre-eminent free-market think-tank. Its mission is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social...
, was appointed acting director in 1975, until Walker became executive director in 1977. In its first full year of operation, 1975, the Institute reported revenues of $421,389. In 1988, revenues exceed $1 million, and in 2003, $6 million.
From 1979 to 1991, the Institute's senior economist was Walter Block
Walter Block
Walter Edward Block is a free market economist and anarcho-capitalist associated with the Austrian School of economics.-Personal history and education:...
.
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
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
's Global Go-To Think-Tank Index, 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.
Political stance
The Fraser Institute describes itself as "an independent international research and educational organization", and envisions "a free and prosperous world where individuals benefit from greater choice, competitive markets, and personal responsibility."Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
has referred to the think tank as libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
has described the Institute as libertarian and conservative. The Calgary Herald
Calgary Herald
The Calgary Herald is a daily newspaper published in the Canadian city of Calgary, Alberta.- History :The paper was first published on August 31, 1883 by Andrew Armour and Thomas Braden as The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate and General Advertiser. It started as a weekly paper with only...
called it conservative, the Langley Times classified it as right-of-center libertarian
Right-libertarianism
Right-libertarianism names several related libertarian political philosophies which support capitalism. The term is typically used to differentiate privatist based forms of libertarianism from Left-libertarianism; which generally supports forms of economic democracy and...
, while philosopher Kai Nielsen referred to the Fraser Institute as an "extreme right-wing libertarian think tank."
Funding
As a registered charity with the Canada Revenue AgencyCanada Revenue Agency
The Canada Revenue Agency is a federal agency that administers tax laws for the Government of Canada and for most provinces and territories, international trade legislation, and various social and economic benefit and incentive programs delivered through the tax system...
, the Institute files annual registered charity information returns. In 2010, the Institute reported having $4.5 million CAD
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
in assets and $10.8 million in annual revenue.
The Institute does not accept government grants or payments for research, but depends on contributions from individuals, organizations, and foundations. As the institute is a registered charity, individual donors may claim tax credits for donations, and corporate donors may claim tax deductions.
According to Dobbin (2003), 31 % of Fraser Institute's revenue come from corporations and 57 % from "business-oriented charitable foundations" such as the right-wing Donner Foundation and the free-market-oriented John Dobson Foundation. Critics of Fraser Institute such as David Suzuki
David Suzuki
David Suzuki, CC, OBC is a Canadian academic, science broadcaster and environmental activist. Suzuki earned a Ph.D in zoology from the University of Chicago in 1961, and was a professor in the genetics department of the University of British Columbia from 1963 until his retirement in 2001...
have also named Exxon
ExxonMobil
Exxon Mobil Corporation or ExxonMobil, is an American multinational oil and gas corporation. It is a direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil company, and was formed on November 30, 1999, by the merger of Exxon and Mobil. Its headquarters are in Irving, Texas...
, Koch
Koch Family Foundations
Koch Family Foundations is the informal name for a group of charities in the United States of America associated with the family of Fred C. Koch. The most prominent of these are the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation and the David H. Koch Charitable Foundation, created by two of Fred C...
and Scaife
Sarah Scaife Foundation
The Sarah Scaife Foundation is one of the American Scaife Foundations. It is controlled by Richard Mellon Scaife. The foundation does not award grants to individuals. It concentrates its efforts towards causes focused on public policy at a national and international level...
as the Institute's donors.
Economic Freedom
The Institute is well known for its annual Economic Freedom of the World index, which ranks the countries of the world according to their degrees of economic freedomEconomic freedom
Economic freedom is a term used in economic and policy debates. As with freedom generally, there are various definitions, but no universally accepted concept 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. These reports are distributed worldwide through the Economic Freedom Network, a global network of 80 think-tanks.
Waiting Your Turn
Waiting Your Turn: Wait Times for Health Care in Canada 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.Survey of Mining Companies
Every year, the global Survey of Mining Companies 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.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. 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.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.Stance on firearms legislation
The Fraser Institute issued a number of articles and statements opposing Canadian gun control lawsGun politics in Canada
Gun politics in Canada is largely polarized between two groups with opposing views. One group includes those who object to the registration of personal firearms...
, including firearms registry.
School Report Cards
Every year, the Institute publishes a series of School Report Cards ranking the academic performance of schools in British ColumbiaBritish Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, and Washington state
Washington State
Washington State may refer to:* Washington , often referred to as "Washington state" to differentiate it from Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States* Washington State University, a land-grant college in that state- See also :...
based on the publicly available results of standardized testing mandated and administered by the provinces. The website www.compareschoolrankings.org allows anyone to compare up to five schools at once, based on a variety of performance indicators.
Tax Freedom Day
The Institute's annual Tax Freedom DayTax Freedom Day
Tax Freedom Day is the first day of the year in which a nation as a whole has theoretically earned enough income to fund its annual tax burden. It is annually calculated in the United States by the Tax Foundation—a Washington, D.C.-based tax research organization...
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. In 2011, Tax Freedom Day was June 6. The Institute also offers a personal Tax Freedom Day calculator.
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 QuebecQuebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
and la Francophonie
La Francophonie
Francophonie is an international organization of politics and governments with French as the mother or customary language, where a significant proportion of people are francophones , or where there is a notable affiliation with the French language or culture.Formally known as the Organisation...
; and Canadian Student Review, a look at current affairs written for students, by students.
Other notable studies
In March 2010, the Institute released Did Government Stimulus Fuel Economic Growth in Canada? An Analysis of Statistics Canada Data, 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. In 2010, the Institute hosted eight one-day student seminars, attracting more than 775 participants.The Fraser Institute also offers an internship program, to which more than 431 individuals applied in 2010.
Children First
Canada's first privately funded program of its kind, Children First: School Choice Trust 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 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.School Chain Showcase
A global database of school chains, the multilingual website allows anyone to connect with school chain operators around the world.Governance
The Institute is governed by a board of trustees. Current members of the board are: Peter BrownPeter Brown
-Historical figures:*Peter Browne , also spelled Brown, , Pilgrim and English colonist, signer of the Mayflower Compact*Peter Brown -Historical figures:*Peter Browne (Mayflower Pilgrim), also spelled Brown, (1594–1633), Pilgrim and English colonist, signer of the Mayflower Compact*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.
High-profile figures
The Institute has attracted some well-known individuals to its ranks, including founding member Friedrich HayekFriedrich Hayek
Friedrich August Hayek CH , born in Austria-Hungary as Friedrich August von Hayek, was an economist and philosopher best known for his defense of classical liberalism and free-market capitalism against socialist and collectivist thought...
and politicians such as former Reform Party of Canada
Reform Party of Canada
The Reform Party of Canada was a Canadian federal political party that existed from 1987 to 2000. It was originally founded as a Western Canada-based protest party, but attempted to expand eastward in the 1990s. It viewed itself as a populist party....
leader Preston Manning
Preston Manning
Ernest Preston Manning, CC is a Canadian politician. He was the only leader of the Reform Party of Canada, a Canadian federal political party that evolved into the Canadian Alliance...
, former Progressive Conservative Ontario premier Mike Harris
Mike Harris
Michael Deane "Mike" Harris was the 22nd Premier of Ontario from June 26, 1995 to April 15, 2002. He is most noted for the "Common Sense Revolution", his Progressive Conservative government's program of deficit reduction in combination with lower taxes and cuts to government...
, former Progressive Conservative Alberta premier Ralph Klein, and former Liberal Newfoundland & Labrador premier Brian Tobin
Brian Tobin
Brian Vincent Tobin, PC is a Canadian businessman and former politician. Tobin served as the sixth Premier of Newfoundland from 1996 to 2000. Tobin was also a prominent Member of Parliament and served as a Cabinet Minister in Jean Chrétien's Liberal government.- Early life, education, and family...
.
Controversies
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 ColumbiaBritish Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
's NDP government then led by premier Dave Barrett
Dave Barrett
David Barrett, OC , commonly known as Dave Barrett, is a retired politician and social worker in British Columbia, Canada...
. The CEO of MacMillian-Bloedel at the time supported wage and price controls. The Institute has been criticized by trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s for its recommendations to abolish minimum wage
Minimum wage
A minimum wage is the lowest hourly, daily or monthly remuneration that employers may legally pay to workers. Equivalently, it is the lowest wage at which workers may sell their labour. Although minimum wage laws are in effect in a great many jurisdictions, there are differences of opinion about...
.
In 1999, the Fraser Institute was criticized by health professionals and scientists for sponsoring two conferences on the tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
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.
In 2002, a study by Neil Brooks of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives is an independent, non-partisan, policy research institute in Canada that leans to the political left. It concentrates on economic policy, international trade, environmental justice and social policy. It is especially known for publishing an alternative...
concluded that the Institute's widely promoted Tax Freedom Day
Tax Freedom Day
Tax Freedom Day is the first day of the year in which a nation as a whole has theoretically earned enough income to fund its annual tax burden. It is annually calculated in the United States by the Tax Foundation—a Washington, D.C.-based tax research organization...
(described as the date each year when the average Canadian's income no longer goes to paying government taxes) included flawed accounting. According to the Brooks study, 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.
In late 1997, the Institute set up a research program emulating the UK's Social Affairs Unit
Social Affairs Unit
The Social Affairs Unit is a right-leaning think tank in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1980 as an offshoot of the Institute of Economic Affairs, it publishes books on a variety of social issues...
, called the Social Affairs Centre. Its founding Director was Patrick Basham
Patrick Basham
Patrick Basham is an adjunct scholar with the Cato Institute, and the founding Director of the Democracy Institute. Basham was previously the founding director of the Social Affairs Centre at the Canadian Fraser Institute, and formerly Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute. He has published a number...
. The program's funding came from Rothmans International and Phillip Morris. When Rothmans was bought by British American Tobacco
British American Tobacco
British American Tobacco p.l.c. is a global tobacco company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s second largest quoted tobacco company by global market share , with a leading position in more than 50 countries and a presence in more than 180 countries...
(BAT) in 1999, its funding ended, 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. The letter highlighted the Institute's 1999 publication Passive Smoke: The EPA's Betrayal of Science and Policy, "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". At this time the CEO of BAT's Canadian subsidiary, Imasco, was also on the Fraser Institute's Board of Trustees. The Fraser Institute ceased disclosing its sources of corporate funding in the 1980s. In 2000 the Institute published another industry-friendly paper, a History of Tobacco Regulation by Filip Palda
Filip Palda
Filip Palda is a full professor in Economics at the and a Senior Fellow at the Fraser Institute. He holds a Master’s degree from Queen’s University and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Chicago, where he studied under Gary S...
.
External links
- Fraser Institute
- Economic Freedom Network
- School Report Cards by the Fraser Institute
- Children First: School Choice Trust
- Donner Canadian Foundation Awards for Excellence in the Delivery of Social Services
- School Chain Showcase
- Policy.ca Profile: Fraser Institute
- CBC Profile: Fraser Institute
- http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/haip/srch/t3010form22-eng.action?b=119233823RR0001&e=2010-12-31&n=THE+FRASER+INSTITUTE&r=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cra-arc.gc.ca%3A80%2Febci%2Fhaip%2Fsrch%2Fadvancedsearchresult-eng.action%3Fn%3DFraser%2BInstitute%26amp%3Bb%3D%26amp%3Bq%3D%26amp%3Bs%3Dregistered%26amp%3Bd%3D%26amp%3Be%3D%2B%26amp%3Bc%3D%26amp%3Bv%3D%2B%26amp%3Bo%3D%26amp%3Bz%3D%26amp%3Bg%3D%2B%26amp%3Bt%3D%2B%26amp%3By%3D%2B%26amp%3Bp%3D1#section_dCanada Revenue Agency registered charity information database: The Fraser Institute]