Brennan: AIMS study on Atlantic Canadian austerity deeply flawed

TORONTO, Dec. 14, 2016 /CNW/ - Unifor economist Jordan Brennan released a response to the report on Atlantic Canadian austerity issued by the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies (AIMS) citing its findings as 'deeply flawed' and 'misleading'.

"The AIMS paper on Atlantic Canadian austerity presumes that government spending should remain static even as regional economies expand and grow," said Brennan in his analysis. "The author compares current government spending in Atlantic Canadian provinces with spending levels in 1980 (adjusted for inflation) and concludes that because current levels are higher than previous levels, austerity cannot be present. But the author must know how deeply flawed this methodology is."

In Brennan's original study published through the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, he outlines how cutbacks in the public sector favoured by Premier Stephen McNeil will not lead to growth of the economy nor to the quality of life and public services desired by citizens.

"Some Atlantic Canadian governments have indicated that they plan on reducing spending in the name of growth, but this is theoretically and empirically false, as my paper spells out," said Brennan in his response. "In a time of chronically weak growth, reductions in government spending are likely to make matters worse, not better."

Unifor is Canada's largest union in the private sector, representing more than 310,000 workers. It was formed Labour Day weekend 2013 when the Canadian Auto Workers and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers unions merged.

Read the full response from Jordan Brennan here

SOURCE Unifor

please contact Unifor Communications National Representative, Shelley Amyotte at [email protected] or 902-717-7491 (cell).