State of the North 2018

State of the North is an annual conference that brings together decision makers, community leaders, experts and innovators to explore the state of Northern Ontario from an economic, social, and environmental perspective. Each year, Northern Policy Institute will provide an annual update on the State of the North by offering updates on a set of environmental, social and economic indicators that we will define and select in partnership with our communities.  It’s time to take what we have learned and step forward into solution based discussions. 

The 2018 conference took place in North Bay, Ontario, September 26-27. The theme was ‘Bold Approaches: Taxing for Growth’.

This two-day conference explored how other regions use tax policies to drive growth, and how these policies might apply to Northern Ontario to grow our communities and reduce inequalities. Attendees heard bold ideas from economic experts, sat in on panel discussions, and shared their own ideas with other influential leaders from across the province.

Watch entire 2018 conference here

State of the North 2018 Sponsors 

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Topic 1 - State of the North

  Charles Cirtwill, President & CEO, Northern Policy Institute

Topic 2 - How can taxation support growth?

  Kevin Milligan, Vancouver School of Economics, University of British Columbia

  Fred O'Riordan, Ernst & Young LLP (no presentation available)

  Toby Sanger, Senior Economist, CUPE

#TaxTalk: Canadian taxes, what needs to change and why?

  Dr. Jack Mintz, President's Fellow, The School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary

Topic 3 - Taxation by Indigenous communities

  Manny Jules, First Nations Tax Commission

  Kate McCue, Fiscal Realities Economists/Georgina First Nation

  Dwayne Nashkawa, CEO of Nipissing First Nation (presentation coming soon)

#TaxTalk: Global evidence of the value of pilots and policy experimentation

  Mikko Annala, Head of Governance Innovation, Demos Helsinki

Media Coverage

• State of the North Conference begins Wednesday in North Bay 
• Conference delegates told lower median salaries in Northern Ontario is not a bad thing 
• Professor at State of the North Conference says higher minimum wage not justified for Northern Ontario 
• Nipissing First Nation faces massive infrastructure deficit including millions of dollars on work on joko point road 
• Policy expert says Northern communities should focus on existing jobs 
• Une conférence sur le thème des impôts et de la croissance économique du Nord
• Les taxes peuvent-elle stimuler la croissance économique?

 *Cette conférence de l’Institut des politiques du Nord sur l’état du Nord n’est pas disponible en français.