To some, crime really does pay Ralph Surette Crime and punishment in Nova Scotia. It could be a novel. After the Donald Marshall affair, the Westray affair, and more affairs in the administration of justice than you can shake a stick at, there's been some redemption after all. We send fewer people to jail per capita than other provinces and thus spend far less on jails and their trappings. This is because crime actually adds to economic growth, at least in the short term.
Crime stimulates prison construction, the surveillance and security sectors and others.
The move to create a GPI is worldwide. In that connection the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies has just released a study pointing out that New Brunswick has bypassed Nova Scotia in GDP growth for the first time. I think we're meant to be alarmed. The, question often comes in practical form in Atlantic Canada, whenever someone is faced with the choice of living modestly or poorly in these parts or hitting the road for Ontario or Alberta. And so Nova Scotia must be commended and encouraged to keep to its course, and keep looking for socially benign and less costly ways to deal with crime.