At times, the Fraser Institute produces such helpful material.

I hope they make their well-heeled funders, such as the multi-billionaire Koch brothers, proud. However, I'm sure the Kochs are more concerned about how missteps by their progeny Mitt and Ryan are derailing their chance to buy the U.S. presidency.

So back to the Fraser Institute and to three of their recent reports.

A growing share of Canada's investment overseas is being channelled by Canadian banks into tax havens.

The latest Statistics Canada figures show 24 per cent of Canadian direct investment overseas in 2011 went to the top 12 tax havens, up from 10 per cent in 1987. In fact, tax havens of the Barbados, Cayman Islands, Ireland, Luxembourg and Bermuda were five of the top eight national destinations of total Canadian investment abroad, with the U.S., U.K. and Australia the only countries not considered tax havens in this group.

Despite its size and the hundreds of measures it details, Harper's 2012 budget demonstrates just how small-minded their vision is. Canada faces major challenges, with 1.4 million unemployed, stagnant productivity growth, a crisis in retirement security and growing inequality.

Instead of addressing these challenges, what this budget provides is more of their failed economic policies, deep job-killing budget cuts, cuts to public pensions and a highlight: getting rid of the penny.

Finance Canada published its annual Tax Expenditure Report for 2011 and it shows that the cost of some of the most inequitable tax preferences and loopholes continues to rise.

For instance the stock option deduction, which allows CEOs and executives to pay tax at half the rate of ordinary working income, is estimated to cost the federal government $725 million last year.