Council Reports

March 27, 2020 - The C.D. Howe Institute has established an expert crisis working group for household income and credit support, chaired by Michael Horgan, Senior Advisor at Bennett Jones LLP and former Deputy Minister of Finance, Government of Canada. The group’s first meeting was held on Wednesday, March 25, 2020 to identify and prioritize key risks for households during the crisis, and consider policy options and recommendations. 

The working group calls for governments to help businesses, not-for-profits and individuals pay their bills and stay afloat during the crisis. Financial supports are particularly needed for small businesses and individuals in industries that have experienced massive layoffs, including the…

March 26, 2020 – In order to help Canadian governments confront the public health and economic crisis resulting from the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the C.D. Howe Institute has established a working group to address challenges for business continuity and trade. The group, co-chaired by Dwight Duncan, Senior Strategic Advisor at McMillan LLP and former Ontario Minister of Finance, and Jeanette Patell, Vice-President of Government Affairs and Policy for GE Canada, held its first meeting on March 24, 2020.

In this meeting, the group of economists and industry experts recommended urgent and immediate implementation of measures by Canada’s federal government to ensure continuity for businesses and not-for-profits – and preserve…

March 25, 2020 - The Institute has established an expert crisis working group for finance and monetary policy, co-chaired by David Dodge, former Governor of the Bank of Canada, and Mark Zelmer, former Deputy Superintendent of OSFI​. The group’s first meeting was held on Monday, March 23, 2020.  

The crisis working group is calling for an expansive government guaranteed credit facility, in tandem with various fiscal measures, to help Canadians and the business community survive the COVID-19 economic crisis. Possible features of the facility could include:

100% guarantee by the Government of Canada, and available to Canadian firms either through federal and provincially-regulated…

March 19, 2020 – The C.D. Howe Institute Competition Policy Council addressed the issue of mandating access to telecommunications facilities, at a recent meeting. The Council considered whether mandated access to broadband and wireless facilities would enhance or impede market efficiency.

This issue is timely as the federal government targets a 25 percent reduction in cellular prices and has directed for possible expansion of mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) in the market through mandated access to facilities-based providers’ networks.

Council members agreed that competition in telecommunications services involves fast-paced technological change, long lead-time investment in facilities, multiple and…

February 27, 2020 – The C.D. Howe Institute’s Monetary Policy Council (MPC) recommends that the Bank of Canada lower its target for the overnight rate, its benchmark policy interest rate, to 1.50 percent next week. The MPC further recommends that the Bank cut again at its next announcement in April, to 1.25 percent, and hold the target there until early 2021.

The MPC provides an independent assessment of the monetary stance consistent with the Bank of Canada’s 2 percent inflation target. William Robson, the Institute’s President and CEO, chairs the Council. Council members make recommendations for the Bank of Canada’s upcoming interest-rate announcement, the subsequent announcement, and the announcements six months…