Council Reports

May 7, 2020 - Policymakers should help ensure capital is flowing efficiently to businesses best placed to drive economic growth during the recovery, according to the C.D. Howe Institute’s Crisis Working Group on Monetary and Financial Measures.  Economic recovery will hinge on viable companies being able to invest and adapt to the changing structure of the economy, avoid unsustainable debt, and replenish their working capital. To this end, the Crisis Working Group recommends policymakers and regulators take the following steps:

Reduce uncertainty about the future course of public policy and regulation by continuing to be transparent in communication with the public. Reduce regulatory impediments to capital flow,…

May 4, 2020 – Rapid increases in testing and contact tracing are needed to hasten the re-opening of the economy, according to a C.D. Howe Institute working group.

The Working Group on Business Continuity and Trade, 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, also emphasized a need for targeted support to provide liquidity for businesses.

Based on international experience, the group noted widely available testing and effective tracing are essential to manage risks for health system capacity and workplace transmission, as a precursor to re-opening the economy. While balancing…

May 1, 2020 – Preliminary data suggest Canada entered a recession in the first quarter of 2020 with a February peak, says the C.D. Howe Institute’s Business Cycle Council.

The Council, comprised of Canada’s preeminent economists in the field and co-chaired by Steve Ambler and Jeremy Kronick, is an arbiter of business cycle dates in Canada. The Council typically meets annually, but also when economic conditions indicate the possibility of entry to, or exit from, a recession.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuring government shutdown that put a stop to much economic activity, the Council met on April 16 to review the case for calling the beginning of a recession in the first quarter of 2020 and the dating of…

April 30, 2020 - A national decision-making process should be established as soon as possible to review ongoing research here and abroad and provide advice to Canadian governments, according to the C.D. Howe Institute’s Crisis Working Group on Public Health and Emergency Measures. Unprecedented collaboration will be required if a coronavirus vaccine is to be approved and available to the public within an 18-month timeframe.

Canada should leverage its existing advantage in vaccine manufacturing and begin expanding domestic capacity to ensure access for Canadians and the potential to contribute to the global supply through exports. Next steps include: 

Establishing the process for evaluating successful trials.…

April 27, 2020 – It’s time to consider the gradual winding down of emergency benefits and tackle disincentives to work, says the C.D. Howe Institute’s Crisis Working Group on Household Income and Credit Support.

Rather than extending the criteria for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) to fill remaining support gaps, new targeted federal or provincial programs​ should be used to cover those still ineligible.

At their April 21 meeting, the group identified niche populations who are affected by COVID-19 but are falling through the cracks as they do not meet the CERB requirements, including working social assistance recipients and new entrants to the labour market. However, these support gaps should be…