Council Reports

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…

January 16, 2020 – The C.D. Howe Institute’s Monetary Policy Council (MPC) recommends that the Bank of Canada keep its target for the overnight rate, its benchmark policy interest rate, at 1.75 until July 2020. 1.75 percent was the median vote of the nine members attending the meeting, and is the Council’s formal recommendation. By January of 2021, with four members calling for a cut in the target at some point, and three calling for an increase, the Council’s median recommendation was 1.50.

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…

November 28, 2019 – The C.D. Howe Institute’s Monetary Policy Council (MPC) recommends that the Bank of Canada keep its target for the overnight rate, its benchmark policy interest rate, at 1.75 until December 2020. 1.75 percent was the median vote of the nine members attending the meeting, and is the Council’s formal recommendation. With four members expecting that various risks to the outlook would justify a cut in the overnight rate at some point over the year, however, and no members calling for an increase, the Council’s mean recommendation tilted toward 1.50 in the second half of 2020.

The MPC provides an independent assessment of the monetary stance consistent with the Bank of Canada’s 2 percent inflation target…