Distilled Wisdom: Top Legal and Economic Experts on the Most Needed Competition Reforms
September 9, 2021 – After ten years and over twenty meetings, the C.D. Howe Institute’s Competition Policy Council has summarized the key measures that the next Canadian government should focus on for legislative reform of the Competition Act.
Competition law and policy has recently been elevated to the main stage of the Canadian policy debate. For example, Budget 2021 marked the first major move of the federal government to respond to the added interest in competition law and policy, with an increase in the Competition Bureau’s budget. This attention, including discussion of Competition Act matters at hearings of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology in April 2021, brings opportunity for…
C.D. Howe Institute Monetary Policy Council Calls for Bank of Canada to Hold Overnight Rate Target at 0.25 Percent through Fall, Maintain Bond Purchases at $2 Billion per Week
September 2, 2021 – 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 0.25 percent through October, before raising it to 0.50 percent by March of 2022, and to 0.75 percent by September of 2022. It also recommends that the Bank maintain its quantitative-easing purchases of Government of Canada bonds at the current pace of $2 billion per week.
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 CEO, chairs the Council. Council members make recommendations for the Bank of Canada’s upcoming…
C.D. Howe Institute Business Cycle Council Declares an End to the COVID-19 Recession
August 24, 2021 - The C.D. Howe Institute’s Business Cycle Council, Canada’s main arbiter of business cycle dates, has declared an end to the COVID-19 recession.
The Council decided on August 9 to declare an end to the recession that began in March 2020. It judged that the recovery from the recession is now prolonged and sustained enough to declare that the trough of the recession occurred in April 2020, making this the shortest and deepest recession since the Great Depression that began in 1929.
In March and April 2020, there were unprecedented falls in economic activity. April GDP was 17.7 percent below its level in February 2020. The Council declared on May 1, 2020, that Canada entered a recession in the first quarter…
C.D. Howe Institute Monetary Policy Council Calls for Bank of Canada to Hold Overnight Rate Target at 0.25 Percent until Fall, Hike to 0.50 Percent by Next July, Reduce Bond Purchases
July 8, 2021 – 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 0.25 percent at least until January of 2022, and raise it to 0.50 percent by July of 2022. It also recommends that the Bank reduce its quantitative-easing purchases of Government of Canada bonds below its current pace of $3 billion per week.
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 CEO, chairs the Council. Council members make recommendations for the Bank of Canada’s upcoming interest-rate announcement, the…
Bank of Canada Should Keep Overnight Rate at 0.25 Percent over Coming Year: C.D. Howe Institute Monetary Policy Council
June 3, 2021 – 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 0.25 percent at least until June of 2022, but reduce its purchases of Government of Canada bonds from the current pace of $3 billion per week.
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 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 and one year ahead. The Council’s formal…
