Dwight Duncan, Janet Ecker, William Robson, and Colin Busby
Two former Finance Ministers on the release of the latest CDHI "Pinocchio Index" of federal & provincial government financial accountability
Please note this event was on-record and media were in attendance.
Dwight Duncan
Dwight Duncan is a senior strategic advisor at McMillan LLP, one of Canada’s most respected law firms. He also advises a number of other businesses and is a Special Advisor to the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS). Prior to joining McMillan, Mr. Duncan had a distinguished career in public service that spanned close to 25 years.
During his time as a Member of the Ontario Legislature he served as Deputy Premier, Minister of Finance, Chair of the Management Board of Cabinet, Chair of Cabinet, Government House Leader, Minister of Energy, Minister of Revenue, Minister of Government Services and Opposition House Leader. He delivered six budgets and authored historic reforms to Ontario's tax, pension, insurance, and energy regimes.
Mr. Duncan played a leadership role in formulating the Province's response to the economic recession of 2008.As Finance Minister he lowered corporate and personal taxes, eliminated the capital tax and created the harmonized sales tax (HST).During his tenure the Government of Ontario invested record sums in infrastructure, healthcare and education to lay the foundation for improved productivity and a more prosperous economy.
Prior to his election to the Legislature, he served for 6 years as a municipal councillor in the City of Windsor and worked for eight years as the chief administrative officer at Brentwood, a highly regarded addiction treatment centre.
Mr. Duncan holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) and MBA (University of Windsor) as well as a B.A. (Economics –McGill University).Mr. Duncan has received a number of awards and distinctions including a honourary doctorate from the University of Windsor (2013) and recognition as one of Toronto’s 50 Most Influential People by Toronto Life Magazine (2012).
Janet Ecker
Janet L Ecker is President and CEO of the Toronto Financial Services Alliance (TFSA), a growing public–private partnership dedicated to building Toronto as a global financial services centre. With government and industry support, she has also established the Global Risk Institute in Financial Services to leverage the sector’s global reputation for stability, as well as the Centre of Excellence in Financial Services Education to capitalize on Toronto region’s talent advantages.
A former Ontario Finance Minister, Ms. Ecker also held the portfolios of Minister of Education, Minister of Community and Social Services and Government House Leader. Ms. Ecker currently sits on a number of corporate and non-profit boards and agencies and is also a member of the Ontario Finance Minister’s Economic Advisory Panel.
A frequent public speaker and media commentator, she was recognized in 2010 as one of the “Most Influential People in the World’s Financial Centres” by Financial Centres International and received a “Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award” from the Women’s Executive Network and the Richard Ivey School of Business in 2003. She is also one of the founders of Equal Voice, a national, multi-partisan organization working to elect more women.
William Robson
Bill Robson took office as President and CEO of the C.D. Howe Institute in July 2006, after serving as the Institute’s Senior Vice President since 2003 and Director of Research since 2000. He has written more than 190 books, chapters, articles and monographs on such subjects as government budgets, pensions, healthcare financing, inflation and currency issues. His work has won awards from the Policy Research Secretariat, the Canadian Economics Association, and the Donner Canadian Foundation. Bill lectured on public finance and public policy at the University of Toronto from 2000 to 2003 and is a Senior Fellow at Massey College. He holds an ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors, and serves as an advisor to, or director of, several education-related and public affairs organizations.
Colin Busby
Colin Busby was awarded the 2007 C.D. Howe Research Fellowship and joined the Institute as an analyst thereafter. While writing broadly on economic issues, his emphasis is on fiscal and social policy with a concentration on demographic and labour market concerns. Colin is now focusing his attention on healthcare financing and funding. Before he began his term at the C.D. Howe Institute, Colin worked at Industry Canada and for the United Nations Industrial Development Organization in Vienna. Colin holds a BComm from the University of Alberta and an M.A. in Economics from the University of Ottawa. He also studied in Paris and is bilingual.
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