The pandemic has revealed the fragility of Canada’s health care system, and there is growing recognition that changes are needed to curb rising costs and promote efficiency. But in a health care financing model such as ours, change is difficult, especially with responsibility spread across various political masters. We should try a different approach, based on a model such as that in the Netherlands, which scores better on criteria such as completeness of coverage and wait times.
Canadian medicare, of course, is often described as a “single-payer model” because everyone in a given province or territory is covered by the same government plan. Doctors and hospitals derive virtually all of their revenue from the government plan in…
In the debate over whether the Bank of Canada should issue a central bank digital currency, it is tempting to take a black-and-white perspective. But, the truth is subtler. There exists a spectrum of CBDC design possibilities and a proper evaluation of the different options is necessary.
As it turns out, a token-based CBDC – one that mimics cash quite closely – would respect privacy, create an environment for new forms of private money to grow and wouldn’t disrupt the functioning and stability of our financial system.
To understand why this option is optimal, it is first important to distinguish between public and private money. Public money consists of the physical notes and coins in circulation – the cash in your wallet…
Comme Don Quichotte qui livrait bataille aux moulins à vent, le candidat au leadership conservateur Pierre Poilievre s’en prend à la Banque du Canada et réclame la tête de son gouverneur, Tiff Macklem, lui reprochant de faire les basses œuvres du premier ministre Justin Trudeau.
Si d’aventure M. Poilievre réussissait son coup, il précipiterait une grave crise de confiance envers la banque centrale, comme celle de l’affaire Coyne, en 1961, avec des conséquences non moins sérieuses pour la réputation du pays.
À l’époque, un conflit entre James Coyne et le premier ministre conservateur John Diefenbaker a forcé la démission du gouverneur. Son successeur, Louis Rasminsky, a cependant obtenu une modification à la loi de la…
