The latest C.D. Howe Institute annual report card on municipal financial reporting in Canada featured a dismal coincidence.
Regina and Saskatoon had the worst grades among the 31 cities whose budgets and annual reports we look at — the only Fs in the group.
Is there something about Saskatchewan — something in the water or the air — that condemns Regina and Saskatoon to fail this test of transparency and accountability? Does the C.D. Howe Institute have it in for Saskatchewan?
No and no — and for proof, Regina and Saskatoon don’t need to look far to see how to improve their marks. Not to Vancouver, which topped the cities class with A+, nor to Surrey or Quebec City, with As, nor to Richmond or Markham or Vaughan,…
The Ontario Housing Affordability Task Force released its final report Feb. 8 after two months of consultation and study. It offers bold reform to boost housing supply. The ball is now in the province’s court to decide which recommendations to adopt; the province would be wise to adopt as many as it can.
The debate on why housing costs are so high is settled. Study after study shows supply restrictions are behind the price rises. One C.D. Howe Institute study shows delays and extra costs add hundreds of thousands of dollars to home costs.
The government has focused on boosting supply before. In 2019, it announced a Housing Supply Action Plan and a first package of legislative and…
The recent terrible B.C. floods have confirmed how unprepared we are for climate change and severe weather events. The extensive damage in British Columbia has been in the spotlight; a similar event in another province would have many of the same disastrous consequences. The federal and B.C. governments announced this week they will spend $228-million to help affected farmers and their communities return to normal production activity.
What can be done to help protect the value of physical assets from climate risk – specifically housing and commercial buildings? More universal access to flood insurance is the most obvious risk-management tool, along with significant investment in public infrastructure to build resilience. However…
