The Liberal government reintroduced its controversial internet regulation bill on Wednesday, and it is likely to bring forward its “online harms” legislation, which also caused concerns, in the weeks to come. A Heritage Canada report released Thursday documented the concerns about the government’s initial approach on this issue.
Last year, then-Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault found himself facing steep opposition to his plans to roll out online harms legislation that was meant to address hate speech as well as sexually exploitative content and material that promoted terrorism. As former leaders at the CRTC who have closely watched this debate, we think there’s a better way for the new heritage minister,…
In a surprise move, the Bank of Canada kept its overnight rate target steady at 25 basis points Wednesday. Markets had already priced in a rate increase by the time the announcement was made, so there was ample cover to make this the first post-pandemic increase. That didn’t happen. With inflation rising at home and abroad, we believe this was a missed opportunity.
Steady increases in inflation and inflation expectations had led markets to believe the bank was set to increase its target for the overnight rate for the first time since the pandemic began. Headline inflation was up to 4.8 per cent in December, all of the bank’s core inflation measures had increased — with two of the three at or above three per cent — and its…
Canada’s economy is on a sugar high. Government borrowing and easy money have fueled the rush. The most recent national accounts data, from the third quarter of 2021, show nominal GDP — incomes and expenditures measured in current dollars — up more than 12 per cent from a year earlier. Subsequent numbers show that even with COVID restrictions, consumption is strong. Housing has been on a tear.
Why call this surge a sugar rush rather than a sign of underlying strength? A key reason is inflation. Higher prices accounted for two-thirds of that 12 per cent year-over-year increase in nominal GDP in the third quarter. Real GDP did also rebound from the COVID recession over that period, but only by four per cent. The consumer price…
