In 1990, then-prime minister Brian Mulroney infamously quipped that a first ministers’ meeting about the Meech Lake Accord was “the day I’m going to roll all the dice.”
The 2021 federal budget rolls Canada’s dice again, by burdening a generation with more debt. One hopes the result is more positive than what befell the accord and the Mulroney government.
Some of us were hoping the budget would introduce a fiscal anchor to return us to the pre-pandemic net debt-to-GDP ratio of around 30 per cent. And it’s there — in 2055.
In the intervening 34 years, Canadians will shoulder a higher debt burden — around 50 per cent until 2025-26. A graph depicts it declining ever so slowly after that.
The projection presumably…
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, there was talk in Western countries about supply-chain vulnerability and the need for reshoring, as it’s called. The issue arose not only in Canada, but in the United States – especially when Donald Trump was president – and in European countries.
It was therefore interesting to read recently about some former Canadian politicians and several key industry associations launching an advocacy group called Reshoring Canada, formed to promote the return of critical manufacturing to Canada and rebuilding supply chains in this country.
The group styles itself as non-partisan and a “repository and advocate of ideas” aimed at promoting reshoring by educating the business sector, rather…
Transit tripped up: the effect of COVID-19 and the future of public transit - Hill Times Op-Ed
COVID-19 has fundamentally changed lives across Canada. This change may be most pronounced in Canada’s major cities. Many of the things that make life in our cities so vibrant—great restaurants, entertainment, or going to the office to learn from great colleagues—have vanished. Post-pandemic, as more Canadians work from home, transit operators will face the challenge of bringing us back together to enjoy urban life while facing a gloomy financial outlook.
There are many benefits of urban living, such as tapping a large job and employee market, having access to a wide range of services and infrastructure, and learning from others face-to-face. Public transit is the essential component that enables the benefits of people coming…
