Don Drummond – The 2022 Federal Budget Measures Misaligned with Needs
From: Don Drummond To: Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland Date: April 20, 2022 Re: The 2022 Federal Budget Measures Misaligned with Needs A common reaction to the 2022 federal budget is “not as bad as expected.” What kind of evaluation is this? Faint praise simply because fears of massive new spending did not materialize? But that fear was stoked by […] The Bank of Canada’s rate hike: You can’t fight inflation on the QT – Financial Post Op-Ed
With inflation on the rise, the Bank of Canada kicked its tightening cycle into high gear Wednesday by announcing a 50-basis-point increase in its target for the overnight rate — the first non-25-basis-point hike in over 20 years. It also modified its stance concerning its over-sized holdings of Government of Canada bonds, which swelled its balance sheet during so-called Quantitative Easing (QE). Those days are over: it will now initiate Quantitative Tightening, or QT, by not replacing bonds on its balance sheet as they mature, thus reducing its bond holdings over time.
Some might be disappointed the bank didn’t go further on QT by announcing it would actually start selling its holdings of government bonds. Not to worry.…
Zelmer, Kronick – Cryptocurrencies No Defence Against Inflation
From: Mark Zelmer and Jeremy M. Kronick To: Canadian Crypto Watchers Date: April 14, 2022 Re: Cryptocurrencies No Defence Against Inflation People have many buoyant expectations of cryptocurrencies as they look for ways to conduct their financial affairs outside the traditional financial system. They hope that, as crypto and its supporting blockchain technology mature, there will eventually be no […] Can cryptocurrency protect you from inflation? – Globe and Mail Op-Ed
People have many happy expectations of cryptocurrencies as they look for ways to conduct their financial affairs outside the traditional financial system. They hope that, as crypto and its supporting blockchain technology mature, there will eventually be no delays in settling their transactions, cheaper cross-border transactions and no pesky fees on bank accounts, among other advantages.
Many also imagine that crypto assets can protect them from rising inflation. That, however, is one benefit crypto assets do not offer.
Crypto assets such as bitcoin and ethereum and their decentralized blockchain technology offer the promise that, at some point in the future, it may be possible to price goods and services and have one’s…
Alexandre Laurin – Pension-Related Tax Rule Changes for Budget 2022
To: Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland From: Alexandre Laurin Date: April 5, 2022 Re: Pension-Related Tax Rule Changes for Budget 2022 Retirees and workers nearing retirement will be looking to tax-rule changes to improve retirement security in your budget on Thursday. Policy attention to the decumulation phase of retirement savings can improve Canadians’ retirement and tax laws and regulations are […] Benjamin Dachis – Supply Constraints Drive Housing Prices Spikes
From: Benjamin Dachis To: Steve Clark, Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Date: April 1, 2022 Re: Supply Constraints Drive Housing Prices Spikes This week’s announcement from the Ontario government of their planned actions on housing shows more is still needed to truly solve the housing cost crisis. And the Union of British Columbia […] Time for a Tune-up: Reforms to Private-Sector Auto Insurance could Lower Costs and Add Value for Consumers
Auto insurance premiums in Canada amount to about $27 billion per year. For most Canadians, auto insurance represents a significant yearly expense. Provincial and territorial governments control auto insurance, which is mandatory across Canada. Some provinces deliver the insurance themselves through a government agency. Others outsource delivery to private-sector insurers. A recent C.D. Howe […] Barry Gros – We Need to Align Regulation and Management of Target-Benefit Pension Plans
From: Barry Gros To: Canada’s Pension Regulators Date: March 23, 2022 Re: We Need to Align Regulation and Management of Target-Benefit Pension Plans How should Canada regulate a target payment that is not guaranteed? This question is seldom asked, let alone answered, when it comes to setting standards for regulating target-benefit pension plans (TBPs.) Managing risk under target-benefit plans […] Gullo, Eaton, Schwanen – Let’s Stop Our Inter-Provincial Economic Friction
From: Michael Gullo, Michelle Eaton, Daniel Schwanen To: Canadians Concerned About Prosperity Date: March 21, 2022 Re: Let’s Stop Our Inter-Provincial Economic Friction If we can find a small silver lining in the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been the increased collaboration between orders of government; in particular, the federal government and its provincial and territorial counterparts. Fostering this collaboration […] Canada has blown through our fiscal guardrails. When will our federal budgets reflect that? – Globe and Mail Op-Ed
The budget that federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will present shortly will reveal whether the government is serious about putting the national finances on to a sustainable track.
There is room for doubt. Since 2015, the government had been running deficits larger than it promised, and larger than a strong economy justified. Then it responded to the COVID-19 pandemic with debt-financed spending on an unprecedented scale.
To assuage concerns about soaring federal debt – concerns heightened by the government’s equally unprecedented failure to present a budget at all in 2020 – the Finance Minister introduced a new concept in the government’s fall economic statement that year: fiscal…
Perrault, Haley – Picking up the Twenties: A Simple Proposal for Internal Free Trade
From: Jean-François Perrault and James A. Haley To: Internal Trade Watchers Date: March 18, 2022 Re: Picking up the Twenties: A Simple Proposal for Internal Free Trade Internal trade barriers are universally understood to needlessly hobble Canadian prosperity even as a “collective action problem” prevents any serious reform. Tariffs on interprovincial trade are prohibited under the Constitution Act, […] The way Canada reviews foreign investments is out of date – iPolitics Op-Ed
Canada’s process for reviewing foreign investments is too opaque, and protects neither our economic nor our national-security interests.
Ottawa should therefore follow Washington’s lead and create a system wherein certain transactions must be cleared before an investment is ever made.
The timing couldn’t be better: Earlier this month, Innovation, Science and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced a review of Canadian’s Competition Act. The minister should leverage this moment to create a tailor-made solution for foreign investment reviews, as well.
Rather than prioritizing national security, the current regime is more concerned with investors. Canadian companies and their advisers would all benefit…