Eloise Duncan – Financial Resilience Index: a New Tool to Refine Income Support
From: Eloise Duncan To: Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland Date: October 28, 2021 Re: Financial Resilience Index: a New Tool to Refine Income Support Governments were generous and broad in their financial support during the COVID-19 pandemic, but as the economy returns to a normal state – and fiscal positions remain under strain – it is […] Daniel Schwanen – Ill-Thought Regulation Risks Canadian Access to the Full Benefits of Digital Technology
From: Daniel Schwanen To: The Incoming Canadian Parliament Date: October 7, 2021 Re: Ill-Thought Regulation Risks Canadian Access to the Full Benefits of Digital Technology Canada’s newly elected Parliament will be considering a bevy of proposals for reforms aimed at regulating how Canadians interact with social media platforms and other providers of digital services and content. […] Martin Eichenbaum – Meet r Minus g: A New Way to Worry about Deficit Spending
From: Martin Eichenbaum To: Canadian deficit watchers Date: October 1, 2021 Re: Meet r Minus g: A New Way to Worry about Deficit Spending Should Canadians worry about the level of government debt when interest rates are so low? Yes. But the primary danger doesn’t come so much from Canada. Instead, it comes from the fiscal behavior of the […] Ambler, Kronick – What’s Next for Monetary Policy?
From: Steve Ambler and Jeremy M. Kronick To: Canada’s inflation watchers Date: September 30, 2021 Re: What’s Next for Monetary Policy? Earlier this month, the Bank of Canada left its target for the overnight interest rate at 25 basis points while maintaining the pace of its quantitative easing (QE) program by continuing to purchase Government of Canada debt […] Dachis, Kronick – Campaign Housing Platforms Conceal A Central Flaw
To: Canadian housing watchers From: Benjamin Dachis and Jeremy M. Kronick Date: September 15, 2021 Re: Campaign Housing Platforms Conceal a Central Flaw All the major political parties have put out their plans to deal with the housing market crises in Canada’s cities. The focus is on affordability; how to make home ownership easier for Canadians currently priced out […] Can Federal Government Policy Solve The Housing Affordability Problem? – Toronto Star Op-ed
All the major political parties have put out their plans to deal with the housing market crises in Canada’s cities. The focus is on affordability. In other words, how to make home ownership easier for Canadians currently priced out of the housing market. But is there much the federal government can do? Unfortunately, the answer is no, with most levers – especially those that will encourage more supply – at lower levels of government.
First, let’s understand the constraint on affordability. The amount Canadians pay for their mortgages out of their disposable income is roughly the same as 30 years ago. However, with house prices skyrocketing, fuelled by low interest rates, the constraint to home ownership is getting the…
The Parties’ Housing Promises Are Built On Unsound Foundations – Financial Post Op-ed
A basic principle of good governance in Canada is that governments set mandates for crown corporations and regulatory authorities and those arm’s-length institutions then make use of the tools at their disposal to design actual policies. This principle is under threat on the campaign trail as politicians weigh in on one of the issues voters care most about these days, housing affordability.
All parties have put out ideas and plans for taming Canada’s housing markets. They all acknowledge the need to increase supply — which at the end of the day is the only real long-term fix — while trying to free up extra cash for people to make a down payment on a home in their desired neighbourhood. But in the blizzard of proposals there…
Jeremy M. Kronick – Open Banking: A Good Start But More To Do
From: Jeremy M. Kronick To: Department of Finance Date: August 25, 2021 Re: Open Banking – A Good Start but More to Do On August 4, the Minister of Finance released the Advisory Committee on Open Banking’s Final Report, which included clear guidelines to the Department of Finance for implementing open banking by January 2023 […] Let There Be More Light: Enhancing Public Accountability for Prudential Supervision
Lift “Veil of Secrecy” Around OSFI Supervision of Banks, Insurers Banks and insurers would benefit from greater clarity on how the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) conducts prudential supervision. In this report Mark Zelmer, former Deputy Superintendent of Financial Institutions at OSFI, reviews the prudential supervisory frameworks used by OSFI and its provincial […] Glen Hodgson – How Should Governments Assess Crown Corporation Financial Performance?
Canada’s Crown corporations form a major part of the economy, but rarely draw detailed scrutiny. In his latest C.D. Howe Institute Commentary and in this special Intelligence Memo series, Fellow-in-Residence Glen Hodgson sets out principles for effective governance for Crowns. Today, we examine the financial dimension. From: Glen Hodgson To: Overseers of Crown Corporations Date: June 2, 2021 […] Kronick, Omran – The Financial Sector Productivity Opportunity
From: Jeremy Kronick and Farah Omran To: Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland Date: May 21, 2021 Re: The Financial Sector Productivity Opportunity Rules and regulations holding back innovation and productivity in Canada’s financial sector should be updated to drive wider economic performance. In our recent C.D. Howe Institute paper, we updated our assessment of financial sector regulations and policies that […] Upping our Game: How Canada’s Financial Sector Can Spur Economic Performance
Unleash Financial Sector to Drive Economic Performance Rules and regulations holding back innovation and productivity in Canada’s financial sector should be updated to drive wider economic performance. Over the past 18 years, Canada has lagged behind many OECD countries – including Australia and the UK – in terms of productivity. And with the pandemic’s impact […]