We can pay now or pay later but don’t think we won’t pay – Financial Post Op-Ed
In the C.D. Howe Institute’s shadow federal budget, released 12 days before Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland delivered the real thing this week, I and my coauthors, Don Drummond and Alexandre Laurin, recommended raising the GST back to seven per cent in 2023. This idea got attention — mostly about how a two-point hike in the GST was too politically painful to be realistic. Over time, though, even in the big-borrowing, low-interest-rate future described in the budget, every dollar spent on programs requires close to 100 cents of revenue. Painful or not, the permanently bigger federal government that this budget anticipates will require Canadians to pay for it.
Since the pandemic struck, the federal government has…
S3 E9: Budget 2021 Reaction
Ottawa is kicking the cost of COVID-19 down the road and crossing its fingers we don’t encounter any additional economic or health crises between now and 2055. The Institute’s CEO Bill Robson is joined by Director of Research Alex Laurin and Senior Fellow Don Drummond to discuss the implications, why we can’t grow our way […] Don Drummond – Budget 2021 Leaves Canada Awash In Debt For More Than A Generation
From: Don Drummond To: Canadian Debt Watchers Date: April 20, 2021 Re: Budget 2021 Leaves Canada Awash in Debt for More than a Generation The C.D. Howe Institute 2021 Shadow Budget recommended the federal government return to around the pre-pandemic 30 percent of GDP net debt burden within two decades. Yesterday’s Budget shows that marker of fiscal […] Bill Robson on BNN – Ottawa needs to send a sign that they’re taking the future seriously
Bill Robson, CEO, C.D. Howe Institute, joins BNN Bloomberg to discuss what he’s looking for in the upcoming federal budget. He calls for the managing of spending to debt, and recommends policies to balance the budget. Budget 2021 rolls all the dice – iPolitics Op-Ed
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…
William White – Build Back Better May Not Be Sufficient
From: William White To: Canada’s Policymakers Date: April 14, 2021 Re: Build Back Better May Not Be Sufficient There seems general agreement that global policymakers must “build back better” in fostering recovery from the global pandemic. While laudable, the phrase hints at a degree of incrementalism that might be inadequate to overcome the challenges that humanity currently faces. […] Kronick, Laurin – Capital Gains On Housing Won’t Cool The Market
From: Jeremy M. Kronick and Alexandre Laurin To: Real Estate Watchers Date: April 8, 2021 Re: Capital Gains on Housing Won’t Cool the Market The housing market is hot, and has been for several years, especially in Canada’s largest cities. Many policy attempts and proposals have been made to slow it down, almost always focusing on the demand side. […] Recovery and Stability: A Shadow Federal Budget for 2021
Tough Choices Needed to Prevent Fiscal Meltdown: C.D. Howe Institute’s Federal Shadow Budget The Federal Government’s spending and borrowing cushioned the impact of COVID-19 on Canada’s economy, but have put national finances on an unsustainable path. The upcoming budget must make tough choices to put Canada on a path back to fiscal stability. As the […] Stabile, Baker – How The Canada Child Benefit Is Performing
From: Mark Stabile and Michael Baker To: Child Poverty Watchers Date: April 7, 2021 Re: How the Canada Child Benefit is Performing While poverty afflicts many demographic groups, child poverty is typically viewed with particular concern. There is international consensus around the idea that early life experiences can have a disproportionate impact on adult socioeconomic outcomes and governments around […] Don Drummond on BNN – Federal Shadow Budget
Don Drummond, Fellow-in-Residence at the C.D. Howe Institute and co-author of the Institute’s federal shadow budget, joins BNN Bloomberg to discuss policy recommendations for the Federal Government.
William B.P. Robson – Is Inflation Back? In The End, It’s A Question Of Politics
From: William B.P. Robson To: Canadians Concerned about Inflation Date: April 5, 2021 Re: Is Inflation Back? In the End, it’s a Question of Politics Suddenly, inflation is in the news. In Canada and abroad, spending is surging and COVID-impaired production is struggling to keep up. Key commodities – oil, lumber and metals – are expensive. It is front-of-mind […] Ed Devlin on BNN – Housing market response should be targeted to increase mortgage rates
Ed Devlin, founder of Devlin Capital, senior fellow at C.D. Howe Institute and former head of Canadian Portfolio Management at PIMCO offers his views on Canadian housing and why he doesn’t feel it’s in bubble territory yet.