Grant Bishop on BIV – Considerations for re-opening the economy

Grant Bishop, Associate Director of Research at the C.D. Howe Institute, joins Business in Vancouver to discuss what will factor into a resilient re-opening of Canada’s economy. 

Mahboubi, Laurin, Robson – How Best To Curb The Cerb Once It’s Safe To Return To Work

To reopen the economy, put curbs on the CERB – Financial Post Op-Ed

The Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) was an early and critical element in the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 crisis. The government first announced the CERB in late March, promising $2,000 a month for up to four months for workers who have lost their incomes as a result of the pandemic. In mid-April, it expanded eligibility to make the CERB available to people earning up to $1,000 per month and to workers whose EI benefits had run out.

Widely praised for providing immediate income support and helping contain the coronavirus by reducing pressure on lower-income people to work, the CERB made sense in an emergency. With attention increasingly turning to reopening the economy, however, the CERB is becoming a…

When the Smoke Clears: Tackling Disincentives to Work

April 27, 2020 – It’s time to consider the gradual winding down of emergency benefits and tackle disincentives to work, says the C.D. Howe Institute’s Crisis Working Group on Household Income and Credit Support.

Rather than extending the criteria for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) to fill remaining support gaps, new targeted federal or provincial programs​ should be used to cover those still ineligible.

At their April 21 meeting, the group identified niche populations who are affected by COVID-19 but are falling through the cracks as they do not meet the CERB requirements, including working social assistance recipients and new entrants to the labour market. However, these support gaps should be…

O’connor, Tal – Integrate Programs To Help Commercial Landlords And Tenants

Business Tax Burdens in Canada’s Major Cities: The 2019 Report Card

Hodgson, Robson – Some Principles For An Economic Restart

Don Drummond – Debt Could Choke A Post-covid-19 Economic Recovery

Risk Management Approach Integral to Back-to-Work Strategy: Crisis Working Group on Household Income and Credit Support

April 20, 2020 – Governments must employ a risk management approach to facilitate a gradual reopening of the economy, says the C.D. Howe Institute’s Crisis Working Group on Household Income and Credit Support.

At their April 14 meeting, members agreed that ending the lockdowns and restarting the economy will require a risk management approach on the part of governments, as they balance imperatives related to public health, healthcare utilization, the economy and public finance. Members also recognized that industry can play an enormous role in offering a way forward in the return-to-work strategy.

Best practices surrounding the reopening of the economy should include:

How to help the provinces weather the COVID-19 economic shock – Financial Post Op-Ed

Since the COVID-19 crisis began, yield spreads for provincial 10-year bonds over equivalent federal debt have increased by about 100 basis points across all provinces. Some provinces — Newfoundland, for example — are in even worse shape. To ease funding pressures on the governments that are on the front line in health care and social assistance we need a two-pronged approach in which the Bank of Canada addresses disruption in the debt markets, and an overhauled federal fiscal backstop helps provinces still in need.

The Bank of Canada is already providing liquidity to the provinces by purchasing short-term provincial debt, thus helping alleviate rollover concerns. It has also embarked on a large-scale asset purchase program —…

Ken Boessenkool – Three Ways To Treat The Cerb In Social Assistance

Adjusting to Reality: As Proposed, Restricting Corporate Interest Deductibility is Ill-Advised