Robson, Laurin – Tax Relief for the 2019 Federal Budget
To: The Honourable Bill Morneau, Minister of Finance From: William B.P. Robson and Alexandre Laurin Date: February 11, 2019 Re: Tax Relief for the 2019 Federal Budget The C.D. Howe Institute’s Shadow Federal Budget for 2019 last week aims to enhance Canada’s competitiveness and dynamism, while setting the stage for a return to surpluses during the next Parliament. Today we examine […] Irvine, Wyonch – Moving Ontario’s Cannabis Retail Plan From Good To Great
From: Ian Irvine and Rosalie Wyonch To: Canadians concerned about cannabis retailing Date: January 31, 2019 Re: Moving Ontario’s Cannabis Retail Plan from Good to Great The Ontario government’s decision last fall to put the retailing of cannabis in the hands of the private sector was a good one. The province recently held a lottery to determine who would […] Why Ontario should hold a second cannabis retail lottery – Globe and Mail Op-Ed
Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s decision last fall to put the retailing of cannabis in the hands of the private sector was a good one. The province recently held a lottery to determine who would operate as a cannabis retailer.
The use of a lottery, as opposed to an auction or a “preferred suppliers” rule, to allocate retail outlets can be defended on two grounds. One is that the government did not wish to give excessive retail power to existing cannabis interests with deep pockets, or to other retailers such as Walmart or a pharmacy chain. An auction would likely have resulted in a concentration of retail power akin to the concentration of production power that exists at present. That concentration of production power already places…
Blomqvist, Wyonch – Pharmacare and Politics
From: Åke Blomqvist and Rosalie Wyonch To: The Hon. Ginette Petitpas Taylor, federal Minister of Health Subject: Pharmacare and Politics Date: January 24, 2019 A central element of the election platform of the current federal government was a promise to address the largest gap in Canada’s health system; the lack of universal coverage for the costs of outpatient prescription […] Will Falk – Hallway Medicine and Value-based Funding
From: Will Falk To: Christine Elliott, Ontario Minister of Health Date: January 21, 2019 Re: Hallway Medicine and Value-based Funding Talk of hallway medicine has drawn an image of people needlessly suffering because of an ill-organized and poorly funded non-system that puts institutional interests above patients. This image has defined the problem to be addressed. Previous approaches tinkered […] Åke Blomqvist – Ontario Needs A New Approach To Medicare, Not Binding Arbitration For Doctors
From: Åke Blomqvist To: Christine Elliott, Ontario Minister of Health Date: January 7, 2019 Re: Ontario needs a new approach to medicare, not binding arbitration for doctors After a three-day hiccup last month the Ontario government agreed to resume arbitration hearings in its dispute with the Ontario Medical Association about a new contract. But with or without arbitration, […] Wyonch, Omran – Budget 2019: Regulation of Edibles and Concentrated Marijuana Products
Federal budgets are an annual rite of spring in Ottawa, as is the deluge of advice to the Department of Finance. But budget-making is a yearlong process, and the work is now in progress. Accordingly, the C.D. Howe Institute is presenting a series of Intelligence Memos in the next few weeks, outlining recommendations that we […] Ottawa must prioritize the well-being of off-reserve First Nations citizens – Globe and Mail Op-Ed
The 1996 Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples made prominent reference to a 1613 treaty between the Dutch and Mohawk: “Three beads of wampum separating the two purple rows symbolize peace, friendship and respect. The two rows of purple are two vessels travelling down the same river together. One, a birch bark canoe, is for the Indian people, their laws, their customs, and their ways. The other, a ship, is for the white people and their laws, their customs and their ways. We shall each travel the river together, side by side, but in our own boat.”
The intent of much Canadian Indigenous policy since 1996 has been to “strengthen the canoe.” Overall, this has been a worthy exercise in the pursuit of reconciliation with those…
Irvine, Wyonch – Pricing Cannabis on the Street
From: Ian Irvine and Rosalie Wyonch To: Anil Arora, Chief Statistician, Statistics Canada Date: November 27, 2018 Re: Pricing Cannabis on the Street The appropriate pricing and taxation of legal cannabis are critical to the success of the legalization process. Too large a gap between street prices and legal retail prices will see the illegal […] Sen, Wyonch – Missing Out on Marijuana Taxes
From: Anindya Sen and Rosalie Wyonch To: Canada’s Cannabis Regulators Date: October 15, 2018 Re: Missing Out on Marijuana Taxes A large black market combined with supply shortages of legal marijuana will cut potential tax revenues by an estimated $800 million in the first year of legalization. In our new C.D. Howe Institute report, we find that government revenue […] Without easy retail access to cannabis, the black market will thrive – Globe and Mail Op-Ed
On Oct. 17, Canada will be the second country in the world to have fully legalized production and retail distribution of recreational marijuana. There will be considerable international interest in the Canadian experiment, in order to understand what works and what does not. One of the prime objectives of legalization was to stamp out the black market. However, it is now clear that this is extremely unlikely. Both federal and different provincial governments should accept responsibility for this.
Black markets exist if there is insufficient legal supply or if they can offer comparable goods at lower cost. Based on available data on the number of licensed producers and medical-marijuana production and inventory levels, we estimate…
Anindya Sen on BNN – Pot shortfall will keep black market alive in first year of legalization
Anindya Sen, professor of economics and director of the Master of Public Service Program at the University of Waterloo, discusses the expected challenges of legal cannabis retailing and why a supply shortage will lead to the black market continuing in year of legalization.