Province needs to throw its weight behind task force report on improving housing affordability – Toronto Star Op-Ed
The Ontario Housing Affordability Task Force released its final report Feb. 8 after two months of consultation and study. It offers bold reform to boost housing supply. The ball is now in the province’s court to decide which recommendations to adopt; the province would be wise to adopt as many as it can.
The debate on why housing costs are so high is settled. Study after study shows supply restrictions are behind the price rises. One C.D. Howe Institute study shows delays and extra costs add hundreds of thousands of dollars to home costs.
The government has focused on boosting supply before. In 2019, it announced a Housing Supply Action Plan and a first package of legislative and…
Jon Johnson – Biden Administration’s Flawed Bill H.R. 5376 – Opposition is Building
From: Jon Johnson To: Canadian Trade Watchers Date: January 4, 2022 Re: Biden Administration’s Flawed Bill H.R. 5376 – Opposition is Building US trading partners are now voicing strong opposition to the Biden administration’s H.R. 5376. In a letter dated December 3 addressed to Majority Leader Charles Schumer, Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President of the European […] Shoppers’ Choice: The Evolution of Retailing in the Digital Age
The explosive growth of online shopping is reshaping Canadian retail by empowering consumers with unprecedented choice, driving omnichannel innovation, and intensifying competition. Legault, Brown – Four Design Flaws in Ottawa’s Underutilized Housing Tax
From: Guy Legault and Keith Brown To: Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland Date: December 8, 2021 Re: Four Design Flaws in Ottawa’s Underutilized Housing Tax Last April’s federal budget contained a number of announcements relating to future tax changes. One tax proposal that did not attract much media attention or scrutiny was the government’s plan (originally announced in the 2020 […] Paul Johnson – A Competition Conundrum: Winner-Take-All Markets
From: Paul Johnson To: Competition Policy Watchers Date: November 29, 2021 Re: A Competition Conundrum: Winner-Take-All Markets The populist backlash against “bigness” generally and “big tech” in particular has prompted two strands of debate about competition law enforcement. The first is broad and concerns foundational questions about what competition policy should strive to do; the second is narrower and […] We don’t need new competition laws for Big Tech – Financial Post Op-Ed
Canada’s competition laws do not need to be fundamentally rewritten for “big tech.” The best approach to ensuring Canadians benefit from digitization lies, not in devising new competition principles targeting a few large players, but in modernizing the application of principles we already have.
Data has always been at the heart of relations between businesses and their customers and suppliers. There has also always been a market for the attention of potential customers. What digital technologies have done is massively enhance our ability to collect and analyze this kind of data. Businesses can reach customers and suppliers on a previously unimagined scale, yet with pinpoint precision, an effect called “mass customization.”…
Benjamin Dachis – Ontario Government Shutting Down the Electricity Price Casino
To: Ontario Electricity Watchers From: Benjamin Dachis Date: November 15, 2021 Re: Ontario Government Shutting Down the Electricity Price Casino Early this month, the Ontario government quietly announced plans to create a pilot “interruptible rate” for large industrial electricity customers. This is good news for customers and for a system that needs to rationalize its pricing regime. The […] Jon Johnson – Section 232 Tariffs – Pathway to Climate Protection or Managed Trade?
From: Jon Johnson To: US Trade Policy Observers Date: November 11, 2021 Re: Section 232 Tariffs – Pathway to Climate Protection or Managed Trade? On October 30, the US and the EU announced a deal that replaces Trump-era US tariffs on EU steel and aluminum under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 […] Dillon, Gullo – Canada Needs to Get Serious on Carbon Capture
From: John Dillon and Michael Gullo To: Department of Finance Date: November 10, 2021 Re: Canada Needs to Get Serious on Carbon Capture COP 26 has challenged all countries to deliver ambitious plans to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. In Canada, businesses, public institutions and consumers all have a role. Canada’s public […] John Pecman – Competition Law Is Not the Place to Fight Big Tech
From: John Pecman To: Canadians Concerned about Competition Date: November 8, 2021 Re: Competition Law Is Not the Place to Fight Big Tech The rocket-like rise of the tech titans has triggered a competition policy response from many of Canada’s largest trading partners, largely owing to populist angst over alleged market power and privacy concerns. In Europe and the […] Do we need new competition laws for Big Tech? – Financial Post Op-Ed
The rocket-like rise of the tech titans has triggered a competition policy response from many of Canada’s largest trading partners, largely owing to populist angst over alleged market power and privacy concerns. In Europe and the United States, myriad proposals driven by a “big is bad” mantra seek new laws and regulations to tame the more successful digital platform companies. Traditional laissez-faire policies that have enabled unprecedented economic growth face the prospect of a deep chill should these proponents succeed in creating greater marketplace equality for businesses at the expense of consumer welfare. Competition rules that would punish successful enterprises to pursue nebulous notions of “fairness” put at risk incentives…
A Passport to Success: How Credit Unions Can Adapt to the Urgent Challenges They Face
Credit Unions Must Go Big on Digital, Scale up to Thrive Credit unions face urgent challenges in the digital revolution, including the need for large new investments in technology and room to expand, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. With the digital revolution underway, most credit unions outside of Quebec are […]