A Little Too High: Why Street Prices For Cannabis Could Be Lower Than Statscan Thinks
In this edition of Graphic Intelligence, we compare average marijuana prices calculated using different methods. Using crowd-sourced data on illegal prices, we show that Statistics Canada’s estimates are higher than the “true” price on the street. One of the primary aims of cannabis legalization in Canada is to reduce the illegal market. In order to […]Joe Oliver – The Regent Debate: Is Canada Facing an Existential Crisis in Competitiveness?
C.D. Howe Institute’s second Regent Debate took place earlier this month. Four prominent voices sparred over the following question: Is Canada Facing an Existential Crisis in Competitiveness? Today: the case in the affirmative from former federal finance minister Joe Oliver. Two areas of uncompetitiveness are so significant that they merit special mention – natural resources […] Ottawa Should Re-Invigorate Competition Enforcement in Canada
The C.D. Howe Institute’s Competition Policy Council support measures to reinvigorate competition enforcement in Canada and safeguard the Commissioner of Competition’s ability to act as an effective advocate for competition. This includes ensuring that the Competition Bureau is adequately resourced to do its job effectively. At their most recent meeting, a majority of Council members also supported maintaining the Bureau as part of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED), where the Bureau can help influence the direction of Canada’s industrial policy and encourage reliance on competitive market forces over direct economic regulation.
In a new communique titled: “Is Canada’s Competition Watchdog on a Leash…
Grant Bishop – Foreign Investment Would Benefit from the End of Net Benefit
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 […] Andrew Dusevic – How the New Impact Assessment Act Could Block Canada’s Nuclear Progress
From: Andrew Dusevic To: The Hon. Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment Date: November 2, 2018 Re: How the New Impact Assessment Act Could Block Canada’s Nuclear Progress The proposed Impact Assessment Act (IAA), now before the Senate as Bill C-69, replaces the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) with a joint review panel to perform impact […] Tracy Snoddon – How Should Ottawa Distribute its Carbon Pricing Revenues?
From: Tracy Snoddon To: Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Date: October 19, 2018 Re: How Should Ottawa Distribute its Carbon Pricing Revenues? Ottawa should rebate revenues from its carbon pricing backstop directly to citizens in non-compliant provinces that reject its plan. This option for returning backstop cash ensures government accountability is fair […] Found, Tomlinson – Tax Barriers To Investment – Large Canadian Cities Edge Out Us Competitors
From: Adam Found and Peter Tomlinson To: Business Investors Date: October 18, 2018 Re: Tax Barriers to Investment – Large Canadian Cities Edge Out US Competitors Governments across Canada have made it a policy priority to reduce the marginal effective tax rate (METR) on each new dollar of business investment. By incorporating various business taxes, […] The Rocky Road to Canada-wide Carbon Pricing
Ottawa should rebate revenues from its carbon pricing backstop directly to citizens in non-compliant provinces that reject its plan, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “The Rocky Road to Canada-wide Carbon Pricing,” author Tracy Snoddon argues that this option for returning backstop cash ensures government accountability is fair and flexible. Bill Robson on BNN – The economics of carbon pricing
A C.D. Howe report suggests that Ottawa should push ahead with its plans for a carbon tax and distribute the revenues back to residents despite a growing number of provinces vowing to fight the tax. Bill Robson, president and CEO of the C.D. Howe Institute, joins BNN Bloomberg to explain.
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…
Cannabis Countdown: Estimating the Size of Illegal Markets and Lost Tax Revenue Post-Legalization
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, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Cannabis Countdown: Estimating the Size of Illegal Markets and Lost Tax Revenue Post-Legalization,” authors Anindya Sen and […] Ten years on, few lessons learned from the global financial crisis – Globe and Mail Op-Ed
It’s been a decade since the collapse of Lehman Brothers sparked the 2008-09 global financial crisis and recession. The global economy is finally performing at a robust level, with solid output and employment growth in many regions and interest rates generally on the rise toward more normal levels. The acute pain felt during the financial crisis, and the protracted period of recovery, should have encouraged policy-makers and their voters to take meaningful steps to avoid a repeat performance. But have lessons been learned?
One positive outcome was the innovative application of monetary policy. Central banks were the reliable backbone of the policy response to the financial crisis; exceptional and prolonged monetary stimulus and…