D. Daniel Sokol – Big Data and Canadian Competition Policy
From: D. Daniel Sokol To: John Pecman, Commissioner of Competition Re: Big Data and Canadian Competition Policy Date: October. 10, 2017 The Canadian Competition Bureau recently released its draft discussion paper on Big Data. The Bureau strikes the right tone in noting that there are both potential benefits and potential drawbacks to Big Data from a […] Andy Charles – Housing Prices in the GTA and Mortgage Lending
From: Andy Charles To: Bill Morneau, Minister of Finance Date: September 15, 2017 Re: Housing Prices in the GTA and Mortgage Lending The trajectory of home price increases in the GTA has been an obsession over the past 18 months. Everybody has a theory. What or who is responsible for driving prices upwards? Foreign buyers? […] Rosalie Wyonch – Let’s Untangle Work Integrated Learning
To: The Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour From: Rosalie Wyonch Date: September 12, 2017 Re: Let’s Untangle Work Integrated Learning The Government of Canada is rolling out a $73-million investment in the Student Work-Integrated Learning Program to create 10,000 paid student work placements over the next four years and “help bridge the gap” between […] J. Rhys Kesselman – Broader Policies Needed To Restore Housing Affordability
From: J. Rhys Kesselman To: Premiers of British Columbia and Ontario Date: September 11, 2017 Re: Broader Policies Needed To Restore Housing Affordability The major metropolitan areas of your province are suffering extreme unaffordability of housing. The policy measures taken to date have slowed rapid price appreciation—but prices remain far out of line with median […] Ontario makes a hash of marijuana retail distribution: Globe and Mail Op-Ed
Ontario has announced that it will restrict retail of recreational marijuana to LCBO-run stores. Only 40 of these locations will be in place by next July 1, the federal target date for decriminalization, with a total of 150 locations expected by 2020. While this plan gets some things right, it is a missed opportunity and nearly the most ineffective possible choice to accomplish the goals of minimizing the black market and protecting public health.
First, while 40 retail locations may sound sufficient, compare that with the at least 100 retail storefronts and delivery services for marijuana currently advertised in Toronto alone. Having few retail locations means that access to recreational marijuana will be inconvenient for a…
Kronick And Wyonch – Don’t Strangle The Marijuana Business In The Stock Market
To: Chairs of Canadian Securities Commissions From: Jeremy Kronick and Rosalie Wyonch Date: September 1, 2017 Re: Don’t Strangle the Marijuana Business in the Stock Market An unforeseen development has bubbled to the surface in the process of legalizing marijuana in Canada: How to handle Canadian marijuana companies with exposure to the United States. While […] Rosalie Wyonch – It’s Time For The Taxman To Join The Digital Age
From: Rosalie Wyonch To: Bill Morneau, Minister of Finance Date: August 28, 2017 Re: It’s Time for the Taxman to Join the Digital Age The Internet is changing how Canadians access content, order taxis, find accommodations and shop for goods and services. It has also made it possible to purchase digital goods and services over […] Rosalie Wyonch – Let’s Focus On The Supply For Getting High
From: Rosalie Wyonch To: Provincial Marijuana regulators Date: August 24, 2017 Re: Let’s Focus on the Supply for Getting High Provincial governments are in the midst of developing policy strategies for the distribution and sale of recreational marijuana in time for the federal government’s target of July 1, 2018. There is much to be decided: […] Canada must stop giving foreign companies a digital advantage: Globe and Mail Oped
Did you pay HST on that streamed movie you watched last night? If it was from a foreign provider, you didn’t. If it was from a domestic provider, you did. Therein lies a problem that puts Canadian providers of online services at a disadvantage.
The digital economy is expanding access to global markets and changing the way Canadians access content, order taxis, find accommodations and shop for goods. It has also made it possible to purchase digital goods and services over the Internet directly from suppliers located outside Canada just as easily as from domestic vendors. While this is useful for consumers, it complicates tax collection and raises competitive pressures for both domestic and foreign businesses.
In particular…
Bits, Bytes, and Taxes: VAT and the Digital Economy in Canada
Foreign providers of online services enjoy a tax advantage over domestic providers, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In Bits, Bytes, and Taxes: VAT and the Digital Economy in Canada, author Rosalie Wyonch notes that the digital economy in Canada is expanding access to global markets for online services that are […] Rosalie Wyonch on BNN – Provincial marijuana taxes should be uniform across the board
C.D. Howe says Canada has done well to impose a strict system for testing legal marijuana, and should learn from U.S. states that have legalized recreational cannabis. Rosalie Wyonch, policy analyst with C.D. Howe Institute, discusses top policy priorities for Canada’s recreational marijuana market.
Dachis and Schwanen – Seize the Day and Free the CRTC from Cancon Regulation
From: Benjamin Dachis and Daniel Schwanen To: Mélanie Joly, Minister of Heritage Date: August 22, 2017 Re: Seize the Day and Free the CRTC from Cancon Regulation Last week the federal cabinet ordered the CRTC to revisit its decision to reduce the requirement for spending on Canadian content by the country’s major private broadcasters. This […]