The Impact of AI on Democracy and Humanity with Yoshua Bengio
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a threat to democracy. Yoshua Bengio, Professor at the Department of Computer Science and Operations Research at the Universite de Montreal and the Scientific Director of the Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms joins host Michael Hainsworth to discuss how we should deploy AI in government, for national security and to benefit humanity.
Benjamin Dachis – Why Not a Minister of Competition?
To: The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada From: Benjamin Dachis Re: Why Not a Minister of Competition? Date: August 16, 2023 The government’s 23-move cabinet shuffle last month missed out on one sensible extra move. As a major review of Canada’s competition policy continues, it’s a good time to highlight competition’s crucial importance in the economy […] What’s Behind the Cost of New Single-Detached Homes?
This Graphic Intelligence breaks out the various components of the total cost of new single-detached homes in Canada’s six largest Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs). A recent C.D. Howe Institute publication calculates the total construction cost using three components: the physical cost of construction (which includes labour and materials), an assumed amount of developer profit, and […] Benjamin Dachis – We need a minister of competition to boost Canadians’ incomes – Financial Post
The Liberal government’s 23-move cabinet shuffle last week missed out on one sensible extra move. As a major review of Canada’s competition policy continues, it’s a good time to highlight competition’s crucial importance in the economy by giving it its very own minister. An effective and dedicated competition minister might actually raise Canadians’ incomes by thousands of dollars a year.
At the moment, competition policy is the responsibility of the minister of innovation, science and industry, who is currently François-Philippe Champagne, one of only seven ministers left unshuffled last week. Many observers think Champagne has been effective in executing the government’s priorities. But his portfolio is vast and he is…
Exner-Pirot and Gullo – Reforming Canada’s regulatory approval and permitting process
To: The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change and The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources From: Heather Exner-Pirot and Michael Gullo Date: July 20, 2023 Re: Reforming Canada’s regulatory approval and permitting process There is widespread consensus that Canada’s system for regulating and approving major infrastructure projects is too slow and burdensome. Far […] Dan Ciuriak – Supply Chains are No Place for Politics
From: Dan Ciuriak To: Canadian supply chain watchers Date: June 19, 2023 Re: Supply Chains are No Place for Politics The geographical organization of global supply chains has been roiled by several unrelated shocks: the black swan event of a pandemic that sent a rolling shock wave through the global economy, arbitrarily disrupting supply chains in a sequence no […] Pecman, Do and Mangaly – Unnecessary and Costly EU Style Regulations Would Not Serve Canada Well
From: John Pecman, Huy Do and Peter Mangaly To: Canadians Concerned about Competition Date: June 15, 2023 Re: Unnecessary and Costly EU Style Regulations Would Not Serve Canada Well In response to the federal government’s consultation and discussion paper on the Future of Competition Policy in Canada, we raised concerns about moving away from identifying anti-competitive conduct through evidence-based […] Ian Irvine – Les restrictions de vapotage signalent des marchés turbulents au Québec
De: Ian Irvine À: Canadiens préoccupés par le vapotage Date: 7 juin 2023 Concernant: Les restrictions de vapotage signalent des marchés turbulents au Québec Les systèmes de santé québécois et britannique ont récemment adopté des positions opposées sur le rôle des produits à base de nicotine à moindre nocivité. Le mois dernier, Québec a annoncé son intention d’interdire la vente de […] Buyers Beware: The Cost of Barriers to Building Housing in Canadian Cities
Provincial and municipal governments should cut excessive regulations on new housing development projects and lower the upfront costs on homebuyers to help Canadians grapple with skyrocketing housing prices. The author estimates the gap between the marginal cost of construction for new housing and the market price in major Canadian city areas. This gap shows the […] The Housing Pain Meter
A widely-cited 2018 C.D. Howe Institute study of major Canadian Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) for the 2007–16 period found that the barriers to constructing new single-detached homes – including government regulations and other market dysfunctions – added upwards of $644,000 in Vancouver, for example. This Graphic Intelligence compares those figures with similar data for the period from […] Brian Lewis – Make Mine a Double: Ontario’s Housing Supply Targets
From: Brian Lewis To: Ontario housing observers Date: May 3, 2023 Re: Make Mine a Double: Ontario’s Housing Supply Targets The Ontario government has embraced a goal of 1.5 million new homes being added by 2031. This is incredibly ambitious, requiring housing completions of roughly double their current levels over the next 10 years. Such a significant and […] Marcel Boyer – Integrating Labour Markets into Competition Policy
To: The Hon. Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry From: Marcel Boyer Date: April 14, 2023 Re: Integrating labour markets into competition policy The federal government’s consultation paper on the Competition Act asked “whether amendments to the Act could give labour a more central role in competition analyses.” It is natural for […]