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 […] Paul A. Johnson – Canada Should Not Restrict Competition with Bright Line Rules
To: Competition Policy Watchers From: Paul A. Johnson Date: April 13, 2023 Re: Canada Should Not Restrict Competition with Bright Line Rules The federal government is currently re-examining Canada’s Competition Act. Such re-examination is natural and useful – especially given the paucity of Canadian competition jurisprudence, which can give a single decided case outsized significance […] Leonard Waverman – Let’s Rescue Bill C-11 From Itself
From: Leonard Waverman To: Canadian Internet Watchers Date: April 10, 2023 Re: Let’s Rescue Bill C-11 From Itself On March 8, following one of the longest evolutions of a bill in Canadian history, the House of Commons approved Bill C-11, the Online Streaming Act. The bill imposes obligations on online streaming services and social media platforms such as […] Benjamin Dachis – Canada’s Competition Policy Review
From: Benjamin Dachis To: The Hon. Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Date: March 30, 2023 Re: Canada’s Competition Policy Review Minister, you have travelled the world seeking investment into Canada. Now it is time to think about how our competition policy framework influences the decision of companies to invest in Canada. Would they have certainty on […] Competition Act Reforms Must Be Evidence-Based and Homegrown – Only the Start of the Conversation: C.D. Howe Institute Competition Policy Council
March 30, 2023 – Reforms to Canada’s Competition Act must be evidence-based and homegrown, and are only the start of the conversation on promoting Canada’s competitiveness, according to a new Communiqué from the C.D. Howe Institute Competition Policy Council.
Released in response to the federal government’s discussion paper on reforms to the Competition Act, the Council’s 24th Communiqué emphasizes the need for caution before departing from established Canadian law and process – urging the government to rely on evidence demonstrating the need for change, instead of mimicking developments in competition law and policy in foreign jurisdictions that are still untested.
Referencing how the EU Digital…
Reforms to the Competition Act Must Be Evidence-Based and Homegrown, But They Are Only a Start to Promoting Competitiveness
A version of the Competition Policy Council’s recommendations was submitted to the Government of Canada’s consultation on the future of competition policy in Canada. On November 17, 2022, the federal government launched a long-awaited public consultation on the future of competition policy in Canada. As part of the consultation, the government released a discussion […] Why Canadians Should Pay Attention to Competition Policy Review – Webcast
Glen Hodgson – EU Climate Policy and Implications for Canadian Competitiveness
From: Glen Hodgson To: Canadians Concerned About Climate Policy and Competitiveness Date: March 23, 2023 Re: EU Climate Policy and Implications for Canadian Competitiveness Joe Biden’s US Inflation Reduction Act is not the only climate and industrial policy-related competitive challenge to Canada. The European Union – Canada’s second largest trading partner with a free trade and investment agreement in […] Greg Peterson – Food Prices – Where is the Real Fat?
From: Greg Peterson To: Canadians concerned with food costs Date: March 16, 2023 Re: Food Prices – Where is the Real Fat? Food inflation, still rising as the all-items Consumer Price Index levels off, is attracting much attention. Situated at the end of the supply chain, the big supermarket chains have been singled out as […]