Inflation Surprises, Interest Rates Should Not
In late February, an Intelligence Memo by Bill Robson warned that expectations of interest-rate hikes by the Bank of Canada might be lagging expectations about inflation. Using the Bank’s three favoured measures of core inflation as proxies for inflation expectations, Robson argued that the Bank’s overnight rate had become strongly negative in real terms. Reining […] Canada has blown through our fiscal guardrails. When will our federal budgets reflect that? – Globe and Mail Op-Ed
The budget that federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will present shortly will reveal whether the government is serious about putting the national finances on to a sustainable track.
There is room for doubt. Since 2015, the government had been running deficits larger than it promised, and larger than a strong economy justified. Then it responded to the COVID-19 pandemic with debt-financed spending on an unprecedented scale.
To assuage concerns about soaring federal debt – concerns heightened by the government’s equally unprecedented failure to present a budget at all in 2020 – the Finance Minister introduced a new concept in the government’s fall economic statement that year: fiscal…
Kevin Comeau – Combatting Money Laundering to Help Ukraine
From: Kevin Comeau To: Canadians Concerned About Oligarchs Date: March 16, 2022 Re: Combatting Money Laundering to Help Ukraine For more than 20 years, our weak anti-money laws have enabled corrupt politicians, criminals, and tax cheats from around the world to launder billions of dollars in Canadian real estate without disclosing the true owner. Canada has the opportunity to […] S4 E5: Combatting Money Laundering to Help Ukraine with Kevin Comeau
C.D. Howe Institute · S4 E5: Combatting Money Laundering to Help Ukraine with Kevin Comeau Cutting-off Vladimir Putin and his enablers from global finance is the world’s primary weapon against the Ukraine-Russia War. But as Kevin Comeau writes in his latest Intelligence Memo, it’s a weapon weakened by bureaucracy in Canada. Robson, Wu – Grading Fiscal Accountability of Canada’s Cities
From: William B.P. Robson and Miles Wu To: Canada’s Municipal Councils Date: February 22, 2022 Re: Grading Fiscal Accountability of Canada’s Cities The budgets governments present around the start, and the financial statements they publish after the end, of their fiscal years are critical tools for legislators and voters. To be useful, these documents should let readers, who will […] Regina and Saskatoon produce user-unfriendly budgets. To improve, they can follow the province’s lead – Regina Leader-Post and Saskatoon StarPhoenix Op-Ed
The latest C.D. Howe Institute annual report card on municipal financial reporting in Canada featured a dismal coincidence.
Regina and Saskatoon had the worst grades among the 31 cities whose budgets and annual reports we look at — the only Fs in the group.
Is there something about Saskatchewan — something in the water or the air — that condemns Regina and Saskatoon to fail this test of transparency and accountability? Does the C.D. Howe Institute have it in for Saskatchewan?
No and no — and for proof, Regina and Saskatoon don’t need to look far to see how to improve their marks. Not to Vancouver, which topped the cities class with A+, nor to Surrey or Quebec City, with As, nor to Richmond or Markham or Vaughan,…
Making the Grade: Fiscal Accountability in Canada’s Cities
In the C.D. Howe Institute’s 2021 annual report card we grade the clarity, comprehensiveness, and timeliness of the financial presentations of 31 major Canadian municipalities, based on their most recent budgets and financial statements. Of those 31, Regina and Saskatoon earn Fs, failing to meet a minimal standard of transparency, usefulness and timeliness. Vancouver stood alone at […] A lighter touch is needed for the government’s online harms bill – Globe and Mail Op-Ed
The Liberal government reintroduced its controversial internet regulation bill on Wednesday, and it is likely to bring forward its “online harms” legislation, which also caused concerns, in the weeks to come. A Heritage Canada report released Thursday documented the concerns about the government’s initial approach on this issue.
Last year, then-Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault found himself facing steep opposition to his plans to roll out online harms legislation that was meant to address hate speech as well as sexually exploitative content and material that promoted terrorism. As former leaders at the CRTC who have closely watched this debate, we think there’s a better way for the new heritage minister,…
Solving the Municipal Budget Mystery: Fiscal Accountability in Canada’s Cities, 2021
The budgets governments present around the beginning of their fiscal years and the financial statements they publish in their annual reports after their fiscal years have ended are critical tools for legislators and voters to hold them accountable. The transparency of these documents to non-experts has always mattered: they should let readers understand governments’ plans, […] William B.P. Robson on CTV News Saskatoon – Research firm gives City of Saskatoon an ‘F’ on budget transparency
CEO William B.P. Robson joined CTV News Saskatoon to discuss the C.D. Howe Institute’s new annual report card on municipal fiscal accountability.
Glen Hodgson – Time to Review ATB Financial: Is It Still Needed as a Crown Corporation?
From: Glen Hodgson To: Travis Toews, Alberta Minister of Finance and President of the Treasury Board Re: Time to Review ATB Financial: Is It Still Needed as a Crown Corporation? Date: January 13, 2022 Alberta is the only province to have a retail bank owned by taxpayers. Is this still the right purpose for ATB […] Leaving 2021: Last-minute rushes left real work undone – Financial Post Op-Ed
On the calendar, 2021 is all but over. Yet come midnight Friday, the year will still feel unfinished. Notwithstanding vaccines and better knowledge about avoiding and treating COVID, the virus’ resurgence threatens more damaging lockdowns. A federal election billed as the most important since 1945 settled nothing. 2021’s economic numbers featured frothy consumption, housing and government spending, but far too little of the capital investment needed for sustained prosperity in 2022 and beyond.
The federal government’s economic policies provide stark examples of formal closure to the year but too much important work deferred. Several items — the inflation framework, the finance minister’s fall update, the release of the public…