William B.P. Robson – Toronto’s Farcical Budget Cycle – Around We Go Again
To: Toronto Taxpayers From: William B.P. Robson Date: March 14, 2019 Re: Toronto’s Farcical Budget Cycle – Around We Go Again Last week’s fanfare about Toronto’s council passing the city’s 2019 budget was farcical on several levels. One – perhaps too obvious to attract much comment – was that it happened in March: with two […] William B.P. Robson – Canada’s Cities Are Richer Than We Think
To: Canada’s Finance Ministers From: William B.P. Robson Date: January 14, 2019 Re: Canada’s Cities are Richer than We Think As Canada’s finance ministers know as well as anyone, our federal and provincial governments are in bad fiscal shape. Most have liabilities that vastly exceed their assets – and, whether by necessity or choice, are adding to their net […] Ottawa must prioritize the well-being of off-reserve First Nations citizens – Globe and Mail Op-Ed
The 1996 Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples made prominent reference to a 1613 treaty between the Dutch and Mohawk: “Three beads of wampum separating the two purple rows symbolize peace, friendship and respect. The two rows of purple are two vessels travelling down the same river together. One, a birch bark canoe, is for the Indian people, their laws, their customs, and their ways. The other, a ship, is for the white people and their laws, their customs and their ways. We shall each travel the river together, side by side, but in our own boat.”
The intent of much Canadian Indigenous policy since 1996 has been to “strengthen the canoe.” Overall, this has been a worthy exercise in the pursuit of reconciliation with those…
Wild Numbers: Getting Better Fiscal Accountability in Canada’s Municipalities
Canada’s municipalities are routinely missing the spending targets in their budgets by large amounts, undermining the ability of voters to hold them accountable, according to a new study from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Wild Numbers: Getting Better Fiscal Accountability in Canada’s Municipalities” authors William B.P. Robson and Farah Omran compare the annual spending projections […] Robson, Omran – Fiscal Transparency: How the Federal Government Can Get an A+
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 […] Show Us the Numbers: Grading the Financial Reports of Canada’s Municipalities
Baffling financial presentations hamper councillors, ratepayers and voters seeking to hold municipal governments to account, says a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Show Us the Numbers: Grading the Financial Reports of Canada’s Municipalities,” authors William B.P. Robson and Farah Omran criticize nearly all of Canada’s larger municipalities for numbers that are obscure, […] William B.P. Robson – Stimulus Is Over – Now Your Spending Is Crowding Everyone Else Out
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 […] Bill Robson – Ottawa Comes Part-Way Clean on its Pensions
From: William B.P. Robson To: Canadian Taxpayers Date: October 19, 2018 Re: Ottawa Comes Part-Way Clean on its Pensions The federal government just released its financial results for the 2017/18 fiscal year, showing a deficit that was worse, and debt that was higher, than anticipated in the 2017 budget. That looks like bad news, and […] Denis Meunier – Why Is Canada Still The World’s Money Laundering Pawn?
From: Denis Meunier To: Canada’s Financial Regulators and Policymakers Date: September 13, 2018 Re: Why is Canada Still the World’s Money Laundering Pawn? Official estimates of money laundering in Canada range from $5 billion to $100 billion. Offences such as drug trafficking, fraud, tax evasion, smuggling and corruption are fuelling the laundering of dirty money. […] Bill Robson on BNN Bloomberg – Weak business investment sours Canada’s economic outlook
Bill Robson, president and CEO of the C.D. Howe Institute, discusses Canadian competitiveness and the reasons why business investment in the country is lagging compared to the U.S.
Found, Tomlinson – Business Tax Cuts in Ontario: Expanding the Menu
To: Ontario’s new Progressive Conservative government From: Adam Found and Peter Tomlinson Date: July 5, 2018 Re: Business Tax Cuts in Ontario: Expanding the Menu Your party’s election platform featured business tax cuts. Yet one tax that was cut by the last Progressive Conservative government — the provincial business property tax — was left out. […] Retiring Employees, Unretired Debt: The Surprising Hidden Cost of Federal Employee Pensions
Taxpayers are on the hook for the unfunded liability of pension plans for federal employees, according to a new report published by the C.D Howe Institute. In “Retiring Employees, Unretired Debt: The Surprising Hidden Cost of Federal Employee Pensions” authors William B.P. Robson and Alexandre Laurin argue that official figures for federal pension obligations understate […]