The Effect of First Nations Modern Treaties on Local Income
Modern treaties have boosted incomes in First Nation communities and have led to more resource development, according to a new C.D. Howe Institute Report. In “The Effect of First Nations Modern Treaties on Local Income,” author Fernando M. Aragón shows that, beyond bettering First Nations economically, there are material benefits for resource companies and neighbouring […] First Nations Own-Source Revenue: How Is the Money Spent?
Revenues from First Nations business activities have grown substantially over the last generation. In Ontario, they now comprise nearly one third of First Nation government funds. Where does the money go? A new C.D. Howe Institute report, “First Nations Own-Source Revenue: How Is the Money Spent?” makes use of new data to analyze band finances. The Benefits of Hindsight: Lessons from the QPP for Other Pension Plans
The experience of the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) offers serious lessons for new public pension plan options, in particular the pending Ontario Retirement Pension Plan (ORPP) and Canada Pension Plan (CPP) enhancements, according to a new C.D. Howe Institute report. In “The Benefits of Hindsight: Lessons from the QPP for Other Pension Plans,” authors Luc Godbout, […] William Robson: The key things our next government can do to create a better and more prosperous country: National Post Op-Ed
By William Robson
Whatever the configuration of the new federal Parliament Canadians will elect on Oct. 19, the incoming government will want to lay out its economic and fiscal strategies early. The following memo could help.
Memo
To The incoming prime minister
Re The new federal government’s economic framework
Congratulations on a successful election and best wishes as your government takes office. A key task is to adjust from the partisan imperatives of the campaign to the enduring economic challenges and opportunities, and the long-term focus Canadians need to prosper in the years ahead. Sustainable fiscal management, developing and deploying human capital, and industrial policy driven…
Why good governance matters: Globe and Mail Op-Ed
By John Richards
A small jurisdiction in a monetary union, with a debt that exceeds 100 per cent of its gross domestic product. Its bonds enjoy more-or-less junk status. An election brings to power a left-wing government that replaces its incompetent conservative predecessor. Members of the new government and its union allies are divided: Should they raise taxes and cut spending – or default, leaving the financial mess for others to clean up? Central agencies had provided some financial relief, but then they cut it.
Greece in 2015? No. Saskatchewan in 1991.
The parallel is not perfect. If the province defaulted, its residents would still use the Canadian dollar. Presumably, the federal government would assume the…
How to make Toronto smarter: Start with transparent budgets: Globe and Mail Op-Ed
Published in the Globe and Mail on December 2nd, 2014
By: William Robson
William B.P. Robson is president and CEO of the C.D. Howe Institute. He is co-author of ‘Baffling Budgets: Canada’s Cities Need Better Financial Reporting’.
A common complaint during Toronto’s municipal election campaign was that nobody could make sense of the numbers. In fact, this is not a new problem: municipal budgets are mystifying. Incoming mayor John Tory and the freshly elected council can help that situation by presenting a budget that, unlike the current presentations, would let people straightforwardly measure intentions against results. If they did, future financial debates would make more sense – and Toronto would tax and spend…
A Prudent Budget In A Time Of Economic Uncertainty – Globe And Mail Op-ed
Published in the Globe and Mail on April 21, 2015
By: Alexandre Laurin
Alexandre Laurin is director of research at the C.D. Howe Institute
Budgets, especially pre-election budgets, inevitably respond to short-term concerns and special interests. This budget is no exception. A prime example is the creation of a new fund to celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary dedicated to the renovation of community infrastructure across the country, or yet another tax credit targeted to seniors. Over time, though, successive annual budgets write much of our fiscal and economic history – how much the government spends, taxes, and accumulates debts, and how well (or badly) fiscal policy has supported long-term growth.
…William Robson: Following the money should be easy: National Post Op-Ed
Published in the National Post on April 16, 2015
By: William Robson
William Robson is is president of the C.D. Howe Institute and coauthor, with Colin Busby, of By the Numbers: The Fiscal Accountability of Canada’s Senior Governments, 2015.
Get past its circus-like quality, and the fuss over Senate expenses — Nancy Ruth’s airline breakfast; Mike Duffy’s principal residence — is healthy. Canadians have rising expectations about the stewardship of public money. Insisting that legislators justify their spending the same way auditors look at businesses and not-for-profit organizations makes eminent sense.
While the Senate is making headlines with dollar amounts in the tens, hundreds and…
Balancing the budget would be bad timing by Ottawa: Globe and Mail Op-Ed
Published in The Globe and Mail on January 27, 2015
By: Christopher Ragan
Christopher Ragan is an associate professor of economics at McGill University in Montreal and a research fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute in Toronto.
Massive declines in the world oil price are unambiguously bad for the Canadian economy. Such large shocks usually merit policy responses. While the Bank of Canada acted boldly last week to cut its benchmark interest rate, the federal Finance Department hesitates, apparently unsure of both its economic and political calculations.
The 55-per-cent decline in oil prices since last summer creates both losers and winners in Canada. Oil companies reduce their production, lay off…
William Robson: Never mind the flows, look at the stocks: National Post Op-Ed
Published in the National Post on May 22, 2015
By William Robson
William Robson is president and CEO of the C. D. Howe Institute.
Economists may not be known for sartorial style, but they do have their fads. Influential ones, too — affecting our lives and livelihoods more than ups and downs in hemlines or the changing width of lapels. Among the more durable economic fashions has been the habit of measuring the national economy using flows of activity: GDP and related indicators.
GDP has its uses. But it’s time the economic paparazzi directed their cameras at GDP’s counterpart, used to measure the country’s stock of wealth: Canada’s national balance sheet. Though far from complete, it addresses such…
Ottawa’s Secret Debt: The Burden and Risks of Federal Employee Pensions
The unfunded liability in the pension plans for federal government employees was $90 billion higher than the reported number in 2013/14, says a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Ottawa’s Secret Debt: The Burden and Risks of Federal Employee Pensions,” authors William B.P. Robson and Alexandre Laurin argue that the way Ottawa reports […] By the Numbers: The Fiscal Accountability of Canada’s Senior Governments, 2015
Canada’s senior governments have regularly missed budget spending and revenue targets during the last decade, with spending overruns of $48 billion combined, says a report released today by the C.D. Howe Institute. In “By the Numbers: The Fiscal Accountability of Canada’s Senior Governments, 2015,” authors Colin Busby and William B.P. Robson rank the performance of Canada’s […]