Reining in the Risks: Rethinking the Role of Crown Financial Corporations in Canada
After years of “mission creep” at Canada’s Crown financial corporations, their activities have expanded far beyond their original mandates and need reassessment, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Reining in the Risks: Rethinking the Role of Crown Financial Corporations in Canada,” authors Philippe Bergevin and Finn Poschmann assess the risks […] Ottawa’s Pension Abyss: The Rapid Hidden Growth of Federal-Employee Retirement Liabilities
Despite recent high-profile changes to the pension plans of federal public servants, uniformed personnel and MPs, a critical flaw remains: the contributions to these plans, even after the changes, come nowhere close to covering the rocketing cost of their promises. In “Ottawa’s Pension Abyss: The Rapid Hidden Growth of Federal-Employee Retirement Liabilities,” author William B.P. […] Breaking the Stereotype: Why Urban Aboriginals Score Highly on “Happiness” Measures
Aboriginals living in Canadian cities report high rates of happiness based on their income, education, and network of personal relationships, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Breaking the Stereotype: Why Urban Aboriginals Score Highly on ‘Happiness’ Measures,” authors Dominique Gross and John Richards examine why, on average, urban Aboriginals are […] Finding Common Cause: The Renewed Quest for a National Securities Regulator
In the wake of a setback from the Supreme Court of Canada, Ottawa is forging ahead with the idea of creating a national securities regulator using a cooperative approach that could pay off, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Finding Common Cause: The Renewed Quest for a National Securities Regulator,” […] Ontario’s Best Public Schools: 2009-2011
A new in-depth report reveals Ontario’s best public schools: where student results on math, reading and writing tests beat the odds that their backgrounds suggest. In “Ontario’s Best Public Schools: 2009-2011,” David Johnson and Robbie Brydon compare student outcomes at Ontario elementary schools where students come from similar socio-economic backgrounds, revealing “good” schools where principals, […] What CIDA Should Do: The Case for Focusing Aid on Better Schools
The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) could improve its development aid impact by focusing on basic education, according to a report released today by the C.D. Howe Institute. In What CIDA Should Do: The Case for Focusing Aid on Better Schools, author John Richards documents the importance of universal literacy in enabling countries to escape […] Clerks fund pensions of deputy ministers: Financial Post Op-Ed
Published in the Financial Post on April 12, 2012
By Geoffrey Young
Two budgets — in Ottawa and Ontario — have announced reforms to rich defined-benefit pension plans enjoyed by government employees. The federal government will raise employee contributions and the normal age of retirement to 65 for new employees, while Ontario will consider reducing benefits to future pensioners to help fund potential pension plan deficits.
Governments are scrambling to keep employee defined-benefit (DB) pension plans sustainable because their employees love them — yet many government employees would be better off if the plans were redesigned. These DB plans systematically transfer income away from groups of employees in…
At the Crossroads: New Ideas for Charity Finance in Canada
Canadian law should permit charities to raise some funds for their missions through business income from both related and unrelated businesses, according to a report released today by the C.D. Howe Institute. In At the Crossroads: New Ideas for Charity Finance in Canada, authors Adam Aptowitzer and Benjamin Dachis find that, in the face of […] Resolving Water-Use Conflicts: Insights from the Prairie Experience for the Mackenzie River Basin
The prairies’ experience in handling inter-provincial conflicts over water-use may point the way to success in the MackenzieRiver Basin, according to a report released today by the C.D. Howe Institute. In Resolving Water-Use Conflicts: Insights from the Prairie Experience for the Mackenzie River Basin, law professor David Percy says a cooperative approach led the prairie provinces […] Before reforming pensions, MPs must tackle their own: Globe and Mail Op-Ed
Published in the Globe and Mail on January 19, 2012
By William Robson
Debate over retirement income is hot. It’s partly that Canadians are getting older. But it’s mainly the growing realization that the next generation of retirees may live less comfortably than their parents have done. People are living longer, and returns on investment are lower. So hitting the targets their parents achieved means today’s workers must retire later and save more.
Further raising the temperature is Canadians’ learning that the stresses affecting their own retirements do not affect the government employees whose pensions they backstop – federal employees heading that list.
Ottawa’s pension plans provide benefits far richer and…
Fixing MP Pensions: Parliamentarians Must Lead Canada’s Move to Fairer, and Better-Funded Retirements
Fixing rich, underfunded MP pensions is a key step in pension reform, according to a report released today by the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Fixing MP Pensions: Parliamentarians Must Lead Canada’s Move to Fairer, and Better-Funded Retirements,” author William B.P. Robson argues that the Pension Plan for Members of Parliament (MPs), which covers members of […] Holding Canada’s Cities to Account: An Assessment of Municipal Fiscal Management
A new study from the C.D. Howe institute lifts the veil on opaque budgeting and routinely missed spending targets in Canada’s major cities. In “Holding Canada’s Cities to Account: An Assessment of Municipal Fiscal Management,” Benjamin Dachis and William Robson report groundbreaking research on major Canadian municipalities, and grade cities on the clarity of their […]