Intelligence Memos: 2024 in Review
To: Our Faithful Readers Date: January 2, 2025 Re: Intelligence Memos: 2024 in Review Intelligence memos are a key way C.D. Howe Institute researchers share their insights about current events. And 2024 had no shortage of material: Canada’s healthcare struggles, housing affordability, the Bank of Canada’s inflation fight, a host of questionable fiscal policies from Ottawa and the […] The 2024 Year in Review
With 2024 almost behind us, Michael Hainsworth shares some of the CDHI podcast’s most fascinating interviews and policy conversations during the course of a tumultuous year.
William Robson, Colin Busby and Nick Dahir – It’s Time to End the Circus of Fall Economic Statements
From: William Robson, Colin Busby and Nick Dahir To: Canadian economic observers Date: December 23, 2024 Re: It’s Time to End the Circus of Fall Economic Statements Chrystia Freeland’s resignation on the day she was to deliver the federal government’s fall economic statement made the 2024 statement more of a circus than usual. But the fact that fall […] No Balanced Budget For Christmas with Bill Robson
Two bombshells were dropped on Canadians this week with the abrupt departure of Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland – and news that Canada spent $20 billion more than it budgeted. On this episode of the podcast, C.D. Howe Institute President and CEO William Robson explains where all this leaves Canada’s finances.
William Robson, Colin Busby and Nicholas Dahir – It’s Time to End the Circus of Fall Economic Statements
Published in The Globe and Mail. Chrystia Freeland’s resignation on the day she was to deliver the federal government’s fall economic statement made the 2024 statement more of a circus than usual. But the fact that fall statements have become such a spectacle – effectively putting the government on a two-budget-per-year cycle – is a […] William Robson – Any Remaining Confidence in this Government’s Fiscal Management is Gone
Published in The Hub. The resignation of former finance minister Chrystia Freeland hours before the federal government delivered its 2024 Fall Economic Statement overshadowed the statement itself. But her resignation and the numbers in the statement are variations on the same message: the federal government is not, and for years has not been, remotely serious […] William Robson on BNN Bloomberg – Freeland’s Exit and Ottawa’s Slipshod Financial Reporting
Our President and CEO William Robson appeared on BNN Bloomberg in the wake of Federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland resignation to discuss the worrisome state of Ottawa’s books.
Glen Hodgson – Canada Post is Stuck in a Time Warp. Is There a Way Out?
From: Glen Hodgson To: Postal observers Date: December 13, 2024 Re: Canada Post is Stuck in a Time Warp. Is There a Way Out? Canada Post is a financial mess. It lost nearly $748 million in fiscal 2023, following a 2022 loss of $548 million. Annual losses began in 2018 and have now reached a […]Robson, Dahir – The Worrying Delay in the Release of the Federal Government’s Public Accounts
Published in The Globe and Mail.
In recent years, the federal government’s fiscal management has looked increasingly slipshod. The unprecedented deficits and buildup of debt, the explosive increase in the number and cost of federal employees, and the addition of tens of billions to the spending projections in each successive budget and fiscal update are unsettling, but so, too, is the erosion of accountability in budgets and in the public accounts.
Ottawa is delivering a fall economic statement on Monday – so late that it’s barely fall any more. The government failed to deliver a budget at all in 2020 – something that had never happened before – and presented three of the four budgets since then after the April 1 beginning…
Gregg Lintern – Canada’s Housing Crisis Is About More Than Just Supply
From: Gregg Lintern To: Housing watchers Date: December 11, 2024 Re: Canada’s Housing Crisis Is About More Than Just Supply Canada’s housing crisis isn’t just about interest rates, land speculation, or supply. It’s also about rigid zoning laws, fragmented government roles, and insufficient support for diverse and affordable housing options. I recently presented at the C.D. Howe Institute’s conference on […]Ho, Ho, Hold the GST Holiday
The holidays may be about eating to excess, but Ottawa’s “GST Holiday” is little more than “fiscal junk food”. On this episode of the CDHI podcast, Institute President and CEO Bill Robson and Fellow-in-Residence Don Drummond tell our Michael Hainsworth why a two-month tax break isn’t making these public policy elves jolly this holiday season.
Alex Laurin and William Robson – A ‘surplus’ for the Public Service Pension Plan? That’s not real
Published in The Globe and Mail.
On Nov. 25, the federal government announced that the Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP) – the plan for federal public-service employees – has an “excess surplus.” By the government’s accounting, the plan’s assets exceed its liabilities by 26.3 per cent, surpassing the 25-per-cent limit permitted by the Income Tax Act. The government plans to transfer the “excess” of approximately $2-billion into its regular budget. This transfer would reduce the federal deficit for the 2023-24 fiscal year, which is likely to exceed the $40-billion target set by the Minister of Finance in the 2023 federal budget.
However, this “excess surplus” is an illusion. The calculations use an artificially high…