Alexandre Laurin – Rail Investment Makes Good Sense
To: Pierre Lavallée President and CEO, Canadian Infrastructure Bank From: Alexandre Laurin Date: May 31, 2019 Re: Rail Investment Makes Good Sense The Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) announced yesterday that it will provide up to $2 billion in debt financing to the winning bidder – most likely a consortia of local and international companies – for the procurement process […]Kronick, Omran – So Close Yet So Far: Ontario’s Housing Supply Action Plan
From: Jeremy M. Kronick and Farah Omran To: The Honourable Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Date: May 8, 2019 Re: So Close Yet So Far: Ontario’s Housing Supply Action Plan The Ontario government announced its housing policy last week. It includes a suite of policy changes aimed at reducing red tape, increasing […] Less Debt, More Growth: A Shadow Federal Budget for 2019
February 7 – Ottawa should spur growth through better tax competitiveness and get back into the black by curbing overspending, says the C.D. Howe Institute’s annual Shadow Federal Budget. In “Less Debt, More Growth: A Shadow Federal Budget for 2019”, authors William B.P. Robson and Alexandre Laurin show Ottawa could balance its budget in 2023/24 […] Dammed If You Do: How Sunk Costs Are Dragging Canadian Electricity Ratepayers Underwater
Cost-overruns at several large-scale hydro projects in Canada raise questions about the economic viability of continuing construction to completion. In “Dammed If You Do: How Sunk Costs Are Dragging Canadian Electricity Ratepayers Underwater” author A.J. Goulding argues that government decisions to make such large investments in hydroelectric generating capacity must be scrutinized for economic soundness […] 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 […] 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 […] A Roadmap to Municipal Reform: Improving Life in Canadian Cities
Cities across Canada have the greatest effect of any level of government on the daily lives of Canadians, yet city councils seem hamstrung by the problems they face. There are solutions, according to a new book from former C.D. Howe Institute Associate Director, Research, Benjamin Dachis. In “A Roadmap to Municipal Reform: Improving Life in […] Found, Tomlinson – Tax Barriers To Investment – Large Canadian Cities Edge Out Us Competitors
From: Adam Found and Peter Tomlinson To: Business Investors Date: October 18, 2018 Re: Tax Barriers to Investment – Large Canadian Cities Edge Out US Competitors Governments across Canada have made it a policy priority to reduce the marginal effective tax rate (METR) on each new dollar of business investment. By incorporating various business taxes, […] Ben Dachis – Stop Hosing Homebuyers with Water-Related Development Charges
To: Municipalities that Impose Development Charges From: Benjamin Dachis Date: August 10, 2018 Re: Stop Hosing Homebuyers with Water-Related Development Charges Canadian municipalities are hurting housing affordability by imposing expensive water charges on development and they should revamp their development charges to improve housing affordability across the country. Many Canadian municipalities impose development charges on homebuilders – around $80,000 […]Hosing Homebuyers: Why Cities Should Not Pay for Water and Wastewater Infrastructure with Development Charges
August 9, 2018 – Canadian municipalities are hurting housing affordability by imposing expensive water charges on development, according to a new report published by the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Hosing Homebuyers: Why Cities Should Not Pay for Water and Wastewater Infrastructure with Development Charges”, author Benjamin Dachis argues cities should revamp development charges to improve […] Curbs On Demand Won’t Solve Surging House Prices In Canada – Globe And Mail Op-ed
The cost of housing has been going through the roof in many parts of Canada. Most government policies have focused on curtailing the demand for housing. Ontario and B.C. have introduced foreign-buyers taxes. Ottawa has put in place new rules on mortgages. But supply constraints are more likely the key cause of surging prices.
Restrictions on housing supply hinder the efficiency of the housing market. Delays in building what people demand result in shortages and higher prices. One way to measure a broken housing market is to look at the gap between construction costs and sale prices. A well-functioning housing market sees the market price of housing mimic the cost of constructing it. In places where it is hard to build, the costs…
Aaron A. Moore – It’s Time For Transparency In Ontario’s Zoning Tradeoffs
From: Aaron A. Moore To: Bill Mauro, Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs and Peter Milczyn, Minister of Housing Date: April 26, 2018 Re: It’s Time for Transparency in Ontario’s Zoning Tradeoffs Ontario should scrap arbitrary and opaque density bonusing deals between municipalities and developers, the system under which zoning rules are broken in exchange for public amenities. In my […]