Brian Lewis – Doug Ford’s inaction has left Ontario’s most vulnerable without a fighting chance
Published in the Toronto Star
October 1 could have been a celebratory day for Ontarians concerned with the struggles of low-income residents. After all, it’s the day the minimum wage will nudge up – following behind inflation, sure – but up nonetheless. But if you’re living on Ontario Works, or what used to be called welfare, the date will carry a more bitter significance. It will have been a full six years since any increase in the amounts for basic needs and shelter.
In that time, inflation has worked its ugly powers and the price of everything has gone up. There has been a 20-per-cent hike in the cost of living for the typical Ontario family, hitting the basics like food and housing especially hard.
If you happen to…
Lawrence Herman – Behold dairy lobby’s power, as Bloc holds Liberals hostage over supply management
Published in the Globe and Mail.
There’s something wrong when a narrow interest group can dominate Canadian trade policy. That’s exactly what has happened in the case of the dairy industry, pushing its protectionist agenda on Canadians, not only in getting an ill-considered and self-serving piece of legislation to sail through the House of Commons but in having the Bloc Québécois make final enactment of Bill C-282 a red line for supporting the minority Trudeau government.
Bill C-282 is a Bloc private member’s bill that would exempt the supply managed dairy sector (as well as poultry and eggs) from all future trade negotiations. Even though the bill has already passed the House and is now in the Senate, Bloc Leader Yves-…
Colin Busby – Ottawa must not bow to the Bloc and boost Old Age Security for younger seniors
Published in the Globe and Mail.
The Bloc Québécois is threatening to push for an early election should the minority Liberal government not support a private members’ bill, Bill C-319, which aims to increase the basic amount of the Old Age Security (OAS) benefit by 10 per cent from the current maximum of $718 a month.
The government should not back the bill. And, even if it does, a majority of MPs from across parties should later vote against this bill.
There is political rationale for these responses. Minority governments can be filled with bluster and threats, much of which are empty. And in such governments, strange coalitions may form to pass legislation or to kill certain bills.
Politics aside,…
Cancel the RRB Cancellation
Two years ago, the federal government ceased issuing Real Return Bonds, which are a valuable tool for Canadian savers to protect themselves from inflation. The government cited weak demand for RRBs as justifying the cancellation, without acknowledging that its approach to RRBs itself promoted a thin market that lessened the attractiveness of RRBs to potential […] Barry Gros – Ontario Finally Joins the Target Benefit Pension Party
To: Ontario Pension Observers From: Barry Gros Date: August 1, 2024 Re: Ontario Finally Joins the Target Benefit Pension Party Ontario’s journey towards target benefit pension regulation is coming to a close. The Ministry of Finance recently released draft regulations for technical review with an effective date of January 1, 2025, winding up a process begun last year. […] Miville Tremblay – Investir chez nous, pour le bien commun
Published in La Presse.
Faut-il que les grands fonds de retraite canadiens, un peu à la manière de la Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, démontrent une plus grande préférence nationale dans leurs placements ?
Cette question brûlante est au cœur d’un débat dans le monde feutré du placement. La Caisse est le modèle qui inspire et fait peur avec son double mandat d’optimiser le rendement des déposants et de favoriser le développement économique du Québec.
En théorie, un investisseur parfaitement diversifié aurait une petite participation dans tous les actifs dans le monde. En pratique, ce n’est ni possible ni souhaitable, mais l’investisseur avisé répartit ses œufs dans un grand nombre de paniers.
Par…
Pension Policy Council
The C.D. Howe Institute launched the Pension Policy Council in May 2007 to address key challenges facing Canada’s system of retirement saving, assess current developments, identify regulatory strengths and shortfalls, and make recommendations to ensure the integrity of pension earnings for the growing number of Canadians approaching retirement. The Institute gratefully acknowledges the participation of […] Bob Baldwin – How to Resolve the Alberta Pension Issue
From: Bob Baldwin To: Pension watchers Date: April 3 2024 Re: How to Resolve the Alberta Pension Issue Last fall, the Alberta government released a report proposing the creation of an Alberta Pension Plan (APP) funded initially by withdrawal from the Canada Pension Plan, taking with it $334 billion in assets. My recent C.D. Howe Institute E-Brief examines the financial […]Strength in Diversity: What We Can Learn from BC’s Target-benefit Plans
With the significant decline in single-employer defined-benefit (DB) pension plans in the private sector, it’s important to understand other alternatives. One such alternative is the target-benefit plan. The regulation of target-benefit plans (TBPs) in all provinces across Canada can be made more straightforward and effective using lessons learned from real-life experiences. With target-benefit plans currently […] Pension Roulette: The Risks and Consequences of Alberta Leaving the CPP
In the fall of 2023, the Alberta government released a report proposing the creation of an Alberta Pension Plan (APP) funded initially by the province’s withdrawal from the Canada Pension Plan, taking with it $334 billion in assets. This E-Brief examines the financial assumptions of the proposed APP, assesses their reasonableness, and outlines the […]