Adaptability, Accountability and Sustainability: Intergovernmental Fiscal Arrangements in Canada
Spending control and greater reliance on their own revenues are more promising responses to provincial budget pressures than higher federal transfers, according to a new report released today by the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Adaptability, Accountability and Sustainability: Intergovernmental Fiscal Arrangements in Canada,” authors William Robson and Alexandre Laurin foresee demographic stresses on provincial government […] Pacific trade deal an opportunity for Canadian dairy to expand and export: Globe and Mail Op-Ed
Published in The Globe and Mail on June 30, 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.
Over the next few months, Canadians will hear a lot about the negotiations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and about the possibility that our “supply management” of the dairy and poultry industries is on the bargaining table. This might even become a significant issue in the fall federal election. So this seems like the right time for a primer.
TPP is an ambitious trade agreement, 10 years in the making so far, among 12 countries of the Pacific Rim, including the United…
The slow Congressional track to a Trans-Pacific trade deal: Financial Post Op-Ed
Published in Financial Post on March 19, 2015
By: Lawrence Herman
Lawrence L. Herman, Herman & Associates, practices international trade and investment law and is a Senior Fellow of the C.D. Howe Institute in Toronto.
On the twisting Trans-Pacific Trade route, who are we dealing with?
With the demise of the WTO Doha Round, the ongoing Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations is the biggest trade game in town and its success is to be championed, given the amount of trade in goods and services that will be freed up if a final deal can be cemented this year.
Canada is engaged with the United States in this exercise (maybe not as fully as Canada should be) along with ten other Pacific Rim…
Free trade with South Korea is here. Are Canadian firms ready?: Globe and Mail Op-Ed
Published in The Globe and Mail on February 10, 2015
By: Daniel Ciuriak and Daniel Schwanen
Dan Ciuriak is a Fellow in Residence with the C.D. Howe Institute and the former Deputy Chief Economist at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. He is currently Director and Principal, Ciuriak Consulting Inc. Daniel Schwanen is Vice President Research at the C.D. howe Institute.
Hot on the heels of the Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement’s entry into force on Jan. 1, Canada’s Trade Minister, Ed Fast, is leading a trade mission to South Korea this week. This is a good time to remind ourselves of the importance of this agreement, Canada’s first with an Asian economy. It is also a good time to…
Provinces should keep CETA complaints in-house: Globe and Mail Op-Ed
Published in The Globe and Mail on January 28, 2015
By: Lawrence L. Herman
Lawrence L. Herman, principal at Herman and Associates, practises international trade law and is a senior fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute in Toronto.
It’s happening again.
In the early 1980s, Canadians witnessed the sorry spectacle of provinces roaming around Westminster, cap in hand, lobbying British politicians to save them from their own federal government in its move to patriate the Constitution.
It was a sad chapter in Canadian political history, provinces invoking Britain’s role as colonial master, asking Britain to save them from their own federal government because the provinces couldn’t settle internal…
There’s No Good Economic Reason For The Net-benefit Test: Globe And Mail Op-ed
Published in the Globe and Mail on May 17, 2015
By A.E. Safarian and Daniel Schwanen
A.E. Safarian is professor emeritus at the Rotman School of Management. He is the author of Simplifying the Rule Book: A Proposal to Reform and Clarify Canada’s Policy on Inward Foreign Direct Investment, recently published by the C.D. Howe Institute. Daniel Schwanen is vice-president, research, at the C.D. Howe Institute.
Canada has an image problem with foreign investors. We are notorious for our low ranking – 36th of 43 – among countries consistently surveyed by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development for the hurdles raised for foreign investors wishing to acquire or take an important…
Trans-Pacific trade deal is down to the wire. Speak now, Canadian business: Globe and Mail Op-Ed
Published in the Globe and Mail on May 12, 2015
By Lawrence L. Herman
Lawrence L. Herman, Herman & Associates, practices international trade and investment law and is a Senior Fellow of the C.D. Howe Institute in Toronto.
A lot of balls are in the air, but a final Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement is getting closer. It may be closer than we think, with a crucial meeting of top officials from all 12 negotiating countries slated to begin this week in Guam.
Some final horse-trading is needed. For one thing, the Americans have not yet struck a market access deal with Japan, a key component that will become part of a final TPP deal.
But the trans-Pactific agreement is definitely…
Simplifying the Rule Book: a Proposal to Reform and Clarify Canada’s Policy on Inward Foreign Direct Investment
Ottawa should end the economic review of foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country, according to a new C.D. Howe Institute report. In “Simplifying the Rule Book: a Proposal to Reform and Clarify Canada’s Policy on Inward Foreign Direct Investment,” author A.E. Safarian warns that Canada’s FDI regime needs reform, including scrapping the vague “net-benefit […] The Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement: What it Means for Canada
Canadians will likely enjoy $2.1 billion in additional household income by 2035 as a result of the Canada-Korea Free Trade Deal (CKFTA), which entered into force January 1, 2015, according to a new C.D. Howe Institute report. In “The Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement: What it Means for Canada,” authors Dan Ciuriak, Jingliang Xiao and Ali […] For the biggest bang in foreign aid, small and targeted is the best: Globe and Mail Op-Ed
Published in the Globe and Mail on May 5, 2014
By Christopher Ragan
Christopher Ragan is an associate professor of economics at McGill University and is a Research Fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute.
In 1969, Prime Minister Lester Pearson recommended that rich countries commit 0.7 per cent of their national income to foreign aid, or Official Development Assistance (ODA). The next year, this commitment was formally adopted by the United Nations and has been re-affirmed by the rich countries many times since.
Canada and most other rich countries have never come close to achieving this commitment. Last year, for example, Canada’s total spending on ODA, most of which is controlled by the…
Is U.S. violating NAFTA with Keystone delay? Globe and Mail Op-Ed
Published in the Globe and Mail on April 29, 2014
By Lawrence Herman
Lawrence L. Herman, Herman & Associates, Toronto, is an international lawyer and Senior Fellow at the C. D. Howe Institute.
Approval of Keystone XL suffers delay after delay. Whether one is for or against, it’s obvious the project has become hostage to the unpredictable forces of American politics.
It’s hard to get a handle on how the project is being evaluated by the Obama administration. Is it environmental factors that count, including arguments over Alberta’s oil sands, or is it energy security or American jobs that are critical?
Both TransCanada, as the pipeline’s proponent, and the Canadian…
The Impact of Diplomatic Representation Abroad on Canada’s Exports
“Government-to-government” relations, underpinned by high-level Canadian representation in foreign nations, such as an embassy, significantly boost the level of Canadian exports to those countries, according to a new C. D. Howe Institute report. In the study, entitled “The Impact of Diplomatic Representation Abroad on Canada’s Exports,” author Dan Ciuriak provides new insights into where, why […]