Edward Waitzer – Zombie Thinking is Not Helping Effective Corporate Governance
From: Edward Waitzer To: Corporate governance observers Date: March 5, 2024 Re: Zombie Thinking is Not Helping Effective Corporate Governance Corporate governance and leadership best practices are typically based on intuition, self-serving opinion and rhetoric, and not often enough on real best practices and evidence. This has led zombie thinking based on “dead ideas that still walk among us,” […]Competition Reforms Should Not Enshrine into Law Presumptions of Harm from Mergers
Canada’s competition legislation should remain effects-based and should not enshrine into law presumptions of harm from mergers based on market share thresholds, according to the C.D. Howe Institute’s Competition Policy Council. In “…Canada’s Supply Chain System with Ari Van Assche
Securing Canada’s supply chains comes with risk. HEC Montréal Professor and C.D. Howe Institute Fellow-In-Residence Ari Van Assche debunks COVID-era theories about why we ran out of masks, toilet paper, and bicycles as well as how we can avoid the same fate in the future.
Fierlbeck, Wyonch – How Come Private Healthcare Is Expanding? Isn’t It Illegal?
From: Katherine Fierlbeck and Rosalie Wyonch To: Health system observers Date: March 4, 2024 Re: How Come Private Healthcare Is Expanding? Isn’t It Illegal? Why are for-profit private clinics providing more and more insured services when the Canada Health Act stipulates that “all” insured health services must be insured publicly? Like the entire healthcare system, the answer is complicated, as […] Great economic legacy, Brian Mulroney. It’d be a shame if something happened to it – Globe and Mail
There’s good reason to celebrate the late Brian Mulroney’s courage in embarking on the quest for a free-trade agreement with the Americans in his first term as prime minister. While eliciting strong opposition in many quarters at the time, it was a historically bold move, and the Mulroney government’s milestone achievement in getting Washington to sign the 1987 Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, or FTA, has to be viewed in that light.
Equally significant was FTA’s successor, the North American Free Trade Agreement, bringing in Mexico as a partner in 1994. While NAFTA came into force under prime minister Jean Chrétien, it was negotiated and concluded under Mr. Mulroney, and stands as another fine achievement of his time in office.…
Caracciolo, Kronick and Robson – How Housing Complicates the Bank of Canada’s Interest-Rate Decisions
From: Gherardo Caracciolo, Jeremy M. Kronick and William B.P. Robson To: Interest rate watchers Date: February 29, 2024 Re: How Housing Complicates the Bank of Canada’s Interest-Rate Decisions News that Canada’s inflation rate fell in January prompted fresh talk about cuts in the Bank of Canada’s policy interest rate, which has been at 5 percent since last July. Many observers still expect the […]C.D. Howe Institute Monetary Policy Council Calls for Bank of Canada to Hold Overnight Rate at 5.00 Percent, Cut to 3.50 Percent by March of 2025
February 29, 2024 – The C.D. Howe Institute’s Monetary Policy Council (MPC) recommends that the Bank of Canada maintain its target for the overnight rate, its benchmark policy interest rate, at 5.00 percent at its next announcement on March 6th. The MPC further recommends that the Bank keep the target at 5.00 percent in April, before reducing it to 4.50 percent by September and to 3.50 percent by March of 2025.
The MPC provides an independent assessment of the monetary stance consistent with the Bank of…
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 […] Proposed Creation of Alberta Pension Plan is Playing Pension Roulette with Canadians
Alberta’s plan to withdraw from the Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) in favour of establishing its own Alberta Pension Plan (APP) would gamble on the retirement security of Canadians, affecting individuals both within Alberta and across the…Pharmacare cornerstone has been laid but where are the blueprints and budget? – Financial Post
The Liberals and NDP have reached a deal on pharmacare: a single-payer national plan that for now will cover only two drug categories: diabetes and birth control. Canada is the only developed country with universal insurance for hospital and physician services but not for prescription drugs, so covering this third pillar of the system makes sense. But whether the agreement will do that in a sensible way isn’t yet clear.
According to news reports, the negotiations hinged on two main points: what’s in and who pays. The NDP wanted more drug categories included, while the Liberals were concerned about costs. And while the NDP insisted on a single-payer national program, the Liberals had never committed to that and no information has…
Don Drummond – Budget 2024 Must Correct the Errors of the Fall Economic Statement
From: Don Drummond To: Canadian Budget Observers Date: February 28, 2024 Re: Budget 2024 Must Correct the Errors of the Fall Economic Statement The 2023 fall economic statement projected large deficits through 2028-29 and a net debt-to-GDP ratio that rises in 2024-25 and then declines only slightly, remaining well above its prepandemic level through 2028-29. Interest payments eat up […] Brian Mulroney Had a Remarkable Ability to Get Things Done: C.D. Howe’s Bill Robson
Bill Robson, CEO of C.D. Howe Institute, joined BNN Bloomberg to talk about the legacy of Brian Mulroney and especially about the North American Free Trade Agreement.