Benjamin Dachis -The Proper Federal Role in Housing
To: Housing observers From: Benjamin Dachis Date: October 16, 2023 Re: The Proper Federal Role in Housing Although housing is mainly a provincial jurisdiction, the federal government is seized with the pressing political and policy problem of how to increase the housing stock, and sooner rather than later. Its proper housing role is to focus on areas of direct […]Schwanen, Robson and Bafale – Don’t Let the Dairy Lobby Win this Fight
From: Daniel Schwanen, William B.P. Robson and Mawakina Bafale To: Canadian Senators Date: October 13, 2023 Re: Don’t Let the Dairy Lobby Win this Fight Amazingly, just as cost-of-living concerns are acute for Canadians and grocery prices are in the political cross-hairs, a bill has arrived in the Senate that would further entrench the supply-management restrictions that keep prices […] John Weekes – Making Supply Management Untouchable Would be a Big Mistake
From: John Weekes To: The Senate of Canada Date: October 13, 2023 Re: Making supply management untouchable would be a big mistake There are three major negative impacts embedded in Bill C-282, a trade bill awaiting Senate approval that would prevent Canadian trade negotiators from ever ceding any ground on supply management. First, gratuitously removing dairy, poultry and its […]Luba Petersen Appointed C.D. Howe Research Fellow, Monetary Policy Council Member
We are pleased to announce Luba Petersen has joined the C.D. Howe Institute as a Research Fellow and a member of the Institute’s prestigious Monetary Policy Council. An Associate Professor in the Department…Lawrence Herman – Foreign Agents Registry – Don’t Dither
From: Lawrence Herman To: Foreign interference observers Date: October 11, 2023 Re: Foreign Agents Registry – Don’t Dither We still do not know when the Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Canada’s elections, presided over by Justice Marie-Josée Hogue, will start up, how much will be in public and the particular aspects it will examine first. From the terms of […]We need the right kind of federal intervention in housing – Financial Post
Although housing is mainly a provincial jurisdiction, the federal government is seized with the pressing political and policy problem of how to increase the housing stock, and sooner rather than later. Ottawa’s proper role in housing is to focus on areas of direct federal control like taxes and immigration. Direct intervention on city-by-city zoning decisions would be unwise and would likely only worsen the housing crisis.
The federal government has made a good start on housing by exempting rental construction from GST. But it needs to do more. Ottawa’s GST take from housing has been rising stealthily since the early 1990s because of inflation. To merely reverse the increases, it should inflation-index and nearly double…
Janet Cosier – Central Bank Risk Management in Times of Turbulence
From: Janet Cosier To: Bank of Canada Watchers Date: October 10, 2023 Re: Central Bank Risk Management in Times of Turbulence Over the last year, the world’s central banks have started to report negative equity positions, a product of sharply increasing interest rates that have created mismatches on their balance sheets. In many instances, these mismatches have arisen […]The Impact of AI on Democracy and Humanity with Yoshua Bengio
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a threat to democracy. Yoshua Bengio, Professor at the Department of Computer Science and Operations Research at the Universite de Montreal and the Scientific Director of the Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms joins host Michael Hainsworth to discuss how we should deploy AI in government, for national security and to benefit humanity.
Losses, Risks and Reputation: Bolstering the Bank of Canada for the Road Ahead
Central banks around the world, including the Bank of Canada, are dealing with a hangover from the quantitative easing (QE) policies undertaken during the pandemic. Ensuing inflation and interest-rate hikes have created balance sheet mismatches and net interest losses. As an example, the interest rate the Bank of Canada earns on its bond portfolio is […] Bolstering the Bank of Canada for the Risks Ahead
The Bank of Canada needs bolstering for the losses and risks ahead, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Losses, Risks and Reputation: Bolstering the Bank of Canada for the Road Ahead” author Janet Cosier, who served as the Bank’s Chief Risk Officer and…Malcolm Burrows – AMT and Donations
From: Malcolm Burrows To: The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Finance Date: October 4, 2023 Re: AMT and Donations Changes to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) rates and rules are scheduled to take effect on January 1 and for the first time AMT will apply to charitable donations from high-income individuals. This is poor tax policy that will […] Mahboubi, Lotin – Housing and International Student Numbers – Some suggestions
From: Parisa Mahboubi and Henry Lotin To: Canada’s Immigration Watchers Date: October 3, 2023 Re: Housing and international student numbers: Some suggestions. As Canada grapples with surging housing demand, the federal government is exploring solutions to limit the influx of international students. Two strategies have been under consideration: setting a cap on international student visas and introducing a […]