Why are Canadian governments so slow to release budgets and public accounts? – Globe and Mail

Nicholas Dahir is a research assistant at the C.D. Howe Institute. William Robson is chief executive of the C.D. Howe Institute.

Among the most grating and persistent failings of our governments is that they are too slow. Too slow building things, too slow issuing permits and passports, too slow processing taxes, too slow even answering questions.

Less obvious in our daily lives, but troubling on a deeper level, is how late Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial governments are in presenting their budgets and public accounts. The C.D. Howe Institute recently released its annual report card on the clarity, reliability and timeliness of these documents. Our findings on timeliness alone reveal major problems…

Drummond, Robson – A Grading Framework for the Upcoming Federal Economic & Fiscal Update

Kronick, Ambler – No More Rate Hikes. So What’s Next?

Duncan Munn – The Evil of Short-Termism Bedevils Canada’s Future

The Proper Federal Role in Housing with Benjamin Dachis

If Ottawa is to play a role in solving the housing crisis, it must be strategic and stay out of the way of municipalities. The C.D. Howe Institute’s Benjamin Dachis tells host Michael Hainsworth that changing the tax treatment for both homeowners and rental developers would go a long way towards encouraging more construction.

Jon Johnson – NAFTA/CUSMA Investor/State Disputes – Fading Away or Out with a Bang

Napas Thein – Canada Needs its Own AI Regulatory Framework

Beyond tightening, where is the end point of the Bank of Canada’s monetary policy? – Globe and Mail

The Bank of Canada once again held its policy rate at 5 per cent on Wednesday, as expected.

After two months of disappointment, with the annual change in the Consumer Price Index ticking up in July and August, inflation resumed its descent in September, falling to 3.8 per cent from 4 per cent. That, plus weak economic numbers, made it practically certain – confirmed by the expectations of financial markets – that the central bank would hold.

The real questions concern the bank’s end point for monetary policy in the medium term and what that means for Canadians.

The bank is probably at the end of its tightening cycle. But this doesn’t mean interest rates are coming back down to where they were before…

C.D. Howe Institute Pans Canadian Governments’ Opaque Budgets

Feds shouldn’t amend the pipeline act without real input from the provinces – Financial Post

Four years ago, the federal government enacted the Impact Assessment Act (IAA), also known as Bill C-69. The reception was not good. In some circles, the legislation became known as the “no-more pipelines bill.” Industry associations, scholars and governments expressed their misgivings with the act and the effects it was likely to have on resource development. This month the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed the act is unconstitutional. Whoops!

The door is not shut on a better approach, however. But Ottawa and the provinces need to work together to achieve it, starting now. In the decision’s conclusion, Chief Justice Wagner wrote: “This scheme plainly overstepped the mark.” What are the key elements that federal policy-makers…

Crystal Gooding – Throwing Money in the Trash? Solutions for Plastic Waste

The ABCs of Fiscal Accountability: The Report Card for Canada’s Senior Governments, 2023