Yes, more natural gas is good: The case for upping Canadian exports – Globe and Mail
In the drive to reduce global greenhouse-gas emissions, provide affordable energy, enhance energy security and provide benefits to Canadians, the country has an opportunity to play a vital role: exporting liquid natural gas.
According to the International Energy Agency, coal, oil and natural gas make up nearly 80 per cent of the global energy mix, and are expected to continue to comprise at least 62 per cent by 2050.
Natural gas is energy dense and emits the lowest pounds of CO2 per million British thermal units (btu) of all hydrocarbons. As such, it is an abundant low-emission substitute for coal and backstop for renewables in the evolving energy mix.
Both the United States and the European Union have displaced…
Tax reform badly needed to help fix Canada’s productivity problem – Financial Post
The decline of Canada’s labour productivity is making headlines across the country and raising concerns about the country’s economic prosperity. In real terms, per capita GDP has been stagnant since 2017. As University of Alberta economist Trevor Tombe has pointed out, Ontario’s output per capita is now on par with Alabama’s. More than ever, Canada needs tax reform to foster economic growth.
Lack of investment is not the sole explanation for our disappointing productivity performance but it is almost certainly a major contributor. The stock of business capital per worker has been on a declining trend since 2015. Canada fares very poorly compared to its neighbour: each U.S. worker, on average, benefits…
The Missing Ingredient for Growing Canadian Companies
Canadian companies should focus more on marketing and sales tactics to improve growth and productivity rates, according to a new report by the C.D. Howe Institute. Canada has proportionately fewer large firms than other countries and ranks last in producing large manufacturing…The Missing Ingredient: Solving Canada’s Shortcomings in Growing Large Firms and Increasing Productivity
Solving Canada’s perennial productivity problem will partially be addressed by creating companies that scale from start-up to world-class status. Canada has been challenged at scaling companies and, in fact, has the lowest number of manufacturing companies with over 250 employees per one million in population in the 35 countries with employment data available from the […] Ben Brunnen – Reforming Canada’s Fossil Fuel Subsidy Framework
From: Ben Brunnen To: The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Date: August 1, 2023 Re: Reforming Canada’s Fossil Fuel Subsidy Framework Canada has been focused on “eliminating inefficient fossil fuel subsidies” since […] Lawrence Herman – Private Rule-Making Elbows into Global Governance
From: Lawrence Herman To: International Standards Observers Date: July 28, 2023 Re: Private Rule-Making Elbows into Global Governance Components of the global order, standards in particular, are increasingly generated through private-sector action – outside of governments – and often referred to as “private global rulemaking.” As I outlined in an earlier Intelligence Memo, these rules and standards can achieve […] Rosalie Wyonch – Smooth Transitions: Boosting International Student Work Success
To: Labour market observers From: Rosalie Wyonch Date: July 26, 2023 Re: Smooth Transitions: Boosting International Student Work Success There are more international students in Canada than ever. Many experience challenges along the path of getting their education, applying for jobs and securing permanent residency status in Canada. Policymakers and educational institutions can take steps to improve the […] (Hardy) Valiaho, DeLand and Walton – Ontario Needs to Play Catch-up on Carbon Capture and Storage
To: Graydon Smith, Ontario Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry From: Beth (Hardy) Valiaho, Charles DeLand and Mac Walton Date: July 24, 2023 Re: Ontario needs to play catch-up on carbon capture and storage Is Ontario, Canada’s manufacturing heartland, going to miss out on the opportunity to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors of its economy? To avoid doing so, it […] Benjamin Dachis – Stuck in a Hole, and the Land Transfer Tax Isn’t Your Way Out
To: Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow Date: July 21, 2023 From: Benjamin Dachis Re: Stuck in a Hole, and the Land Transfer Tax isn’t Your Way Out Congratulations on your victory last month. As you take charge in your first full week, there’s much conversation about the city’s large financial problem. The most recent operating budget […]Scaling Up Is Hard To Do: Financing Canadian Small Firms
What’s holding back small business growth in Canada? Canada’s small and medium-sized enterprises are vital to job creation and economic prosperity but struggle with access to financing compared to peers in other advanced economies. Exner-Pirot and Gullo – Reforming Canada’s regulatory approval and permitting process
To: The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change and The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources From: Heather Exner-Pirot and Michael Gullo Date: July 20, 2023 Re: Reforming Canada’s regulatory approval and permitting process There is widespread consensus that Canada’s system for regulating and approving major infrastructure projects is too slow and burdensome. Far […] COVID-19 was also a fiscal crisis – just how much did governments spend? We don’t know – Globe and Mail
Canadian governments’ lack of transparency is a high-profile concern – and for good reason. Alongside such problems as bureaucratic circumvention of freedom of information laws and ministers responding to questions in legislatures or from the media with mechanical talking points, government finances are far too opaque.
Which brings us to the pandemic of 2020. COVID-19 was not only a health and economic crisis, it was a fiscal crisis. It prompted unprecedented jumps in government spending and borrowing. But how much exactly was going where? We don’t know.
Two years have passed since our federal, provincial and territorial governments closed their books on the fiscal year that ran from April 1, 2020, to March 31,…