Lawrence Herman – Only the Senate Can Rescue us from the Latest Dairy Power Play
From: Lawrence Herman To: Canadians concerned about trade Date: August 30, 2023 Re: Only the Senate Can Rescue us from the Latest Dairy Power Play Bill C-282 is a terrible piece of legislation. Yet it sailed through the House of Commons and is now in the Senate, the last hope for bringing some sanity to the matter. Indications are […]Brian Lewis – No Time for Half Measures: Tax Policy Options to Grow Rental Housing
From: Brian Lewis To: Canada’s ministers of housing Date: August 28, 2023 Re: No Time for Half Measures: Tax Policy Options to Grow Rental Housing A significant shortfall in housing supply is an urgent issue across Canada. The need for rental housing is especially acute, especially because the current shortage and corresponding skyrocketing rents is particularly problematic for […] Canada’s underemployed economic immigrants: How to stop wasting talent – Globe and Mail
Canada consistently fails to fully utilize immigrants’ skills, limiting its efforts to address labour-market needs and imposing a loss on the economy.
Economic immigration is Canada’s largest and most popular admission category. To make such immigration more responsive to labour-market needs, Canada recently launched category-based selection that prioritizes in-demand occupations facing shortages, such as those in health care and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.
However, once they get to Canada, foreign-educated immigrants, particularly recent immigrants, often encounter difficulties finding employment that aligns with their qualifications, and experience …
Glen Hodgson – US Debt Downgrade Delivers Reminder: Reserve Currencies are not Forever
From: Glen Hodgson To: Canadian Currency Watchers Date: August 25, 2023 Re: US Debt Downgrade Delivers Reminder: Reserve Currencies are not Forever Fitch Ratings’ recent downgrade of US public debt, dropping it one notch below AAA, is good reason to examine the relationship between US debt and the dollar’s future as a reserve currency. The greenback is just the latest in […] Federal tax incentives could help solve the rental housing crisis – Financial Post
Do you know anyone looking for an affordable rental apartment in a major Canadian city? If you do, good luck to them.
Rentals are tough to find, and rents are getting very expensive. According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), purpose-built apartment vacancy rates nationally fell to a 20-year low of 1.9 per cent in 2022, while average rents rose 6.1 per cent. Would-be tenants increasingly find themselves in desperate bidding wars over sub-standard accommodation in areas far from where they want to live.
Canadian policymakers should be very concerned about the rental housing crisis. According to the 2021 Census, 33.1 per cent of Canadians rent. That number is higher in big cities, where about half of…
Benjamin Dachis – What Municipal Financial Audits are Likely to Find
To: Ontario Municipalities From: Benjamin Dachis Date: August 23, 2023 Re: What Municipal Financial Audits are Likely to Find In late July, the Ontario government announced details on a financial audit of select municipalities to assess the impact of provincial changes to development-related fees. The audit will likely find that the change had some financial […] G. Kent Fellows – Renewables Moratorium Risks Harming Alberta’s Investment Climate
To: Nathan Neudorf, Alberta Minister of Affordability and Utilities From: G. Kent Fellows Date: August 21, 2023 Re: Renewables Moratorium Risks Harming Alberta’s Investment Climate Your government’s move last week to pause approvals for new renewable electricity investments sends a strong signal: The free-market fundamentals underpinning the province’s approach to electricity are no longer as […] Supply management is a disaster, and the terrible Bill C-282 will make it worse – Globe and Mail Op-Ed
Bill C-282 is a terrible piece of legislation. Yet it sailed through the House of Commons and is now in the Senate, the last hope for bringing some sanity to the matter.
Indications are that key senators, including Senator Peter Boehm, chair of the Senate Foreign Affairs and International Trade Committee, have serious problems with the Bill.
The Bill amends the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Act to insert a provision that prohibits the government from concluding any trade agreement that would increase foreign access to Canada’s supply managed agriculture sector.
This is an unprecedented effort that further protects the dairy, poultry and egg producers from foreign import competition. But…
Ben Brunnen – It’s Time to Move on Canada’s LNG Opportunity
From: Ben Brunnen To: Canadian Energy Observers Date: August 17, 2023 Re: It’s Time to Move on Canada’s LNG Opportunity 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, […] Stop Throwing Money at Canada’s Productivity Problem With Charles Plant
We’ve been complaining about Canada’s productivity problem for 50 years. One of the secrets to solving our problem is by creating companies that scale up from start up to world class. According to Charles Plant, C.D. Howe Institute author and Founder of The Narwhal Project, the solution isn’t throwing more money at the problem: it’s turning Canadians into salespeople.
Benjamin Dachis – Why Not a Minister of Competition?
To: The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada From: Benjamin Dachis Re: Why Not a Minister of Competition? Date: August 16, 2023 The government’s 23-move cabinet shuffle last month missed out on one sensible extra move. As a major review of Canada’s competition policy continues, it’s a good time to highlight competition’s crucial importance in the economy […] Early warning signs for Canada from U.S. debt downgrade – Financial Post
Fitch’s recent downgrade of U.S. public debt, dropping it one notch below “AAA,” is good reason to examine the relationship between U.S. debt and the dollar’s future as a reserve currency. The greenback is just the latest in a series of preferred currencies that have been used for foreign exchange reserves and to denominate other assets. But reserve currencies, unlike diamonds, aren’t necessarily forever, and that affects their issuers’ capacity to manage their public debt.
The British pound was the world’s reserve currency in the 19th and early 20th centuries, with a typical exchange rate a century ago of around US$5, vs. US$1.25 per pound today. The pound faded after 1945 because of Britain’s massive war debts, the…