Lotin, Mahboubi – Immigration Surges Past One Million — Canada Needs a Real Count and Real Plans
From: Henry Lotin and Parisa Mahboubi To: Canada’s Immigration Watchers Date: April 17, 2023 Re: Immigration Surges Past One Million — Canada Needs a Real Count and Real Plans Canada revved up its immigration machine last year to make up for the pandemic slowdown and recorded a new high of 437,500 new permanent resident arrivals. And the federal government […] To fix Canada’s health care crisis, we need free-market competition, private options – Globe and Mail Op-Ed
Twenty-five years ago, I secured the rights to a state-of-the-art telehealth system and brought it to Canada. Patients called a number to receive instant advice about their medical issue and be directed effectively to a proper level of care. I thought it would greatly benefit Canadians and save insurers millions.
In a single-payor system, like in Canada’s provinces and territories, my solution would have reduced the burden on emergency rooms and helped minimize staffing demands for hospitals.
But the Ontario government didn’t buy it. It ended up buying a low-cost nursing telephone line designed to generate revenue for hospitals, encouraging callers to visit a hospital emergency room.
Why? Because the upfront cost…
Marcel Boyer – Integrating Labour Markets into Competition Policy
To: The Hon. Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry From: Marcel Boyer Date: April 14, 2023 Re: Integrating labour markets into competition policy The federal government’s consultation paper on the Competition Act asked “whether amendments to the Act could give labour a more central role in competition analyses.” It is natural for […] Live Long and Prosper? Mandatory RRIF Drawdowns Raise the Risk of Outliving Tax-Deferred Saving
Tax rules requiring RRIF withdrawals need revamping. Longer lives and lower returns increase the likelihood that mandatory minimum withdrawals will leave seniors with negligible income from their tax-deferred saving in their later years. Government impatience for revenue should not force holders of RRIFs and similar tax-deferred vehicles to deplete their nest eggs prematurely. We need […] RRIF Rules Are Stuck in the Past, Need Revamping
Rules for Registered Retirement Income Funds (RRIFs) and similar retirement vehicles are stuck in the past and need revamping or removal, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Live Long and Prosper? Mandatory RRIF Drawdowns Raise the Risk of Outliving Tax-…Paul A. Johnson – Canada Should Not Restrict Competition with Bright Line Rules
To: Competition Policy Watchers From: Paul A. Johnson Date: April 13, 2023 Re: Canada Should Not Restrict Competition with Bright Line Rules The federal government is currently re-examining Canada’s Competition Act. Such re-examination is natural and useful – especially given the paucity of Canadian competition jurisprudence, which can give a single decided case outsized significance […] Don Drummond – Bogus Spending Restraint is not Spending Restraint
From: Don Drummond To: Canadian Budget Observers Date: April 12, 2023 Re: Bogus Spending Restraint is not Spending Restraint The 2023 federal budget rests its case for fiscal discipline, even restraint, on promised savings in operating expenses that amount to billions of dollars. Key budget passages include: “Budget 2023 proposes to reduce spending on consulting, other professional services, and travel by […] Bank of Canada was right to hold interest rates steady, even if that was difficult – Globe and Mail Op-Ed
At its last interest rate setting on March 8, the Bank of Canada paused its months-long hiking campaign and left unchanged its target for the overnight interest rate at 4.5 per cent. Being on the fence can be uncomfortable in the current inflationary environment – but for the latest rate setting on Wednesday, the bank was right to remain there.
Perching on the fence is uncomfortable for many reasons. First is the long lag time between setting interest rates and seeing the result. It can take 18 months or more for changes in interest rates to affect economic activity and then inflation. The bank’s rate hikes over the past year are moving inflation in the right direction. The year-over-year rate of…
The Unspent Funds in Canada’s Major Municipalities
Canadian municipalities collect some revenues in advance of the outlays they will fund. This money, typically shown as flowing into reserves in municipal budgets, appears in financial statements as “deferred revenue.” Deferred revenue is a liability. It means the funds are dedicated to a certain purpose and/or a certain time. An important source of this […] Kronick, Zelmer – It’s Time to Bring Stablecoins into the Regulatory Tent
From: Jeremy M. Kronick and Mark Zelmer To: Canadian Crypto Watchers Date: April 11, 2023 Re: It’s Time to Bring Stablecoins into the Regulatory Tent The knock-on effects from the failure of Silicon Valley Bank also spread to stablecoins. The day after SVB’s failure last month, USDC, the world’s second-largest stablecoin, announced it had $3 billion on deposit with SVB and […] Leonard Waverman – Let’s Rescue Bill C-11 From Itself
From: Leonard Waverman To: Canadian Internet Watchers Date: April 10, 2023 Re: Let’s Rescue Bill C-11 From Itself On March 8, following one of the longest evolutions of a bill in Canadian history, the House of Commons approved Bill C-11, the Online Streaming Act. The bill imposes obligations on online streaming services and social media platforms such as […] Laurin, Robson, Lester – 2023 Federal Budget Buries Prudence under Billions of New Spending and Borrowing
To: Canada’s budget observers From: Alexandre Laurin, William B.P. Robson and John Lester Date: April 6, 2023 Re: 2023 Federal Budget Buries Prudence under Billions of New Spending and Borrowing A major theme in the run-up to the 2023 federal budget was the government’s commitment to prudence. Prudence was also a major theme in the run-up to the 2022 […]