C.D. Howe Institute Monetary Policy Council Calls for Bank of Canada to Hold Overnight Rate at 4.50 Percent through October, Cut to 4.00 Percent by April of 2024
April 6, 2023 – The C.D. Howe Institute’s Monetary Policy Council (MPC) recommends that the Bank of Canada hold its target for the overnight rate, its benchmark policy interest rate, at 4.50 percent on April 12th, and keep it at that level for the next six months. By April of 2024, the Council recommends a cut to 4.00 percent.
The MPC provides an independent assessment of the monetary stance consistent with the Bank of Canada’s 2 percent inflation target. William Robson, the Institute’s CEO, chairs the Council.
Council members make recommendations for the Bank of Canada’s upcoming interest-rate announcement, the subsequent announcement, and the announcements six months and one year ahead. The Council’s…
Pooling Piggybanks: The Case for Combining Ontario’s Municipal Reserves
Public-sector investment funds (especially pension funds) have been increasingly pooled and managed by investment management firms in Ontario. Pooled asset management generates a net benefit to public-sector spending patterns by realizing benefits from economies of scale, including reducing costs associated with the duplication of fund management while also enhancing risk management. However, a focus on […] Don Drummond: The budget’s bogus spending restraint – Financial Post Op-Ed
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 passages from this part of the budget include:
“Budget 2023 proposes to reduce spending on consulting, other professional services, and travel by roughly 15 per cent of planned 2023-24 discretionary spending in these areas.” “Budget 2023 proposes to phase in a roughly three per cent reduction of eligible spending by departments and agencies by 2026-27.” “Budget 2023 announces the introduction of cross-government program effectiveness reviews, to be led by the President of the Treasury Board. The first review will examine skills training and youth programming, to…Ontario Cities Should Pool Funds to Create $39.7 billion Piggybank
For Release on Wednesday, April 5, 2023 Ontario Cities Should Pool Funds to Create $39.7 Billion Piggybank Ontario municipalities should pool their reserves and cash holdings as a way to better manage taxpayers’ dollars and realize economies of…Glen Hodgson – Budget 2023 Makes a Big Bet on the Zero-Emission Economy
From: Glen Hodgson To: Canadian budget observers Date: April 4, 2023 Re: Budget 2023 Makes a Big Bet on the Zero-Emission Economy Last week’s federal budget 2023 contains a number of initiatives aimed at ensuring competitive balance with the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) while promoting the low-carbon energy and industrial transition. Faced with the competitive threat from sweeping […] Maureen Jensen and Peter Levitt Named Co-Chairs of the C.D. Howe Institute’s Financial Services Research Initiative
The C.D. Howe Institute is pleased to welcome Maureen Jensen and Peter Levitt as the new Co-Chairs for its Financial Services Research Initiative (FSRI). Effective April 20, 2023, Ms. Jensen and Mr. Levitt take over the position from Nicholas Le Pan, who expertly served…Budget 2023 neither prudent nor fair to future generations – Financial Post Op-Ed
A major theme in the run-up to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s budget was the government’s commitment to prudence. Prudence was also a major theme in the run-up to last year’s budget. In both years, however, the run-up proved misleading. Last year’s budget hiked projections for spending and borrowing. This year’s also involves much higher future spending and borrowing than the run-up led us to expect, ruling out the 2027-28 return to surplus promised last year.
Because the fiscal plan buries the key numbers under hundreds of pages of political messaging and re-hashed material, it takes some digging to discover just how much the budget repeats the imprudence of its predecessors. What the digging reveals is that lower-than-…
Benjamin Dachis – The Canada Infrastructure Bank Legislative Review
From: Benjamin Dachis To: The Hon. Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities Date: March 31, 2023 Re: The Canada Infrastructure Bank Legislative Review In 2018, the federal government launched the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB). After some initial set up steps, and criticism on rollout, the CIB is now providing significant investment financing […]Reforms to the Competition Act Must Be Evidence-Based and Homegrown, But They Are Only a Start to Promoting Competitiveness
A version of the Competition Policy Council’s recommendations was submitted to the Government of Canada’s consultation on the future of competition policy in Canada. On November 17, 2022, the federal government launched a long-awaited public consultation on the future of competition policy in Canada. As part of the consultation, the government released a discussion […] Glen Hodgson on BNN: Federal budget should have direct, but selective response to U.S. IRA
Glen Hodgson, fellow-in-residence at the think tank C. D. Howe, joins BNN Bloomberg to preview some clean tech initiatives expected from Tuesday’s federal budget. He says Canada does not need to match the U.S.’s $400-billion tax credits and subsidies, but needs to unlock more financing for green technologies without large budgetary costs by using Crown corporations. He also wants Ottawa to partner provinces in new investments in renewable power generation from sources like solar, wind and geothermal energy.
Competition Act Reforms Must Be Evidence-Based and Homegrown – Only the Start of the Conversation: C.D. Howe Institute Competition Policy Council
March 30, 2023 – Reforms to Canada’s Competition Act must be evidence-based and homegrown, and are only the start of the conversation on promoting Canada’s competitiveness, according to a new Communiqué from the C.D. Howe Institute Competition Policy Council.
Released in response to the federal government’s discussion paper on reforms to the Competition Act, the Council’s 24th Communiqué emphasizes the need for caution before departing from established Canadian law and process – urging the government to rely on evidence demonstrating the need for change, instead of mimicking developments in competition law and policy in foreign jurisdictions that are still untested.
Referencing how the EU Digital…
Benjamin Dachis – Canada’s Competition Policy Review
From: Benjamin Dachis To: The Hon. Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Date: March 30, 2023 Re: Canada’s Competition Policy Review Minister, you have travelled the world seeking investment into Canada. Now it is time to think about how our competition policy framework influences the decision of companies to invest in Canada. Would they have certainty on […]