Robson, Drummond, Laurin – Let’s Ditch our Obsolete Retirement Tax Rules
From: William B.P. Robson, Don Drummond and Alexandre Laurin To: Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland Date: March 24, 2023 Re: Let’s Ditch Our Obsolete Retirement Tax Rules With the worst of COVID-19 behind us, the federal government needs to re-focus on long-standing stresses, including tax rules that limit many Canadians from saving as much for retirement as they would like and may need, and […] Ottawa Needs a New Approach to Fiscal Policy
The current federal fiscal framework is imprudent and unfair to future generations. A new approach to fiscal policy is needed. The government has demonstrated a bias for deficit financing. Budgets from 2016 to 2019 showed deficits throughout each five-year forecast horizon. A commitment to balancing the budget was made in 2016, but dropped in 2019 when […] Correcting Course: Ottawa Needs a New Fiscal Approach
For immediate release on Thursday, March 23, 2023 Correcting Course: Ottawa Needs a New Fiscal Approach …Glen Hodgson – EU Climate Policy and Implications for Canadian Competitiveness
From: Glen Hodgson To: Canadians Concerned About Climate Policy and Competitiveness Date: March 23, 2023 Re: EU Climate Policy and Implications for Canadian Competitiveness Joe Biden’s US Inflation Reduction Act is not the only climate and industrial policy-related competitive challenge to Canada. The European Union – Canada’s second largest trading partner with a free trade and investment agreement in […] A More Realistic Outlook for Ottawa: The Odds of a Rising Debt Ratio
What are the odds of a rising debt ratio? Next week’s federal budget will most likely showcase a long-run fiscal projection that shows debt on a strong downward trajectory. In the 2022 Fall Economic Statement, the federal government projected it would achieve positive net worth by 2055/56. We came up with a more realistic outlook […] Rosalie Wyonch – Healthcare Priorities 2023
To: Health Policymakers and Administrators From: Rosalie Wyonch Date: March 22, 2023 Re: Healthcare Priorities 2023 Throughout 2020-2022, there was scarcely a day without a healthcare crisis on front pages. The continuation of COVID-19, the surge in demand related to pandemic backlogs, other respiratory epidemics and outbreaks such as influenza all contributed to severe and often unsustainable strain on […] The budget should modernize Canada’s retirement-saving rules – Financial Post Op-Ed
With the worst of COVID-19 behind us, the federal government needs to re-focus on long-standing stresses, including tax rules that limit many Canadians from saving as much for retirement as they would like and may need, and that force them to draw their retirement saving down faster than is prudent.
MPs and federal public servants have tax-backed plans that guarantee them indexed payments for life. Most Canadians cannot look forward to retirement incomes that are anything like as generous or secure. The C.D. Howe Institute’s 2023 Shadow Budget contains measures to reduce this unfair gap — measures Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland could bring out of the shadows next week!
1. Let Canadians…
Eloise Duncan – Financial Resilience Index Highlights Provincial Differences: Quebec a Leader
From: Eloise Duncan To: Provincial Policymakers Date: March 21, 2023 Re: Financial Resilience Index Highlights Provincial Differences: Quebec a Leader A little over a year ago, I highlighted the importance of understanding household financial resilience at a granular level in order to support a sharpened policy aim. This continues to be true as the Financial […] Fallout from Silicon Valley Bank with Peter Hall
What does the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in California mean for Canada? In episode five of the C.D. Howe Institute Podcast, Elevate Export Finance’s Peter Hall tells host Michael Hainsworth that SVB can learn a lot from our financial expertise, and that Canadian banks may benefit from the need for capital in Silicon Valley.
Jeremy M. Kronick – Five Policies to Scale our SMEs
From: Jeremy M. Kronick To: Canada’s Governments Date: March 20, 2023 Re: Five Policies to Scale our SMEs These days, it often feels like we don’t agree on much. But higher income growth is one thing all Canadians should be able to support. One way to achieve this growth is to see young businesses grow into large ones. While […] Greg Peterson – Food Prices – Where is the Real Fat?
From: Greg Peterson To: Canadians concerned with food costs Date: March 16, 2023 Re: Food Prices – Where is the Real Fat? Food inflation, still rising as the all-items Consumer Price Index levels off, is attracting much attention. Situated at the end of the supply chain, the big supermarket chains have been singled out as […] Feeble Business Investment Shows Morneau is Right About Economic Stagnation – Financial Post Op-Ed
A core message in former federal finance minister Bill Morneau’s 2022 book, Where To from Here?, is that Canada needs faster economic growth, which requires higher business investment. If Canadian living standards fail to keep pace with those abroad, ever fewer talented people will choose Canada as a place to live and work. The latest numbers make heeding his warning even more urgent.
In his book, Morneau cites figures from the C.D. Howe Institute showing that business investment per available worker — spending on new capital divided by the labour force — has been lower in Canada than in other OECD countries, especially the United States. He laments that raising investment to spur faster growth is not a priority for the…