Canada’s Oil Sands Are Poised to Be the Last Barrel Standing
A previous Graphic Intelligence showed that oil sands production will continue if the expected price doesn’t dip persistently below C$40. Even then, some producers will continue to produce at any expected price above the C$15-C$20 range. How does that compare to other competing production? We can gain significant insight into the average costs of conventional […] Fiscal and Monetary Policy Need to Work Together – Financial Post Op-Ed
Since starting its fight against inflation last March the Bank of Canada has been focused on little else. That is in stark contrast with many of the country’s finance ministers, who have raised spending and increased government hiring. Coordination between our monetary and fiscal authorities would make the Bank’s job a lot easier. Failing that, however, the Bank should continue do what is necessary to get inflation back to target.
The onset of the pandemic saw unprecedented coordination between fiscal and monetary authorities around the globe, including in this country. The Bank of Canada lowered its policy rate to its effective lower bound (0.25 per cent) and then turned to less conventional monetary…
Brian Livingston – Missing the Emission Reduction Mark: Let Us Count the Ways
The federal government’s ambitious Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) sets out targets for seven economic sectors as it aims to cut 2030 emissions by 42 percent from 2019 levels. But the ERP is merely a plan to have a plan. It contains no specific steps to meet its targets, or any mechanism for measuring the progress towards such […] We have to stop pretending that health care is entirely public – Globe and Mail Op-Ed
The recent controversy sparked by Ontario’s announcement that it will expand the use of private surgery and diagnostic-imaging clinics has missed the point. Health care in Ontario is already much more “private” than most people know, and the province has never had a universal system that is publicly funded and publicly delivered in a truly comprehensive manner. Myths about how our health care system does (or does not) work are unhelpful when attempting to address the very real challenges that result in long delays for surgeries and doctor’s appointments.
A major point of contention is the spending of public money on procedures completed at “for-profit” clinics, which is usually a criticism levied at the province for…
Tombe, Chen – BoC Losses are Just Getting Started. What to Do?
To: Bank of Canada Governing Council From: Trevor Tombe and Yu (Sonja) Chen Date: January 24, 2023 Re: BoC Losses are Just Getting Started. What to Do? While the full effects of the Bank of Canada’s rate hikes are not yet known, there is an immediate effect on the central bank’s own finances: growing interest expenses and large […] Faut-il confier son REER à la Caisse ? – La Presse Op-Ed
J’ai beaucoup d’admiration pour la Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), où je suis passé, comme beaucoup. Pourtant, même si elle est le gestionnaire idéal de notre rente, ce serait une fausse bonne idée de lui confier nos régimes enregistrés d’épargne-retraite (REER).
Michel Girard, chroniqueur au Journal de Montréal, propose de permettre aux Québécois « d’investir directement une portion de leurs épargnes dans un fonds commun de placement basé sur le gigantesque portefeuille diversifié de la Caisse. »1 La distribution serait confiée à Épargne Placements Québec.
Malheureusement, il serait difficile de « cloner » le rendement de la CDPQ, car plus du tiers de ses actifs est…
Jon Johnson – How the US Lost the Fight Over Automotive Rules of Origin
From: Jon Johnson To: Auto Industry Watchers Date: January 23, 2023 Re: How the US Lost the Fight Over Automotive Rules of Origin The panel in the recently released decision in United States – Automotive Rules of Origin tackled content requirements for cars and light trucks, which have the most complex origin rules in the […] John Murray on BNN – We are Still in Negative Real Interest Rate Territory
John Murray, Senior Fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute and a former Deputy Governor at the Bank of Canada, tells BNN Bloomberg the Bank of Canada’s guidance following its 25 basis points rate hike was too explicit about prospects for a pause, and that the markets might run with it further than they should. He believes there is still a fair amount of stimulus in the economy and that more interest rate hikes could be needed as year-over-year core inflation is essentially unchanged since last year. He says much of the inflation drop may be due to lower energy prices and supply chain easing, and could prove short-lived.
Roger Pizarro Milian – Surging Demand for Hybrid Learning in Canadian PSE
From: Roger Pizarro Milian To: Canadian Education Watchers Date: January 20, 2023 Re: Surging Demand for Hybrid Learning in Canadian PSE COVID-19 forced Canadian post-secondary education (PSE) to make a near-overnight shift to online education. In doing so, it overrode deep-rooted concerns among faculty members, PSE administrators and policymakers alike about the method’s efficacy in promoting learning, its appeal […] C.D. Howe Institute Monetary Policy Council Calls for Bank of Canada to Hold Overnight Rate at 4.25 Percent
January 19 – 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 4.25 percent on January 25th. The Council further recommended that the Bank raise the overnight rate target to 4.50 percent at the following announcement in March and hold it there through July before lowering it back to 4.25 percent by January of 2024.
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…
Oil Sands Production Versus Global Oil Prices
Canadian and global climate change ambitions are generally associated with a goal of reducing reliance on fossil fuels. Within this context, the Canadian oil sands have been characterized as “too expensive” to maintain production if global crude oil demand falls, a view that appears regularly in the media and even in government reports. Canadian oil […] Myers, Papineau – Current Energy Modelling for Buildings is a Roadblock to Net Zero
From: Erica Myers and Maya Papineau To: Green Transition Watchers Date: January 18, 2023 Re: Current Energy Modelling for Buildings is a Roadblock to Net Zero Decarbonization of industry and transportation are often top of mind when considering Canada’s ambitious 2050 net zero emission goals. This often obscures a crucial sector that will determine whether our country can meet […]