Tim Brennan – Private Action in Competition Law: Cautionary Notes from South of the Border
From: Tim Brennan To: Competition Policy Watchers Date: March 9, 2022 Re: Private Action in Competition Law: Cautionary Notes from South of the Border In its extensive response last month to a Senate invitation to comment on potential changes to the competition law framework in Canada, the Competition Bureau called for expanding private access to […] S4 E4: Getting Serious Shadow Budget 2022 with Bill Robson
C.D. Howe Institute · S4 E4: Getting Serious Shadow Budget 2022 with Bill Robson It’s time to get serious about paying for COVID-19 and preparing for the next crisis. The C.D. Howe Institute’s Bill Robson tells Michael Hainsworth it’s time to talk about spending cuts and tax increases. Drummond, Sinclair – Does Ottawa’s New Home for ‘Quality of Life’ Mean a New Direction?
From: Don Drummond and Duncan Sinclair To: Canadians Concerned About Well-Being Date: March 8, 2022 Re: Does Ottawa’s New Home for ‘Quality of Life’ Mean a New Direction? Last June the federal government embarked on consultations about incorporating “quality of life measurements into government decision-making and budgeting, drawing on lessons from other jurisdictions such as New Zealand and […] Drummond, Sinclair – Revealing the Health and Well-Being of Canadians
From: Don Drummond and Duncan Sinclair To: Concerned Canadians Date: March 7, 2022 Re: Revealing the Health and Well-Being of Canadians Personal health, well-being, and healthcare have long been top of mind for most Canadians. But if asked “how’s your health, Canada?” none of us could answer confidently. Ottawa’s answer is a document that all-too-typically focuses on data […] Oceans of liquidity mean rates will have to keep rising – Financial Post Op-Ed
The Bank of Canada’s decision on Wednesday to start raising its target for the overnight rate of interest reflects its recognition that inflation has turned out to be higher and more persistent than it had been expecting, and that slack in the economy has now been absorbed, also faster than expected: as recently as December the bank had predicted slack would persist until the middle of this year.
Wednesday’s announcement stressed supply-side factors as the main reasons for high inflation: poor harvests and higher transportation costs, and higher energy and food-related commodity prices resulting from the invasion of Ukraine.
But there is another, often-neglected, demand-side factor that will…
The Challenges Facing Target-Benefit Plans: Changes Are Needed to Provincial Pension Standards
Target-Benefit Pension Rules Totally Disconnected from Plans, Regulatory Hurdles Stifle Success Target-Benefit Plans (TBPs) are being hampered by a disconnect between how they are regulated and how they are managed, states a new study from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “The Challenges Facing Target-Benefit Plans: Changes Are Needed to Provincial Pension Standards,” author Barry […] Ian Irvine – Vaping Tax Reprise
From: Ian Irvine To: Canadians Concerned About Vaping Date: March 3, 2022 Re: Vaping Tax Reprise The federal government introduced a vaping excise tax proposal for public discussion in its 2021 budget, and said the tax would be implemented this year. That proposal recognized that e-cigarettes are less hazardous than combustible cigarettes and suggested a much lower excise tax […] Target-Benefit Pension Rules Totally Disconnected from Plans, Regulatory Hurdles Stifle Success
Target-Benefit Plans (TBPs) are being hampered by a disconnect between how they are regulated and how they are managed, states a new study from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “The Challenges Facing Target-Benefit Plans: Changes Are Needed to…Drummond, Sinclair – Straight Talk About Healthcare Costs
From: Don Drummond and Duncan Sinclair To: Concerned Canadians Date: March 2, 2022 Re: Straight Talk About Healthcare Costs Total healthcare spending in Canada was $308 billion in 2021, according to Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) estimates. That’s up 15.3 percent ($40.8 billion) since 2019, swollen by $22.8 billion targeted at COVID-19. This is not the real long-term […] Glen Hodgson – Flooding is Coming. What To Do?
From: Glen Hodgson To: Concerned Canadians Date: March 1, 2022 Re: Flooding is Coming. What To Do? The recent unprecedented flooding in BC has confirmed how unprepared we are for climate change and severe weather events. What can be done to help protect the value of physical assets from climate-driven flood risks – specifically housing and commercial buildings? More […] William B.P. Robson – Inflation May Be a Surprise – Higher Interest Rates Should Not Be
From: William B.P. Robson To: Borrowers and Investors Date: February 28, 2022 Re: Inflation May Be a Surprise – Higher Interest Rates Should Not Be Statistics Canada’s latest inflation report showed the consumer price index up 5.1 percent year-over-year in January – more than forecasters and markets expected and more than the Bank of Canada’s latest projections implied. That’s […] Le délicat virage de la Banque du Canada – La Presse Opinion
À 5,1 %, l’inflation est au plus haut depuis 30 ans, bien au-delà de la cible de 2 %. Malheureusement, il n’y a rien que le Banque puisse faire pour juguler l’inflation actuelle. Les changements de taux prennent de 18 mois à deux ans pour produire leurs pleins effets.
L’annonce des premières augmentations de 25 points de base (100 points égalent 1 %) aura avant tout un but psychologique : montrer que la Banque est déterminée à mater l’inflation. Le gouverneur Tiff Macklem veut éviter qu’elle ne s’incruste dans les esprits et ne modifie durablement les comportements.
Des sondages auprès des consommateurs et des entreprises, ainsi que le marché à terme des taux d’intérêt, reflètent encore l…