Lawrence Herman – Alberta Breaks New Ground in its Keystone Appeal
From: Lawrence Herman To: Canadians Concerned About Trade Date: February 25, 2022 Re: Alberta Breaks New Ground in its Keystone Appeal Earlier this month, the Alberta government launched a NAFTA investment arbitration suit against the US, seeking $1.3 billion as compensation for President Joe Biden’s cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline. TC Energy, the company behind KXL, has filed its […] Benjamin Dachis – Crunch-Time for Housing in Ontario
From: Benjamin Dachis To: Canadian Home Buyers Date: February 24, 2022 Re: Crunch-Time for Housing in Ontario Bold reforms to boost Ontario’s housing supply were outlined this month in a task force report and it’s now up to the province to decide which recommendations to adopt. It would be wise to adopt as many as it can. The debate on […] Higher inflation was a surprise. Higher interest rates should not be – Financial Post Op-Ed
Statistics Canada’s inflation report last week showed the consumer price index up 5.1 per cent year-over-year in January – more than forecasters and markets expected and more than the Bank of Canada’s latest projections implied. That’s not new: the CPI has risen more than expected most of the past year.
Expectations about how the Bank of Canada will raise its target for the overnight rate in response have also moved up – somewhat. Few forecasters and investors seem to expect an overnight rate above two per cent, at least not until well into 2023. But Canadians would be wise to prepare for an overnight rate of three per cent or more well before that.
The prospect of interest rates being higher than expected follows directly…
Jon Johnson – Build Back Better Bill Facing Strong Opposition from Senate Republicans
From: Jon Johnson To: Canadian Trade Watchers Date: February 23, 2022 Re: Build Back Better Bill Facing Strong Opposition from Senate Republicans Earlier this year, I reported on European Union, Canadian and Mexican opposition to the Biden Administration’s Build Back Better Bill because of its discriminatory subsidies to purchasers of electric vehicles. Opposition has now been joined […] Robson, Wu – Grading Fiscal Accountability of Canada’s Cities
From: William B.P. Robson and Miles Wu To: Canada’s Municipal Councils Date: February 22, 2022 Re: Grading Fiscal Accountability of Canada’s Cities The budgets governments present around the start, and the financial statements they publish after the end, of their fiscal years are critical tools for legislators and voters. To be useful, these documents should let readers, who will […] Biden’s White House will fight hard against Alberta’s $1.3 billion Keystone XL pipeline lawsuit – Globe and Mail Op-Ed
Earlier this month, the Alberta government launched a NAFTA investment arbitration suit against the United States, seeking $1.3-billion as compensation for President Joe Biden’s cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline. TC Energy, the company behind KXL, has filed its own NAFTA case, but Alberta is now seeking compensation for the province’s investment in the pipeline.
The case is groundbreaking because for the first time it involves one government – albeit a provincial one – suing another government under the North American free-trade agreement investment provisions. This has implications for other investment disputes around the world.
When the Canada-U.S.-Mexico agreement replaced NAFTA on July 1, 2020, it…
Zelmer, Kronick – Let’s Not Roll Out QT on the QT
To: Bank of Canada Governing Council From: Mark Zelmer and Jeremy M. Kronick Date: February 18, 2022 Re: Let’s Not Roll Out QT on the QT As the Bank of Canada prepares to begin raising interest rates to get inflation back to target, there is also the issue of how quickly it should reduce the […]