A lighter touch is needed for the government’s online harms bill – Globe and Mail Op-Ed
The Liberal government reintroduced its controversial internet regulation bill on Wednesday, and it is likely to bring forward its “online harms” legislation, which also caused concerns, in the weeks to come. A Heritage Canada report released Thursday documented the concerns about the government’s initial approach on this issue.
Last year, then-Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault found himself facing steep opposition to his plans to roll out online harms legislation that was meant to address hate speech as well as sexually exploitative content and material that promoted terrorism. As former leaders at the CRTC who have closely watched this debate, we think there’s a better way for the new heritage minister,…
Sylvain Charlebois – Canada’s Dairy Machinery Strikes Again
To: Canadians Worried About Inflation From: Sylvain Charlebois Date: February 3, 2022 Re: Canada’s Dairy Machinery Strikes Again The Canadian Dairy Commission’s record-breaking price increases for milk and butter took effect this week, granting dairy farmers 8.4 percent more for their milk, and more than 12 percent for butter. It is the highest increase since the commission […] Robson, Wu – Canada’s Investment Imperative: Stronger Business Investment. Can We Get It?
From: William B.P. Robson and Miles Wu To: Canadians Concerned about Prosperity Date: February 2, 2022 Re: Canada’s Investment Imperative: Stronger Business Investment. Can We Get It? The Bank of Canada’s latest Monetary Policy Report, issued with its interest rate decision last week, highlighted the importance of business investment to Canada’s economy in two ways. One was front and […] Solving the Municipal Budget Mystery: Fiscal Accountability in Canada’s Cities, 2021
The budgets governments present around the beginning of their fiscal years and the financial statements they publish in their annual reports after their fiscal years have ended are critical tools for legislators and voters to hold them accountable. The transparency of these documents to non-experts has always mattered: they should let readers understand governments’ plans, […] Big City Budgets Ranked for Transparency
Many of Canada’s major cities publish budgets that are opaque and confusing, according to C.D. Howe Institute’s new annual report card on municipal fiscal accountability. In “Solving the Municipal Budget Mystery: Fiscal Accountability in…Ambler, Kronick – The Bank That Didn’t Bark
To: Canadians Worried About Inflation From: Steve Ambler and Jeremy M. Kronick Date: February 1, 2022 Re: The Bank That Didn’t Bark The Bank of Canada kept its overnight rate target steady at 25 basis points last week, which was a surprise to markets that had already priced in a rate increase. Despite that ample cover for a first […] William B.P. Robson on CTV News Saskatoon – Research firm gives City of Saskatoon an ‘F’ on budget transparency
CEO William B.P. Robson joined CTV News Saskatoon to discuss the C.D. Howe Institute’s new annual report card on municipal fiscal accountability.
Thomas, Flood, Krishnamurthy, Tanner, Wilson – Privacy Rights and Private Sector Vaccination Requirements
From: Bryan Thomas, Colleen M. Flood, Vivek Krishnamurthy, Ryan Tanner and Kumanan Wilson To: Canadians Concerned about Vaccine Passports Date: January 28, 2022 Re: Privacy Rights and Private Sector Vaccination Requirements In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, federal and provincial governments have imposed vaccination mandates in some workplaces, and proof of vaccination requirements in some non-essential settings, such […] Eachempati, Devlin, Wyonch – Information Technology is Central to Managing a Pandemic that is Becoming Endemic
To: Canadian Healthcare Watchers From: Soumi Eachempati, Ed Devlin and Rosalie Wyonch Date: January 27, 2022 Re: Information Technology is Central to Managing a Pandemic that is Becoming Endemic Canada, along with the rest of the world, is at a crucial crossroads. Even as the latest lockdowns start to ease and Omicron appears to be cresting, it’s clear that […] Where’s the hike? Why didn’t the Bank of Canada act? – Financial Post Op-Ed
In a surprise move, the Bank of Canada kept its overnight rate target steady at 25 basis points Wednesday. Markets had already priced in a rate increase by the time the announcement was made, so there was ample cover to make this the first post-pandemic increase. That didn’t happen. With inflation rising at home and abroad, we believe this was a missed opportunity.
Steady increases in inflation and inflation expectations had led markets to believe the bank was set to increase its target for the overnight rate for the first time since the pandemic began. Headline inflation was up to 4.8 per cent in December, all of the bank’s core inflation measures had increased — with two of the three at or above three per cent — and its…
William B.P. Robson – Canada Needs to Take its Anti-Inflation Medicine Early
From: William B.P. Robson To: Canada’s Inflation Watchers Date: January 25, 2022 Re: Canada Needs to Take its Anti-Inflation Medicine Early We have not seen inflation this high in Canada for decades. With it has come a resurgence of arguments not heard for many years, both about the causes of inflation and whether we should reduce it. These arguments […]S4 E2: Fixing Medicare with Don Drummond and Duncan Sinclair
Canada’s healthcare system is failing. With the elderly population three times greater than when Tommy Douglas proposed Medicare, Queen’s University’s Don Drummond and Duncan Sinclair discuss why the Canada Health Act is failing against its five famous principles, and what to do about it.