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. Automatic Tax Filing: A Challenging Idea for Canada
In Canada, most government cash benefit payments require recipients to file a tax return. Individuals who fail to participate in the tax system, often the most vulnerable in society, may forgo important government benefits (or even entitlements to government services when such services are tied to tax return information). The September 2020 Speech from […] Jon Johnson – Digital Taxes – A USTR Shot Across Canada’s Bow
From: Jon Johnson To: Global Affairs Canada Date: January 24, 2022 Re: Digital Taxes – A USTR Shot Across Canada’s Bow In its fall fiscal update, the federal government confirmed its intention to proceed with the implementation of a 3-percent tax on revenue from certain digital services that it first announced in Budget 2021, and was discussed here. […] Ed Devlin on BNN – When you’re at a lower bound of interest rates, deflation is a greater problem than inflation
Ed Devlin, Founder of Devlin Capital, Senior Fellow at C.D. Howe Institute, and former Head of Canadian Portfolio Management at PIMCO, joins BNN Bloomberg to provide his reaction to the Bank of Canada’s decision to hold interest rates steady. He says that keeping the rates will give the bank more options to deal with the uncertainties of the pandemic.
Rosalie Wyonch – What Happened to Health Workers? Data on Labour Shortages, Wages and Vacancies
From: Rosalie Wyonch To: Canadians Concerned About Healthcare Date: January 21, 2022 Re: What Happened to Health Workers? Data on Labour Shortages, Wages and Vacancies Hospitals are cancelling surgeries, closing units or wards, and reports of nursing shortages abound. The situation appears dire, but it is unsurprising. Research, surveys and data showed health labour shortages before COVID-19. Throughout the […] Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Sustainability
On September 29, 2021, the C.D. Howe Institute invited trusted experts in both the public and private sectors to participate in a Special Policy Seminar on the sustainability and resiliency of Canada’s pharmaceutical supply chains and other issues surrounding domestic manufacturing.
The general consensus among participants found that improving emergency preparedness, increasing domestic manufacturing capacity, and investment in the monitoring of drug supply inventories would all be beneficial for supply chain resiliency. Beyond this, the participants agreed there is a role for government to provide leadership, oversight, and investment in vaccine development and manufacturing, while also promoting public policy that contributes…
C.D. Howe Institute Monetary Policy Council Calls for Bank of Canada to Raise Overnight Rate, Shrink Bond Holdings
January 20, 2022 – The C.D. Howe Institute’s Monetary Policy Council (MPC) recommends that the Bank of Canada raise its target for the overnight rate, its benchmark policy interest rate, to 0.50 percent at its next announcement on January 26th. The Council recommended further increases over the coming year, with the target reaching 1.50 percent by January of 2023. It also recommends that the Bank reduce its holdings of Government of Canada bonds prior to its next overnight rate target announcement in March.
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…
Zelmer, Kronick – Is This Going to Be the Year for Crypto?
From: Mark Zelmer and Jeremy M. Kronick To: Canadian Crypto Watchers Date: January 19, 2022 Re: Is This Going to Be the Year for Crypto? The world got its first digital currency, DigiCash, in 1989. Nine years later it filed for bankruptcy. We’re still waiting for digital money to take over from cash – as seems inevitable. Is 2022 […] Wanted: 100,000 Seniors Care Workers
Canada’s number of seniors care workers, relative to the senior population receiving care, is well-below the international average. In Canada, as in many other countries, the growth in the number of nurses and personal support workers providing institutional, residential, home and community care has not kept pace with the growth of the senior population. The […] Daniel Schwanen – Tackling Canada’s Commercialization Deficit
To: Ontario Ministers in Charge of Innovation Policy From: Daniel Schwanen Date: January 18, 2022 Re: Tackling Canada’s Commercialization Deficit In a previous memo, I illustrated Canada’s unique position as a world leader generating and exporting research and development, while at the same time being a net importer of intellectual property (IP). The issue has […] Will Falk – Digital Health Tools Must Remain a Core Part of Canada’s Post-pandemic Health Care Delivery System
Re: Digital Health Tools Must Remain a Core Part of Canada’s Post-pandemic Health Care Delivery System By: Will Falk Date: January 17, 2022 To: Canadian Ministers of Health Paper health care records have been a danger to both patients and providers during the COVID-19 pandemic. I have been able to get my 85-year old mother’s […] Dahir, Laurin – The Net Cost of Pandemic Emergency/Recovery Benefits
From: Nick Dahir and Alex Laurin To: Canadian Policy Watchers Date: January 14, 2022 Re: The Net Cost of Pandemic Emergency/Recovery Benefits Statistics Canada’s updated version of its Social Policy Simulation Database and Model (SPSD/M) integrates all of the extraordinary provincial and federal COVID-related cash benefits delivered in 2020. Giving us, for the first time, […]