Building Bridges for 5G: How to Overcome the Infrastructure Barriers to Deployment of Canada’s Next-Generation Broadband Networks
Next-generation broadband networks are poised to be key enablers of Canada’s future economic and social prosperity. 5G alone is expected to be transformative, generating billions in additional gross domestic product, thousands of jobs, and myriad social benefits.Expedient deployment of these networks and realization of the economic and social benefits they will produce depend on timely […] 5G Rollout Requires Expanded Access to Infrastructure, Regulatory Framework Update
The future economic and social benefits of Canada’s next-generation broadband networks rely on timely and reasonable access to the “passive infrastructure,” from rooftops to bus stops and rights of way, that supports wireline and wireless…Glen Hodgson – Time to Review ATB Financial: Is It Still Needed as a Crown Corporation?
From: Glen Hodgson To: Travis Toews, Alberta Minister of Finance and President of the Treasury Board Re: Time to Review ATB Financial: Is It Still Needed as a Crown Corporation? Date: January 13, 2022 Alberta is the only province to have a retail bank owned by taxpayers. Is this still the right purpose for ATB […] It’s painful. But the sooner we reduce inflation, the better – Globe and Mail Op-Ed
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 will be fierce. Getting inflation back to the 2-per-cent target set by the Bank of Canada will mean tighter monetary policy, including higher interest rates. That will hurt – but inflation hurts more. The sooner we settle on what to do about it, the easier reducing it will be.
Disagreement about what causes inflation matters. After all, if inflation were not related to monetary policy, asking the central bank to fix it would make no sense. Higher prices at stores or in Statistics Canada reports often seem…
William B.P. Robson – Interest Rate Hikes Are Coming
From: William B.P. Robson To: Borrowers and Investors Date: January 12, 2022 Re: Interest Rate Hikes Are Coming Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem, like U.S. Fed chairman Jerome Powell, is clearly starting to view continuing high inflation with concern. A change is coming in monetary policy. With demand outrunning supply, our central banks’ policy […]Angelo Melino – A New Year’s Resolution for the Bank – Slim Down!
From: Angelo Melino To: Governing Council of the Bank of Canada Date: January 10, 2022 Re: A New Year’s Resolution for the Bank – Slim Down! Slimming down is usually a New Year’s resolution for individuals. This year, it would also make sense for the Bank of Canada. In addition to lowering its policy rate […] S4 E1: The Effect of Online Learning on Student Performance with Emily Oster
Elementary school students educated primarily online during the pandemic are falling behind by as much as an entire letter grade, according to a study delivered by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Brown University Professor of Economics Emily Oster says it’s enough of an impact that policy makers need to consider student performance when making decisions on […] Drummond, Sinclair – Fixing Medicare II
From: Don Drummond and Duncan Sinclair To: Canada’s Ministers of Health Date: January 7, 2022 Re: Fixing Medicare II There is a common Canadian misconception that Medicare’s services are free. They are not. Government are simply aggregators of taxes and there is only one taxpayer. Unaware of the cost, nobody, consumer or provider, has any incentive to use or […] Is 2022 the year crypto becomes money? – Financial Post Op-Ed
The world got its first digital currency, DigiCash, in 1989. Nine years later it filed for bankruptcy. Since then the world has been waiting for digital currency to take over from cash – as it seems bound at some stage to do. Is 2022 the year it finally happens?
Bitcoin (est’d. 2009) is the best-known crypto currency. Bitcoin does not have any value in its own right yet it has a market value near US$ 1 trillion, almost 40 per cent of the total crypto currency market valuation. Bitcoin aspires to be used widely as a currency and has been accepted as legal tender in some developing countries, most notably El Salvador. But its price in U.S. dollars — its exchange rate, if you like — is very volatile, making it too unstable for…
Drummond, Sinclair – Fixing Medicare
From: Don Drummond and Duncan Sinclair To: Canada’s Ministers of Health Date: January 6, 2022 Re: Fixing Medicare Medicare, our label for Canada’s cherished health system, is failing. First, the Canada Health Act is misnamed. It is not about health; it’s about publicly funded insurance against some of the cost of treating ill health. Ensuring good health plays a very […] Halloran, Jack, Okun, Oster – The Effect of Online Learning on Student Performance: Evidence from US States
To: Canadian Ministers of Education From: Clare Halloran, Rebecca Jack, James C. Okun, and Emily Oster Re: The Effect of Online Learning on Student Performance: Evidence from US States Date: January 5, 2022 Students who spent a higher fraction of the COVID-19 pandemic receiving in-person instruction performed significantly better on standardized tests in the spring of 2021 than those […] Digital health tools must remain a core part of Canada’s post-pandemic health care delivery system – Hill Times Op-Ed
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 banking and bills online to keep things up to date. I could even do her taxes and basic government functions online. I should have been able to help manage her health care information too. But I couldn’t.
This story of failure became clear to me as our team interviewed over a hundred people for my June 2021 report for Health Canada, The State of Virtual Care in Canada as of Wave Three of the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Early Diagnostique and Policy Recommendations. Two key deficits in our health-care system became evident when social distancing necessitated…