Jon Johnson – Biden Administration’s Flawed Bill H.R. 5376 – Opposition is Building
From: Jon Johnson To: Canadian Trade Watchers Date: January 4, 2022 Re: Biden Administration’s Flawed Bill H.R. 5376 – Opposition is Building US trading partners are now voicing strong opposition to the Biden administration’s H.R. 5376. In a letter dated December 3 addressed to Majority Leader Charles Schumer, Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President of the European […] The pandemic isn’t through with us just because we’re through with it – Financial Post Op-Ed
In 2021, nothing was different, but everything changed. The COVID-19 pandemic dragged on. The Omicron variant caused a surge in cases, accompanied by now-familiar restrictions and guidance to limit travel, protect seniors and work from home. The same could have been said this week last year, substituting Delta for Omicron. This time, though, there is not the same hope that vaccination will end the pandemic and begin a new normal, whatever new normal might be.
Lots happened in the past year. Vaccines were approved in late 2020, and mass vaccination gave Canada one of the highest vaccination rates in the world. Proof-of-vaccination certificates were developed and deployed to balance risks to public health against…
Leaving 2021: Last-minute rushes left real work undone – Financial Post Op-Ed
On the calendar, 2021 is all but over. Yet come midnight Friday, the year will still feel unfinished. Notwithstanding vaccines and better knowledge about avoiding and treating COVID, the virus’ resurgence threatens more damaging lockdowns. A federal election billed as the most important since 1945 settled nothing. 2021’s economic numbers featured frothy consumption, housing and government spending, but far too little of the capital investment needed for sustained prosperity in 2022 and beyond.
The federal government’s economic policies provide stark examples of formal closure to the year but too much important work deferred. Several items — the inflation framework, the finance minister’s fall update, the release of the public…
Robson, Wu – Senior Governments’ Fiscal Projections vs. Results: A Tale of Two Ledgers
From: William B.P. Robson and Miles Wu To: Canada’s Ministers of Finance Date: December 21, 2021 Re: Senior Governments’ Fiscal Projections vs. Results: A Tale of Two Ledgers In theory, management of public funds by Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial governments reflects the preferences Canadians express through their elected representatives. In reality, the chain of […]Harvey Naglie – Hit Pause on Ontario’s Proposed Capital Markets Act
From: Harvey Naglie To: Central Bank Observers Date: December 20, 2021 Re: Hit Pause on Ontario’s Proposed Capital Markets Act In October, the Ontario Government issued a consultation draft for a revised Capital Markets Act, intended to become Ontario’s new securities legislation. This is a rewarmed version of a decade-old proposal, a wasted once-in-a-generation opportunity for intelligent reform, and […] Ambler, Kronick – Will Ending Supply Bottlenecks Solve Inflation?
To: Canadians Worried About Inflation From: Steve Ambler and Jeremy M. Kronick Date: December 20, 2021 Re: Will Ending Supply Bottlenecks Solve Inflation? Last week’s Bank of Canada policy rate announcement once again stressed supply chain bottlenecks as the source of the high and increasingly persistent inflation facing Canadians. So then, inflation should come down […] Santa Claus Doesn’t Deliver Christmas Dinner
In our final Graphic Intelligence of 2021, we show production per capita of turkey, cranberries, and potatoes by province. By this measure, Quebec, New Brunswick, and British Columbia are the most cranberry-intensive provinces. The prairie provinces and Ontario specialize in turkeys. As for potatoes, nobody comes close to Prince Edward Island. The key point here […] Daniel Schwanen – Canada’s Commercialization Deficit
To: Ontario ministers in charge of innovation policy From: Daniel Schwanen Date: December 17, 2021 Re: Canada’s Commercialization Deficit There is an extensive, almost century-old, body of literature on Canada’s struggles with innovation and related systems. The constant thread is that there is no lack of good Canadian ideas, research, or access to intellectual property […] Shoppers’ Choice: The Evolution of Retailing in the Digital Age
The explosive growth of online shopping is reshaping Canadian retail by empowering consumers with unprecedented choice, driving omnichannel innovation, and intensifying competition. Shoppers’ Online Choices Transform Retail
The proliferation of online shopping choices for Canadian consumers is driving the evolution of the retail sector and spurring new forms of competition, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Shoppers’ Choice: The Evolution of…The Bank of Canada’s mandate: steady as she goes – Financial Post Op-Ed
On Monday the Bank of Canada and Government of Canada finally announced the renewal of their agreement concerning the country’s monetary policy framework. The announcement reconfirmed their joint commitment to the two per cent inflation target within a band of one to three per cent. With the current agreement expiring at the end of the month, the down-to-the-wire announcement had led some pundits to expect a major surprise, and even in the follow-up coverage there are hints some believe this is what happened. We do not see it that way – which is good. The Bank’s mandate remains essentially unchanged from the last renewal, and from renewals all the way back to 1995 when the two per cent inflation target was first implemented. Extending…
Canada Underinvests in Community Care
Canada’s per capita spending on homecare and other outpatient and day program services falls below the international average. In general, countries that direct higher proportions of health spending to seniors care than Canada also spend more per capita on home care, outpatient care and day programs for seniors. Overall, long term care in Canada appears […]