With pandemic benefits ending, will the unemployed return to the work force? – Globe and Mail Op-Ed
All COVID-related economic recovery measures in Canada are set to end soon. Employers who have been having trouble filling vacancies are hoping this will spur a flood of people back into the work force, but unfortunately for business owners, the situation isn’t quite that simple.
In the early days of the pandemic, the federal government introduced the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) to ensure that a broad range of Canadians affected by the pandemic stayed afloat. Government supports like this and the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (which is scheduled to run until Oct. 23, 2021) sustained many people and businesses.
But the economy is in a different place now. The number of unemployed people was 1.4 million in…
Whatever happens at the WTO, unilateral economic sanctions and embargoes are here to stay – Globe and Mail Op-Ed
While governments struggle to find consensus in the lead-up to the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) critical ministerial conference (MC12) in November, there is a highly significant global development that won’t even be touched on at the meeting: the spread of trade embargoes and economic sanctions.
Used mostly by Western governments, these tools are aimed at combatting terrorism, preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction, penalizing human rights abuses and environmental degradation, fighting drug trafficking and other actions by unsavoury foreign governments, companies and individuals.
In today’s fraught and increasingly fractured world order, with reduced efficacy of multilaterally-agreed rules, unilateral…
Stars and Dogs: How Senior Governments Rank on Fiscal Transparency
Financial reporting by Canada’s senior governments has improved over time, but setbacks and deficiencies threaten accountability to Canadians, says a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Good, Bad, and Incomplete: Grading the Fiscal Transparency of Canada’s…Trust, but Verify
Canadians entrust their governments with large amounts of money. Ideally, it should be easy for motivated non-experts to verify whether their governments are deserving of that trust via timely and transparent financial reporting and fiscal accountability. Unfortunately, too many governments present information that is opaque, misleading, and late. The C.D. Howe Institute’s annual report card […] Good, Bad, and Incomplete: Grading the Fiscal Transparency of Canada’s Senior Governments, 2021
Stars and Dogs: How Senior Governments Rank on Fiscal Transparency Financial reporting by Canada’s senior governments has improved over time, but setbacks and deficiencies threaten accountability to Canadians, says a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. Authors William B.P. Robson and Miles Wu present the C.D. Howe Institute’s latest annual report on the accessibility, […] Trebilcock, Poliwoda – The Trips Vaccine Waiver Controversy
From: Michael J. Trebilcock and Dan Poliwoda To: Canadians concerned about vaccine equity Date: September 23, 2021 Subject: The TRIPS Vaccine Waiver Controversy The vastly differing rate at which developed and developing countries have been able to procure COVID-19 vaccines has exposed major inequities in global vaccine access. In an effort to boost developing countries access to COVID-19 vaccines, […] Canada Should Negotiate A Fairer Share Of Drug R&d Costs – Financial Post Op-ed
Big changes are afoot in the way patent drugs are priced in Canada. At present, Canada’s Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB), a federal agency, is responsible for setting maximum prices for patented drugs (i.e., pharmaceuticals, biologics and vaccines). The agency has been criticized for failing to rein in prices, which are higher than in some peer countries. This criticism is unfair: the tools the PMPRB was given to regulate drug prices when it was established in 1987 have become less effective over time.
To address this problem, the federal government has authorized the PMPRB to introduce new pricing regulations, now scheduled to come into force in January. We think this is the wrong strategy. Instead of relying on…
Matt Malone – Non-competes Are Holding Canada Back – So Let’s Ban Them
From: Matt Malone To: Canadians Concerned about employment law Date: September 22, 2021 Re: Non-competes are holding Canada back – so let’s ban them Canadian political leaders often talk about unleashing innovation. California did it with just 24 words. “Every contract by which anyone is restrained from engaging in a lawful profession, trade, or business of any kind is […] William B.P. Robson – The Election’s Over And Canada’s Spending Bill Is Coming Due
From: William B.P. Robson To: Canadian voters Date: September 21, 2021 Re: The Election’s Over and Canada’s Spending Bill is Coming Due Former Prime Minister Kim Campbell got pilloried in 1993 for saying an election is no time to discuss serious issues. Yet in September 2021, her words ring true. Foreign policy? We all but ignore the rest […] How Will Canadians Feel About Today’s Campaign Promises When The Bill Comes Due? – Globe And Mail Op-ed
Former Prime Minister Kim Campbell got pilloried in 1993 for saying an election is no time to discuss serious issues. Yet in September 2021, her words ring true. Foreign policy? We all but ignore the rest of the world. Monetary policy? Not something to think about, even with inflation above 4 per cent. Fiscal policy? Almost no one is talking about whether, over time, we will be willing and able to finance all the goodies being added to the federal budget.
The thing about serious issues is that, whether we discuss them during an election or not, they don’t go away. Even if borrowing stays cheap, the binge of deep-discount government spending is ending. Our discussions about fiscal policy will get serious when we are back to paying…
Aurelien Portuese – Principles of Dynamic Antitrust
From: Aurelien Portuese To: Canadians Concerned About Competition Date: September 17, 2021 Re: Principles of Dynamic Antitrust Innovation remains antitrust’s paradox. Everyone agrees that competition policies should not stifle innovation with excessive interventionism and should foster innovation with optimal incentives. And yet, innovation remains insufficiently anchored in antitrust enforcement. Antitrust enforcement has improved over the […] Declining Vital Signs: Canada’s Investment Crisis
Business Investment in Canada Not Keeping Pace with Workforce or Competitors Abroad Recent figures on Canada’s stock of capital and new investment prefigure lower incomes for Canadian workers, according to a new report released by the C.D. Howe Institute. Authors William B.P. Robson and Miles Wu examine Canada’s stock of business capital and new investment, […]