Andrew Spence – Whither Inflation When Supply Chains Come Home?
From: Andrew Spence To: Inflation watchers Date: May 28, 2020 Re: Whither Inflation when Supply Chains Come Home? Canada was forced to ride into the medical supply wild west as pandemic driven supply shortages laid bare our inability to handle surge capacity in healthcare. And the suddenly exposed lack of domestic production capacity for […] Through Crisis and Recovery, Enforce Competition and Safeguard Open Markets: C.D. Howe Institute Competition Policy Council
May 27, 2020 – The federal government should not legislate any ministerial “public interest” waiver for anti-competitive collaborations, according to a report from a C.D. Howe Institute council.
While government intervention in certain economic sectors may be warranted in the near term during the COVID-19 crisis, governments must be conscious of potential impacts on competition, and ensure competitors face the discipline and dynamism of market forces by outlining a clear exit plan for ramping-down support.
This is the consensus view of the C.D. Howe Institute’s Competition Policy Council, which held its nineteenth meeting on May 8, 2020.
Council members commended governments for taking an active role in economic…
Schwanen, Robson – Ontario Needs More Clarity On Its Re-opening Process
From: Daniel Schwanen and William B.P. Robson To: Canadians concerned about re-opening the economy Date: May 27, 2020 Re: Ontario needs more clarity on its re-opening process Re-opening locked-down economies is not easy. Because governments did the locking down, governments are key to the re-opening. How Ontario’s government manages it, given the province’s demographic and economic weight, will have […] Rodney Dobson – How To Get Governments Real-time Pay Information
From: Rodney Dobson To: Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of National Revenue Date: May 27, 2020 Re: How to Get Governments Real-time Pay Information Payroll information has never been more important, or fluid, than during the current pandemic. Managing the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) and the new wage subsidy program have underlined for Ottawa that it needs new […] Staggered Re-opening Should Inform Tailored Income Supports: Crisis Working Group on Household Income and Credit Support
May 26, 2020 – With re-opening strategies differing across the country, regional and industry variations need to be considered to create better-tailored income supports, says the C.D. Howe Institute’s Crisis Working Group on Household Income and Credit Support.
At their recent meeting, working group members discussed the need to apply a risk management lens to the re-opening of the economy and the need to shift away from a national one-size-fits-all income support plan. The group also considered policy options for modifying the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) while maintaining support for families and low-wage earners, and explored longer-term income support plans.
The group recommends:
A more targeted…S2 E8 – Monetary Anchors with Mark Zelmer and Jeremy Kronick
Canada is emerging from the first wave of the pandemic with high levels of private and public debt. That’s why the Crisis Working Group on Monetary and Financial Measures is urging Canada to recommit to getting our fiscal and monetary houses in order once COVID-19 has passed. Working Group co-chair Mark Zelmer and C.D. Howe […] Kronick, Zelmer, Dodge – Inflation Target: The Only Anchor Left
To: Policymakers in Ottawa From: Jeremy M. Kronick, Mark Zelmer, and David A. Dodge Date: May 26, 2020 Re: Inflation Target – The Only Anchor Left As governments across the country continue to announce massive fiscal stimulus, fiscal anchors have been appropriately set aside. However, to keep investor confidence in Canadian dollar denominated debt high, […] How Ontario’s Reopening Is Managed Will Have Consequences Across The Country — It Needs A Clearer Plan – Financial Post Op-ed
Reopening locked-down economies is not easy. Because governments did the locking down, governments are key to the reopening. How Ontario’s government manages it, given the province’s demographic and economic weight, will have consequences across the country. Ontarians and Canadians could do better if Ontario followed the example of other jurisdictions and published a clearer and more comprehensive reopening plan.
Where can Ontario look for ideas? Its immediate Canadian neighbours, Manitoba and Quebec, are not very helpful examples. Manitoba reopened earlier but it never had a per capita caseload anything like Ontario’s. Quebec still has a worse caseload and had to backtrack on relatively aggressive early reopening plans when its…
Canada Must Recommit to Fiscal and Monetary Anchors: Crisis Working Group on Monetary and Financial Measures
May 25, 2020 – Ottawa and the provinces need to recommit to fiscal and monetary anchors in light of the unprecedented stimulus response provided by all levels of government and the Bank of Canada throughout the COVID-19 crisis. While fiscal anchors, such as debt-to-GDP ratios, were necessarily set aside to finance support programs to cope with the economic shutdown, measures to stabilize finances and restore fiscal sustainability in the medium to long-run are critical.
Canada is emerging from the first wave of the pandemic with very high public and private debt loads and is increasingly dependent on domestic and foreign investors to finance them. With the loss of Canada’s fiscal anchor, maintaining investor confidence so that…
Laurin, Dachis – An Income Support Plan To Support The Recovery
From: Alexandre Laurin and Benjamin Dachis To: Finance Minister Bill Morneau Date: May 25, 2020 Re: An Income Support Plan to Support the Recovery The first cohort of Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) recipients are about to lose eligibility on July 5. Ottawa must announce soon what’s next. As the province-by-province restart begins, income support needs to shift […] Investment Management Corporation Of Ontario (imco) Creates Policy Research Internships At The C.D. Howe Institute
The C.D. Howe Institute is pleased to announce that the Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO) will provide six paid internships at the C.D. Howe Institute for the summer of 2020. IMCO will support internships for outstanding recent graduates of policy and…Michael J. O’connor – Commercial Rent Part 3: Levelling The Playing Field
From: Michael J. O’Connor To: Bill Morneau, Minister of Finance Date: May 22, 2020 Re: Commercial Rent Part 3: Levelling the Playing Field Final details of the commercial rent relief program for small businesses announced in April emerged this week. That they arrived more than half-way into the eligibility period is just one signal that the Canada Emergency […]