Ken Boessenkool – Three Ways To Treat The Cerb In Social Assistance
From: Ken Boessenkool To: Canada’s finance ministers Date: April 17, 2020 Re: Three Ways to Treat the CERB in Social Assistance Canada’s social safety net has evolved slowly and carefully in an overlapping federal system of transfers and benefits. Ottawa has responsibility for the tax system and Employment Insurance (EI). The provinces have primary responsibility for most social […] Don Drummond – Release Ei Data Fast To Track The Covid-19 Damage
From: Don Drummond To: Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Date: April 17, 2020 Re: Release EI data fast to track the COVID-19 damage Many economists and policy authorities appear to have initially underestimated the economic blow from the COVID-19 pandemic, just as health authorities missed the depth of the blow to public health. A […] Adjusting to Reality: As Proposed, Restricting Corporate Interest Deductibility is Ill-Advised
Now is not the time to consider capping interest deductions for business taxes, says a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Adjusting to Reality: As Proposed, Restricting Corporate Interest Deductibility is Ill-Advised,” authors Jack Mintz and V. Balaji Venkatachalam note that the proposal, the implementation of which is currently under serious consideration in […] Now Not The Time To Consider Limiting Interest Deductibility For Corporations
Now is not the time to consider capping interest deductions for business taxes, says a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Adjusting to Reality: As Proposed, Restricting Corporate Interest Deductibility is Ill-Advised,” authors Jack Mintz and V. Balaji…Hugh O’reilly – Regional, Economically Important Credit Unions Must Be Included In Stlf
From: Hugh O’Reilly To: Bill Morneau, Minister of Finance Date: April 16, 2020 Re: Regional, Economically Important Credit Unions must be Included in STLF The Bank of Canada has made a series of interventions designed to support Canada’s financial system and ensure the availability of credit during the COVID-19 crisis. These actions are important to ensure that small […] Blomqvist, Wyonch – Covid And Professional Scopes Of Practice
From: Åke Blomqvist and Rosalie Wyonch To: Provincial Ministers of Health and Long-Term Care Date: April 16, 2020 Subject: COVID and professional scopes of practice The recent changes to allow doctors to bill provincial insurance plans for virtual consultations are a welcome innovation that will help in the fight against the COVID virus. Relaxing the […] S2 E6 – Healthcare after COVID-19 with Janet Ecker
What are the lessons of COVID-19 for Canada’s healthcare sector? Newly appointed Senior Fellow and former Ontario Finance Minister Janet Ecker leans on her experience with SARS and the 2008 financial crisis to offer insight into the crisis and how to be better prepared financially and logistically for the next pandemic. Brian Livingston – Shut And Swap Can Be A Lifeboat For Canada’s Oil Producers
To: Federal and provincial governments From: Brian Livingston Date: April 15, 2020 Re: Shut and Swap can be a lifeboat for Canada’s oil producers The federal government has pledged specific support for Canada’s beleaguered oil producers but has yet to deliver. Ottawa and provincial governments – particularly Alberta – will need to collaborate on the design of support. This […] Bishop, Ragab – In A Pandemic, Canada Needs Faster Economic Data: Here’s Our New Tracker
To: Canadian Businesses and Governments From: Grant Bishop and Mariam Ragab Date: April 15, 2020 Re: In a pandemic, Canada needs faster economic data: here’s our new tracker The shutdown of much of Canada’s economy has exposed gaps in the availability and frequency of data about Canada’s economy. Statistics Canada has peerless rigour for its officially released statistics. […] Ambler, Kronick – Why Canadian Quantitative Easing Needs Transparency
To: Monetary Policy Watchers From: Steve Ambler and Jeremy M. Kronick Date: April 15, 2020 Re: Why Canadian Quantitative Easing Needs Transparency For the first time in its history, with the overnight rate hitting its effective lower bound of 0.25 percent, the Bank of Canada has embarked on the path of quantitative easing (QE). This […] Schirle, Milligan, Skuterud – Digging One Level Deeper Into March’s Workforce Numbers
From: Tammy Schirle, Kevin Milligan and Mikal Skuterud To: Canadians Concerned about the Labour Market Date: April 14, 2020 Re: Digging one level deeper into March’s workforce numbers The Canadian workforce tumbled historically in March. The Labour Force Survey revealed one million fewer people were employed compared to the previous month. Another 1.2 million who kept their jobs […] Governments should rely on industry task forces to advise on restarting the economy – Globe and Mail Op-Ed
Last Friday’s grim labour-force numbers from Statistics Canada were just the latest evidence that COVID-19 is a threat not only to Canadians’ lives, but to our livelihoods. And those numbers predated the more complete shutdown that has closed so many businesses over the past three weeks.
By now, the tally of lost jobs will be in the millions. More people will be working reduced hours, earning less and fearing for the future. Even with government supports, bankruptcies are mounting, and temporary closures and layoffs are becoming permanent. The longer this lasts, the deeper and harder to repair the damage becomes.
As the seriousness of the novel coronavirus became clear, public health naturally took priority.…