Edward Waitzer – Fairness To Tenants: The Urgent Need For A Nationally Coordinated Policy Response
From: Edward Waitzer To: Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation Date: March 30, 2020 Re: Fairness to tenants – the urgent need for a nationally coordinated policy response Residential tenancies represent more than a third of the national housing stock. Given their relative income profiles, one would have thought tenants in […] Wage Subsidies and Emergency Financial Support Needed: Crisis Working Group on Household Income and Credit Support
March 27, 2020 – The C.D. Howe Institute has established an expert crisis working group for household income and credit support, chaired by Michael Horgan, Senior Advisor at Bennett Jones LLP and former Deputy Minister of Finance, Government of Canada. The group’s first meeting was held on Wednesday, March 25, 2020 to identify and prioritize key risks for households during the crisis, and consider policy options and recommendations.
The working group calls for governments to help businesses, not-for-profits and individuals pay their bills and stay afloat during the crisis. Financial supports are particularly needed for small businesses and individuals in industries that have experienced massive layoffs, including the…
Jeremy Kronick on The West Block – Wage subsidy and quantitative easing are good first steps
Jeremy Kronick, Associate Director at the C.D. Howe Institute, joins The West Block to talk about the government announcement on wage subsidies and the lowering of interest rates.
David Powell – Filling The Gap: Emergency Funding Programs And Asset-based Finance In Times Of Economic Crisis
To: Department of Finance From: David Powell Date: March 27, 2020 Re: Filling the Gap: Emergency Funding Programs and Asset-Based Finance in Times of Economic Crisis In times of economic crisis, the federal government should have in place a large-scale program for funding asset-based finance intermediaries. No one wants to see a repeat of the […] Dachis, Bishop, Robson – An Ounce Of Layoff Prevention Is Worth A Pound Of Income-support Cure
To: Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau, Minister of Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Ahmed Hussen, and Jean-Yves Duclos, President of the Treasury Board From: Benjamin Dachis, Grant Bishop and William B.P. Robson Re: An ounce of layoff prevention is worth a pound of income-support cure Date: March 27, […] Subsidize Wages, Backstop Credit, Protect Supply Chains: C.D. Howe Institute Business Continuity and Trade Crisis Working Group
March 26, 2020 – In order to help Canadian governments confront the public health and economic crisis resulting from the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the C.D. Howe Institute has established a working group to address challenges for business continuity and trade. The group, co-chaired by Dwight Duncan, Senior Strategic Advisor at McMillan LLP and former Ontario Minister of Finance, and Jeanette Patell, Vice-President of Government Affairs and Policy for GE Canada, held its first meeting on March 24, 2020.
In this meeting, the group of economists and industry experts recommended urgent and immediate implementation of measures by Canada’s federal government to ensure continuity for businesses and not-for-profits – and preserve…
William White – The Recession And The Pandemic: Cause Or Trigger?
From: William White To: Canada’s COVID Policymakers Date: March 26, 2020 Re: The Recession and the Pandemic: Cause or Trigger? The pandemic and the decision to use social distancing to combat it, have already sparked a global recession. A “V” shaped recovery is plausible but, should the recession destabilize an increasingly indebted global economy, a worse outcome can be […] Enhanced Government Credit Facility Needed: Crisis Working Group on Monetary and Financial Measures
March 25, 2020 – The Institute has established an expert crisis working group for finance and monetary policy, co-chaired by David Dodge, former Governor of the Bank of Canada, and Mark Zelmer, former Deputy Superintendent of OSFI. The group’s first meeting was held on Monday, March 23, 2020.
The crisis working group is calling for an expansive government guaranteed credit facility, in tandem with various fiscal measures, to help Canadians and the business community survive the COVID-19 economic crisis. Possible features of the facility could include:
100% guarantee by the Government of Canada, and available to Canadian firms either through federal and provincially-regulated…William B.P. Robson And Grant Bishop – Job Subsidy From Ottawa Is Key To Getting Through The Covid-19 Crisis
From: William B.P. Robson and Grant Bishop To: Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland Date: March 25, 2020 Re: Job subsidy from Ottawa is key to getting through the COVID-19 crisis The spread of COVID-19 and public health measures to combat it have delivered an unprecedented shock to Canada’s economy. Businesses and not-for-profits are […] Job Subsidy Is Key To Getting Through The Covid-19 Crisis – Toronto Star Op-ed
The spread of COVID-19 and public health measures to combat it have delivered an unprecedented shock to Canada’s economy. Businesses and not-for-profits are closing. Recent Employment Insurance (EI) claims suggest the unemployment rate is headed for double digits.
The economic distress is compounding the direct impact of the disease, and may ultimately overshadow it. Unemployment and financial distress hurt physical and mental health, and the implosion of the private-sector economy is propagating that damage. So just as Canadian policymakers must mitigate the health impacts, they must mitigate the economic impacts.
Governments elsewhere have stepped in to support jobs with direct wage subsidies. Canada’s federal government…
Glen Hodgson – The Other Canadian Threat: The Oil Sector Price Shock
From: Glen Hodgson To: Canadians concerned about COVID Date: March 24, 2020 Re: The Other Canadian Threat: The Oil Sector Price Shock Canada’s leaders and policy thinkers are rightly focused today on COVID-19, and its health and economic impacts. A recession in the first part of 2020, which could be very deep, is a realistic expectation as […] The Power of Postponed Retirement
Postponing retirement new reality for older workers Postponing retirement has become a new reality for many older workers in the wake of the market crash, underlining the need for reform of the rules around retirement saving in tax-deferred programs. In this report, author Joseph Nunes argues Ottawa should raise the age at which workers must […]