Ottawa Should Reject “blunt” Option For Sharing Mortgage
Ottawa should reject a “blunt” option it is considering to address the build-up of risky mortgages in the housing sector, according to the latest C.D. Howe report. In Mortgage Insurance Deductibles: An Idea Whose Time Hasn’t Come, authors Thorsten V. Koeppl and James C.…Sen and Wyonch – Don’t (Over) Tax that Joint, My Friend
From: Anindya Sen and Rosalie Wyonch To: The Honourable Bill Blair, Parliamentary Secretary to the Justice Minister Date: July 19, 2017 Re: Don’t (Over) Tax that Joint, My Friend The federal government has released draft legislation to legalize and regulate recreational marijuana. Legalization priorities include access to safe and regulated product and the elimination of illegal […] Christopher Sands – The US NAFTA Agenda
From: Christopher Sands To: Concerned Canadians Date: July 18, 2017 Re: The US NAFTA Agenda Late yesterday, the US Trade Representative, in keeping with the requirements of the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 (TPA-2015) published 16 pages summarizing the United States’ objectives for the renegotiation of NAFTA. A preliminary analysis by […]Canada will have to play hardball at NAFTA talks: Globe and Mail Op-ed
So we now know what the U.S. objectives are in the forthcoming North American free-trade agreement renegotiations.
Some of what was sent by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to the Congress on Monday isn’t a big surprise, having been signalled before and in its initial fast-track notice tabled in Congress last May.
There’s a lot about modernizing NAFTA, improving the agreement to add provisions on trade in services, digital commerce, intellectual property and even reference to establishing “strong and enforceable environmental obligations” and other things that, subject to careful reading, could be acceptable as a basis for negotiations.
However, there are at least four major bombshells, signalling an…
Ken Whyte Appointed As A C.D. Howe Institute Senior Fellow
William Robson, President and CEO of the C.D. Howe Institute, announces the appointment of Ken Whyte, founding editor of the National Post and former editor-in-chief of Maclean’s, as a Senior Fellow. “Ken’s achievements have made him one of Canada’s most…Daniel Schwanen – A Big Day for NAFTA
From: Daniel Schwanen To: Concerned Canadians Date: July 17, 2017 Re: A big day for NAFTA Today the United States publicly releases its specific objectives for a renegotiated NAFTA. The importance for Canada of this impending negotiation for Canadian jobs and incomes can hardly be overstated. Going back decades, but especially since the 1965 Auto […]James MacGee on BNN – Ineffective for Ottawa to spread more risk to mortgage lenders
As the federal government proposes spreading more risk to mortgage lenders, Jim MacGee, report author at the C.D. Howe Institute, joins BNN to discuss why this is not the right approach.
Covering Drugs For Young People Isn’t The Best Way To Fill Gaps In Health Care: Toronto Star Op-ed
With much fanfare, Ontario’s 2017 budget announced the introduction of universal drug coverage, starting next January, for those under age 25. True, drugs are an important part of the problem in gaps in publicly funded healthcare. But even with an annual starting cost estimated at $480 million, “OHIP+” looks like a poor approach to closing the pharmacare gap while taking up limited fiscal room to close health gaps elsewhere.
Much of the money for OHIP+ will pay for the drugs of people who didn’t have any access problems in the first place. A more targeted approach could have a much larger effect on addressing the many unmet healthcare needs of Ontarians.
…Dan Ciuriak on BNN – U.S. demands for free flow of data could put privacy at risk
Dan Ciuriak, director and principal at Ciuriak Consulting & Fellow-in-Residence with the C.D. Howe Institute, talks to BNN about what the U.S. is likely to demand when it sets out formal objectives for NAFTA talks.
Blomqvist And Busby – It’s Time For Healthcare To Join The Productivity Parade
From: Åke Blomqvist and Colin Busby To: Ministers of Health and Finance in Canada Date: July 14, 2017 Re: It’s Time for Healthcare to Join the Productivity Parade Slow productivity growth is an important reason why real income and living standards for many Canadians are stagnating. At the same time, surveys have suggested that the […] Table Stakes: Congress Will Be Sitting across from Canada at the NAFTA 2.0 Negotiations
A newly empowered US Congress will be holding the reins in the upcoming NAFTA talks, states a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Table Stakes: Congress Will be Sitting across from Canada at the NAFTA 2.0 Negotiations,” author Christopher Sands finds that since Congress has redefined the US negotiating process under 2015 legislation, […]