Ontario’s 2024 Budget Gets a B with Bill Robson
Populist budgets don’t get A+ grades. But why? And what’s wrong with the budget Ontario’s Conservative government recently tabled? The C.D. Howe Institute’s Bill Robson tells Michael Hainsworth that it’s about more than just deficit spending.
Esam Hussein – Nuclear is Coming Back. What About Canada’s Fuel Supply Chain?
To: Canadian Nuclear Observers From: Esam Hussein Date: April 5, 2024 Re: Nuclear is Coming Back. What About Canada’s Fuel Supply Chain? Canada appears on the verge of a nuclear-power renaissance instigated by the need for reliable carbon-free energy, with the provinces and the federal government putting their weight behind a wide range of initiatives. How did we get here […] C.D. Howe Institute Monetary Policy Council Calls for Bank of Canada to Hold Overnight Rate at 5.00 Percent, Cut to 3.50 Percent by April 2025
April 4, 2024 – The C.D. Howe Institute’s Monetary Policy Council (MPC) calls for the Bank of Canada to maintain its target for the overnight rate, its benchmark policy interest rate, at 5.00 percent at its next announcement on April 10th. The MPC further calls for the Bank to lower the target to 4.75 at the following announcement in June, on the way to a target of 3.50 percent by April of 2025.
The MPC provides an independent assessment of the monetary stance consistent with the Bank of Canada’s 2…
T. Scott Murray – Competency-based Certification can Transform Canada’s Immigration System
From: T. Scott Murray To: Immigration observers Date: April 4, 2024 Re: Competency-based certification can transform Canada’s immigration system Canada’s newly animated conversation about immigration highlights the need to re-focus on recruiting more qualified immigrants and then providing them full opportunity to apply their skills. It’s a longstanding issue and we need to change how Canadian educators and regulators […] Verbatim: Furthering the Benefits of Global Economic Integration through Institution Building: Canada as 2024 Chair of CPTPP
This Verbatim is based on a presentation to the International Economic Policy Council of the C.D. Howe Institute on March 20, 2024.Over the last 10 to 15 years, the global economy has become fragmented. There are many reasons for this fragmentation – both economic and geopolitical. A particularly important factor has been the inability of […] Ottawa’s tax-and-spend regime needs an overhaul – Globe and Mail
The federal expenditure management system looks good on paper. Transparency is served by publication of five-year spending plans for major spending categories in the annual budget and detailed information in the government’s main estimates and departmental plans. Efficiency and effectiveness are served by setting objectives for program spending and requiring departments to report on the achievement of these objectives. This result-based management framework is buttressed by requiring most spending programs to be evaluated on a five-year cycle. Transparency is further served by making these reports publicly available.
Dig a little deeper, however, and the flaws become apparent. The first is incomplete coverage of spending.…
Canada’s Role As Cpttp Commission Chair Can Help Repair Today’s Global Trading System
As 2024 Chair of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) Commission, Canada has the unique opportunity to help repair the fragmentation of today’s global trading system by promoting global institution building, according to a new C.D.…Corporate trust needs to be nurtured, not legislated – Financial Post
Just over two decades ago, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act put the regulation of corporate compliance on the map. It has since become a governance preoccupation, spawning armies of compliance professionals, commanding a substantial portion of every board’s agenda and costing hundreds of billions of dollars. Elaborate legal mechanisms — such as sentencing guidelines, whistleblowing regimes and personal liability of directors and management — aim at preventing employee wrongdoing and heightening oversight by directors and senior management to ensure internal systems are effective.
The objective — better, more honest governance — is hard to argue with. Yet time and time again we see high-profile firms encouraging, acquiescing in or simply…
Bob Baldwin – How to Resolve the Alberta Pension Issue
From: Bob Baldwin To: Pension watchers Date: April 3 2024 Re: How to Resolve the Alberta Pension Issue Last fall, the Alberta government released a report proposing the creation of an Alberta Pension Plan (APP) funded initially by withdrawal from the Canada Pension Plan, taking with it $334 billion in assets. My recent C.D. Howe Institute E-Brief examines the financial […]Canada’s Role as CPTPP Commission Chair Can Help Repair Today’s Global Trading System
As 2024 Chair of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) Commission, Canada has the unique opportunity to help repair the fragmentation of today’s global trading system by promoting global institution building, according to a new C.D.…Peter Weltman – What Our Winter Tires and Infrastructure Have in Common
From: Peter Weltman To: Infrastructure observers Date: April 2, 2024 Re: What Our Winter Tires and Infrastructure Have in Common I just booked my appointment to have my winter tires swapped with summer tires. Toronto had little snow this year and whatever arrived melted within a few days, so I feel like I didn’t get my money’s worth from […]Don Drummond on Power & Politics – More Than 200 Economists Signed a Letter Defending Carbon Tax
Stephen Gordon, an economics professor at Laval University, and Don Drummond, a Fellow-in-Residence at the C.D. Howe Institute and adjunct professor at the School of Policy Studies at Queen’s University, join CBC’s Power & Politics to discuss the debate on the carbon tax.