Op-Eds
Published in the Globe and Mail on May 5, 2015
By Christopher Ragan
Christopher Ragan is an associate professor of economics at McGill University in Montreal and a research associate at the C.D. Howe Institute in Toronto.
A few weeks ago, Ontario’s Premier announced her government’s intention to introduce a cap-and-trade system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Although many have applauded this announcement, there are still many critics – and they are only now beginning to gather their forces. Kathleen Wynne should recognize that the political road ahead will be anything but smooth.
Critics of Ontario’s policy fall into two broad groups. In the first, critics argue that carbon pricing is…
Published in the Globe and Mail on April 17, 2015
By: Ben Dachis
Benjamin Dachis is a senior policy analyst at the C.D. Howe Institute
The Advisory Council on Government Assets, led by Ed Clark, announced this week that big changes are in store for the province’s beer sales and electricity system. Although much public attention has been on the locally novel idea of allowing beer sales in grocery stores, the biggest potential consequence of the Clark report is to enable cities to sell their electricity assets.
The main money maker for the province, in the current plan, is selling a majority interest in its Hydro One transmission and distribution business. That would bring in $5-billion to pay…
Published in the Globe and Mail on March 24, 2015
By: Christopher Ragan
Christopher Ragan is an associate professor of economics at McGill University in Montreal and a research fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute in Toronto.
Born and raised in Edmonton, and living only “temporarily” in Montreal for the past 25 years, I still miss many things about my home province. But I don’t miss Alberta’s boom-bust economy and how this dynamic has permeated the provincial government’s fiscal structure.
Alberta’s Premier, Jim Prentice, has said that the budget on March 26 will include a 10-year plan for provincial finances. This is very promising. Mr. Prentice is a smart man and a talented politician – yet even his…
Published in The Globe and Mail on March 10, 2015
By: Benjamin Dachis
Benjamin Dachis is a senior policy analyst at the C.D. Howe Institute.
The Globe and Mail reported Tuesday that the government of Ontario is contemplating selling a piece of Hydro One, the province’s wholly owned electricity transmission and distribution company, jolting Queen’s Park and markets. The province is on the right track in looking to privatize its electricity utilities; it could make taxpayers even better off by letting private investors take the lead in creating a private distribution or transmission system.
Hydro One has two main business units. The largest, by value of assets, is its transmission…
Published in The Globe and Mail on March 10, 2015
By: Christopher Ragan
Christopher Ragan is an associate professor of economics at McGill University and a research fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute.
Last week, The Globe and Mail released the results of a new survey showing that 71 per cent of Canadians support new taxes on businesses that emit greenhouse gases (GHG). Yet only 41 per cent are willing to face new taxes on gasoline and even fewer approve higher taxes on heating oil. These results point to a troubling conundrum that we need to confront if we are going to be smart about addressing climate change.
The good news from this survey is that the majority of Canadians recognize…
