Op-Eds
Published in the Globe and Mail on December 2nd, 2014
By: William Robson
William B.P. Robson is president and CEO of the C.D. Howe Institute. He is co-author of ‘Baffling Budgets: Canada’s Cities Need Better Financial Reporting’.
A common complaint during Toronto’s municipal election campaign was that nobody could make sense of the numbers. In fact, this is not a new problem: municipal budgets are mystifying. Incoming mayor John Tory and the freshly elected council can help that situation by presenting a budget that, unlike the current presentations, would let people straightforwardly measure intentions against results. If they did, future financial debates would make more sense – and Toronto would tax and spend…
Published in the National Post on April 23, 2015
Finn Poschmann is Vice President, Policy Analysis, at the C.D. Howe Institute.
Rising debt charges will leave residents with fewer services
Ontario’s new budget is masterful in many ways, most strikingly in the number of pages dedicated to saying very little, but also in launching a tremendous array of programs, mostly infrastructural, and re-announcing or expanding others.
“Building Ontario Up” proposes to spend countless billions on infrastructure over the next 10 years, via a long list of initiatives labelled “Moving Ontario Forward,” which no doubt is better than the backward alternative.
And credit where it is due, Finance Minister Sousa…
Published in the Globe and Mail on October 7, 2014
By William Robson
William Robson is President and CEO of the C.D. Howe Institute.
The Prime Minister’s recent announcement that the federal government is ahead of schedule to eliminate its deficit signals the start of the fall round of pre-budget lobbying. That lobbying will feature, as always, demands from provincial and territorial premiers for more money from Ottawa. This ritual is a grueling test of faith for fans of Canadian federalism, which never looks more venal than when the provinces have their hands out.
The premiers’ annual summer meeting gave us a preview. Their four-page communique started with the historical…
Published in the Globe and Mail on April 21, 2014
By Christopher Ragan
Christopher Ragan is an associate professor of economics at McGill University and a Research Fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute.
There is widespread agreement that Canadian policy makers should be adopting measures that lead to a better economy – to create higher-paying and more secure jobs, to generate more investment and innovation, and to ensure that whatever prosperity we have today can be sustained and even improved for our children and grandchildren. In fact, this is pretty much a motherhood statement. Who could possibly argue in favour of a “worse” economy?
The disagreement appears when we start thinking about the specific…
Published in the Globe & Mail on February 12, 2014
By Alexandre Laurin
An understated highlight of the federal budget was that, for the first time in five years, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has a healthy baseline. His cumulative $45-billion surplus projected over the next five fiscal years would be the envy of most past federal finance ministers, not to mention Mr. Flaherty’s provincial counterparts. That is a situation worth cultivating – the minister’s prudent approach toward that surplus deserves applause.
The budget contained no bold and costly initiatives. It commits $5.7-billion of new spending over five years on small, targeted programs. It put aside $3-billion per year for prudence. And it improved the…
