Op-Eds
Published in the Globe and Mail on December 10, 2014
By: Fin Poschmann
Finn Poschmann is vice-president of policy analysis at the C.D. Howe Institute and chair the organization’s Competition Policy Council.
Monday this week was a bad day for markets in Canada; Tuesday was a no good, very bad day for economics.
James Moore, the federal Industry Minister, followed through Tuesday on the government’s promise to address the “Canada-U.S. price gap,” aimed at ensuring that Canadians do not pay “unfairly” more than Americans or anyone else for the same goods.
Back in 1974, when the federal opposition offered price controls as a way of addressing inflation, prime minister Pierre Trudeau’s response was…
Published in the Globe and Mail on October 20, 2014
By Mati Dubrovinsky
Mati Dubrovinsky is a senior policy analyst at the C.D. Howe Institute.
A few days ago, The Globe and Mail reported that, following up on a spring 2014 federal budget commitment, the Department of Finance is holding negotiations with the two major credit card companies, Visa and MasterCard, as well as major banks issuing them. The goal is to achieve a commitment, or an outright regulation if that fails, to cap the fees credit card companies charge merchants.
When a consumer swipes, taps, or enters a PIN for a credit card transaction, the merchant pays for the service. If a consumer paid $100 for a…
Published in the Globe and Mail on April 8, 2013
By Kristian Behrens
Many politicians and business leaders think that creating clusters of economic activity will be a silver bullet for solving a variety of regional or national economic problems. Bold claims that successful economic clusters drive prosperity nationwide require bold evidence – and that evidence is lacking.
The widening gap in Canada-U.S. per capita gross domestic product (GDP) is of concern to both policy makers and ordinary Canadians. Canadian firms’ relative underinvestment in information technology, for example, may explain a large part of the difference in economic performance north and south of the border.
Yet, according to some, the…
Posted in the National Post on March 20, 2013
By Finn Poschmann and Philippe Bergevin
The irony of Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s hounding of bank mortgage lenders, for advertising competitive market terms, should be lost on none. Perhaps he believes lenders will extend daft, risky loans, or that low market interest rates will tease borrowers into taking on debt they can ill afford. In Ottawa, however, risky lending begins at home: Federal Crown financial corporations, for which Mr. Flaherty’s government is responsible, beat the market competition every time.
Today’s budget, and the next one, are opportunities to do something about it. By expanding on Budget 2012, which took steps toward reining in the market‘…
Published in the Financial Post on April 3, 2012
By Benjamin Dachis
The recent failure of Aveos Fleet Performance Inc., the company that provides heavy maintenance services for Air Canada, has led to a House of Commons investigation into whether Air Canada violated the law that made Air Canada a private airline. This law is just one example of the backward Canadian aviation policies that the government should repeal.
The federal government privatized Air Canada in 1988 with the Air Canada Public Participation Act. The act requires that Air Canada maintain operational and overhaul centres in Winnipeg, Montreal and Mississauga, keep its head office in Montreal and offer services in English or French.
In 2004,…
