Rapid increases in testing and contact tracing are needed to hasten the re-opening of the economy, according to a C.D. Howe Institute working group. The Working Group on Business Continuity and Trade, co-chaired by Dwight Duncan, Senior Strategic Advisor at McMillan LLP and former Ontario Minister of Finance, and Jeanette Patell, Vice-President of Government Affairs … Read more
Preliminary data suggests Canada entered a recession in the first quarter of 2020 with a February peak, according to the C.D. Howe Institute’s Business Cycle Council, which met on April 16 and again on April 30 following the release of Statistics Canada’s February GDP data. With government-enforced shutdowns of non-essential industries, and with employment falling in every industry except … Read more
It’s time to consider the gradual winding down of emergency benefits and tackle disincentives to work, says the C.D. Howe Institute’s Crisis Working Group on Household Income and Credit Support. Rather than extending the criteria for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) to fill remaining support gaps, the government should provide more information and clarification on CERB … Read more
The fourth meeting of the C.D. Howe’s crisis working group on April 20 focussed on the massive expansion of the Bank of Canada’s balance sheet over the last month, dwarfing anything seen in 2008. This increase has serious implications for future inflation, because the Bank’s increased liabilities are not the result of government deposits, but rather increased … Read more
At its April 14 meeting, the Working Group on Business Continuity and Trade, co-chaired by Dwight Duncan and Jeanette Patell, discussed the need for a “playbook” to restart Canada’s economy, the implementation of supports for businesses to “bridge” the present shutdown, and the importance of continued investment in robust telecommunications infrastructure to meet the current surge in demand. The working group urged … Read more
In a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute, “Adjusting to Reality: As Proposed, Restricting Corporate Interest Deductibility is Ill-Advised,” authors Jack Mintz and V. Balaji Venkatachalam note that a Liberal proposal to cap interest deductions for business taxes would have added $1.45-billion to Canada’s 2019 corporate tax bill. “The proposal in its current form is ill-advised, especially as it … Read more
The C.D. Howe Institute’s Crisis Working Group on Business Continuity and Trade met on April 7 to discuss the tide of export restrictions on critical goods internationally (such as the U.S. president’s threat to prohibit surgical mask exports to Canada) and called on Canada to act on issues within its control, including: Investing in strategic stockpiles of critical … Read more
At the second meeting of the C.D. Howe Institute Crisis Working Group on Business Continuity and Trade on March 31, the group underscored the importance of government action to safeguard supply chains for critical goods – and address potential bottlenecks in the transport of goods by truck domestically and internationally. The group urged governments to work closely with … Read more
The C.D. Howe Institute has established a working group to address challenges for business continuity and trade during the public health and economic crisis due to COVID-19. The group of economists and industry experts, co-chaired by Dwight Duncan, former Ontario Finance Minister, and Jeanette Patell, Vice-President of Government Affairs and Policy for GE Canada, first met on … Read more
The C.D. Howe Institute has established an expert crisis working group for finance and monetary policy, co-chaired by former Governor of the Bank of Canada David Dodge and former Deputy Superintendent of OSFI Mark Zelmer. Following their first meeting on March 23, the crisis working group called for an expansive government guaranteed credit facility, in tandem with various fiscal measures, to help Canadians and the business … Read more
