The C.D. Howe Institute released a new report, “Less Debt, More Growth: A Shadow Federal Budget for 2019”, in which authors William B.P. Robson and Alexandre Laurin show Ottawa could balance its budget in 2023/24 by using greener, more growth-friendly taxes, containing federal operating costs, and still have room to enhance Canadians’ opportunities to work, save, … Read more
The C.D. Howe Institute released a new report on public-sector pension plans, “Managing Uncertainty: The Search for a Golden Discount-Rate Rule for Defined-Benefit Pensions,” by Stuart Landon and Constance Smith. The full release is available online. Call 416-865-9935.
In “Navigating Turbulence: Canadian Monetary Policy Since 2004,” authors Steve Ambler and Jeremy Kronick assess the Bank of Canada’s policies from 2004, through the turbulence of the 2008/09 recession, the recovery and up to the current period. They give the Bank high marks for its stewardship. However, the Bank faces key new challenges posed by the … Read more
A new report from the C.D. Howe Institute, Pursuing Reconciliation: The Case for an Off-Reserve Urban Agenda authored by John Richards, argues that the federal government, provinces, and Indigenous leaders must develop an agenda for the majority of First Nation people who live off-reserve in urban settings. “Any meaningful attempt at reconciliation requires not just an on-reserve agenda, … Read more
Ottawa should rebate revenues from its carbon pricing backstop directly to citizens in non-compliant provinces that reject its plan, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In The Rocky Road to Canada-wide Carbon Pricing, author Tracy Snoddon argues that this option for returning backstop cash ensures government accountability is fair and flexible. “The politics … Read more
A new report published by the C.D. Howe Institute, Tooling up: Canada Needs More Robust Capital Investment, finds that weak business investment is a threat to Canada’s future prosperity. Authors William B.P. Robson, Jeremy Kronick and Jacob Kim find business investment in Canada has slipped badly relative to the United States and other countries since mid-decade, … Read more
The long trade peace that took hold with the signing of the GATT in 1947 is over, according to an analysis published by the C.D. Howe Institute. In The March into Trade Wars: US Policy Aims and the Implications for Reconciliation author Dan Ciuriak contends the world is embroiled in a trade war of global dimensions, … Read more
The C.D. Howe Institute released a new report: “Foreign Direct Investment in Canada – The Case for Further Openness and Transparency.” Author Daniel Schwanen makes a case for more open and transparent foreign investment rules in Canada. “Canada’s share of global foreign direct investment has been on a noticeable downward trend and has recently been buffeted by severe … Read more
The C.D. Howe Institute published a new report, “International Prudential Standards in a World of Growing Nationalism and Protectionism,” which says progress in establishing international standards that promote trade, investment and prosperity is facing headwinds from the global rise of nationalism and populism. Report authors Mark Zelmer and Jeremy Kronick argue that standard setters for financial … Read more
The Trump Administration is deploying uncertainty as a new weapon in trade protection, according to an analysis published by the C.D. Howe Institute. In Weaponizing Uncertainty authors Meredith Crowley and Dan Ciuriak show that uncertainty acts like a non-tariff barrier that impedes trade and investment. Importantly, unlike actual tariffs, uncertainty is only indirectly observed and not … Read more
