Supply management pushed up to 190,000 Canadians into poverty
By Krystle Wittevrongel and Gabriel Giguère New Zealand had never launched a dispute under a free trade agreement until two weeks ago, on May 12, when it launched a trade dispute against Canada under the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), accusing our government of breaking its promises on dairy imports. This was also the first dispute launched…
A ban will impact some 93,000 jobs in the plastics industry. Most in Ontario
All signs point to the federal government going ahead with a ban on certain single-use plastic products, which would be a mistake. This restrictive measure will likely not have the effects hoped for, and even if it does, you can be sure that the Canadian economy will suffer from those gains. The Canadian plastics industry,…
Subsidize parents instead
In order to increase access to daycare services, the Quebec government recently announced the creation of 14,000 new subsidized daycare spaces over the next two years. But with 51,000 children on the waiting list for subsidized child care, there is not a single space available. And despite the government's good intentions, even this modest increase…
A government-run monopoly could lead to the same problems we see elsewhere in our health care systems
One of the big-ticket items in the most recent federal budget was the new NDP-approved dental care program. Since oral health falls under provincial jurisdiction, the announcement raises several questions as to the application of this program across the country. Expanding access to dental care is a goal we can all get behind, especially when…
High inflation distorts the application of the capital gains taxes that many of us pay
By Valentin Petkantchin and Olivier Rancourt Montreal Economic Institute The 5.7 per cent year-on-year inflation Canada registered in February has not been seen since the early 1990s. Expansionary monetary policies and the economic sanctions accompanying the Russia-Ukraine war suggest that significant inflation is here for a while. High inflation not only erodes our purchasing power,…
The federal debt is now over $1.26 trillion!
By Gabriele Giguère and Olivier Rancourt Montreal Economic Institute The Bank of Canada’s decision to increase the policy interest rate by 0.5 percentage points, up to one per cent, was necessary in the current context. The soaring inflation that is hitting the Canadian economy full force, reaching 5.7 per cent in February, must be reined…
Very low interest rates provide a perverse incentive for politicians to rack up more debt
Canadians are feeling the effects of rising inflation everywhere, from the grocery store to the gas station. In response to the highest level of inflation in three decades, the Bank of Canada recently increased its policy interest rate to 0.50 per cent after holding it steady at 0.25 per cent for two years. In a…
Economic benefits crucial to the Newfoundland and Labrador economy
With the market prices of hydrocarbons soaring, accelerated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the federal government is once again extending the deadline for making a decision about the future of the Bay du Nord project off the shore of Newfoundland. Division within the Prime Minister’s Office on this project is certainly one of the…
Approximately one in three adults will suffer from shingles once in their lifetime
The COVID-19 vaccination effort has put other campaigns on hold, but it has had the side benefit of raising awareness about the importance of vaccines in general. Now let’s use the momentum to launch another program but for shingles this time. Approximately one in three adults will suffer from shingles once in their lifetime, with…
Dragging Quebec’s health care system into the 21st century
Calls for substantial health care reform have been ringing across the province of Quebec. It’s time to answer those calls and transform our monopolistic health care system into a mixed, universal system that embraces the value of parallel resources to improve both access and quality of care for patients. The good news is these solutions…
Any gains in competition are more than outweighed by higher spectrum costs
Last December, the federal government launched a consultation for the auction of the 3800 MHz spectrum to help foster the effective deployment of 5G wireless telecommunications. As in previous auctions, the plan is to set aside a significant part of the available spectrum for smaller players, which the main wireless telecom providers are prohibited from…
Our policymakers must start reflecting on the consequences of their actions
The more time that passes, the more the restrictions on our lives seem to have run their course in the eyes of the population. At least that’s what a February 1st Angus Reid poll indicates: Fifty-four per cent of Canadians believe it’s time to lift the restrictions and let people who have COVID, or who…
CCUS prevents the release of CO2 and reduces overall accumulation
Scrapping the federal government’s investment tax credit for carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies would undercut efforts to reach net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 – a goal that Ottawa reaffirmed in November in the COP 26 Glasgow Climate Pact. Yet recently, a group of scientists, academics, and energy system modellers urged just…
It’s time to tackle the inflation that is undermining our living standards
By Miguel Ouellette and Olivier Rancourt Montreal Economic Institute Despite the recommendations of many economists to raise the target for the overnight rate, the Bank of Canada has decided to maintain the status quo – at least for now. Like these experts, we believe that the central bank must begin gradually raising rates at its…
Rather than a belief in science, believe in the scientific method
“Experts Ought to Be On Tap and Not On Top.” – George William Russell, 1910 This quote, which is possibly from a certain George William Russell from Ireland and first seen publicly in an Irish newspaper in 1910, puts forward a crucial insight and piece of wisdom that way too many policymakers seem to have…