The Nobel for Trump? Why not the Booker Prize for fiction instead?
The recent roller coaster of American stock market performance, with a precipitous increase in market values coming during the same week as more than 30 million had Americans filed for unemployment, has starkly revealed the fiction of President Donald Trump and his congressional cheerleader’s contention that the economy’s fundamentals are strong. Nothing could be further […]
Yas, (welfare) queen: Conservatives revive myth in attempt to curb the CERB
OTTAWA—Does the Conservative Party of Canada actually like Canada, or Canadians? Not even Michelle Rempel Garner could be bothered to stay in the country during lockdown, given she’s buggered off to the U.S. #AndrewScheer was trending and that never turns out well for him. Turns out, he wants to kick Canadian workers off the welfare […]
Unprecedented federal deficits sustainable in short term, say economists, but ‘exit ramp,’ post-pandemic planning needed now
With an anticipated federal deficit of more than $250-billion this year, the largest projected budgetary deficit on record, some economists say that emergency spending at this level may be sustainable in the short-term, but there is likely more spending to come—and that it’s still too early to judge the future state of the economy now […]
Taxing Canadian expats not the silver bullet for generating post-COVID revenue
Chandra Arya, the Liberal MP for Nepean, Ont., recently argued for changing the current residency-based taxation approach to the U.S. citizenship-based taxation (CBT) approach, understating the complexity involved in making such a change and overstating the potential benefits. (Similarly, Andrew Caddell argued in his April 22 Hill Times column that “the three million Canadians abroad […]
‘Pandemic bump’ pushes March lobbying up 60 per cent over last year
The flood of influencers contacting officials in March increased communication by almost 60 per cent compared to the year before, part of what lobbyists describe as a “pandemic bump” in activity they expect to be the new normal as industry, associations, and governments respond to the impacts of COVID-19. Lobbyists filed 2,329 communication reports in […]
Ottawa’s relief measures for businesses could soar to more than $9.1-billion, says PBO
One of the federal government’s relief measures to support businesses and enterprises during the COVID-19 pandemic could cost more than $9.1-billion, according to analyses released Friday by the Parliamentary Budget Officer. The PBO estimated that the Canada Emergency Business Account will cost $9.1-billion for fiscal year 2020-21, while the feds’ loan guarantee program for small- […]
The Green Municipal Fund: 20 years of sustainable infrastructure and job creation
This is the 20th Earth Day we’ve celebrated at the Green Municipal Fund (GMF). As president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), which delivers this program, I’m immensely proud of the GMF’s track record of helping municipalities build sustainable infrastructure solutions. And building on those 20 years of proven success, the GMF stands ready […]
Finance Minister Morneau names press secretary
Finance Minister Bill Morneau and team have been busy of late, with the 2020 federal budget delayed as the federal government works to see through economic relief and other measures announced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and now helping the minister communicate with the public and media alike is new press secretary Maéva Proteau. […]
Critics wary about feds’ COVID-inspired infrastructure push
Opposition critics are expressing skepticism over the government’s reported plan to push for smaller, “shovel-ready” projects as post-pandemic stimulus, saying the Liberals’ overall infrastructure vision and track record doesn’t instill much confidence. NDP MP Taylor Bachrach (Skeena–Bulkley Valley, B.C.) and Conservative MP Luc Berthold (Megantic–L’Erable, Que.), their respective parties’ infrastructure critics, said they were pleased […]
The post-COVID Canada faces many challenges
OTTAWA—Last week, I wrote about international policy in the post-COVID time. Now I want to examine how Canada should respond to the major domestic challenges it will face. First of all, the debt: there will be mountains of it. A debt and deficit like nothing most Canadians have experienced in their lifetimes. At the latest […]
