Money for movement: why the feds should invest in keeping Canadians active
Each year, physical inactivity costs the Canadian health-care system $6.8-billion, kills 3.2 million people worldwide, and negatively afflicts eight in 10 Canadians. Surprised? Don’t be. Over the last few decades, major worldwide trends including urbanization, mechanization, and an increased use of motorized transportation have all made being physically active more difficult. Whether in the schools […]
Fintech caught in grey zone, stakeholders say, as feds study Bank Act
As Finance Canada is in the midst of its review of the Bank Act, observers are saying the rules need to better accommodate the emerging financial technology sector—known as “fintech”—and bring banking regulations into the digital age so that Canada can catch up to its international peers. “Things in fintech are moving in weeks and […]
Newfoundland politicians can’t afford to duck its problems
OTTAWA—Dale Carnegie, in his renowned book How to Win Friends and Influence People, would have probably advised not to go to your hometown to tell your brethren they are almost shagged. But I did that last week with a clear purpose in mind. It was not to get drowned in the St. John’s harbour. Quite […]
Expect Liberal budget to focus on science, women’s role in economy
OTTAWA—Thomas Mulcair got it right a few years back when, commenting on the approach of Stephen Harper’s government to the role of science in policy development, he said the Conservatives relied on “decision-based fact-making.” But, unfortunately for the NDP, it was Justin Trudeau’s Liberals who managed to capitalize in the 2015 election on a commitment […]
Innovation
Budget 2018 could ensure just transition to the clean economy
With federal budget season just around the corner, it’s time our government put forward a plan to fulfill its promise of a “just and fair transition” to the clean economy. The good news is Canada’s transition to a zero-carbon economy will create more jobs than it destroys. But that’s little consolation to the 200,000 fossil […]
Help the middle class by scrapping barrier to charitable giving
The House of Commons Finance Committee conducted its annual pre-budget consultation hearings from Sept. 19 to early December. The prime focus was to hear suggestions on how to improve the productivity and competitiveness of Canadian individuals and businesses. I made a submission to the committee in August, titled “Help the Middle Class by Removing a […]
House Finance Committee has little to say on huge changes in global technology, industries and competition
TORONTO—Canada’s biggest economic challenge is to achieve and sustain a high level of productivity growth and we need to do this to support the things we value as a society, such as health care and education, as well as to deliver the prosperity for a rising standard of living. The best way to improve our […]
People power: Canadians willing to shell out for clean energy
Energy issues can be a polarizing force in Canadian politics, all too often pitting region against region, or opening up divisions between rural and urban. So when we kicked off the Citizen Dialogues on Canada’s Energy Future in September, we didn’t know where these discussions would take us. The idea was to bring together randomly […]
Federal fiscal policies ‘sustainable’ over long term, says new PBO report
Parliament’s fiscal watchdog is giving a major vote of confidence in the Trudeau government’s spending and taxation plans. In a new report released Tuesday, the Parliamentary Budget Officer Jean-Denis Fréchette concluded that current federal fiscal policies are “sustainable” over the long term, pointing to new projections showing the deficit plummeting from 30 per cent of […]
