Category Canada – Politics
Scotland, Quebec, and currency union
I don't have anything to add to this, except to express my relief that the Permanent Secretary to H M Treasury (UK) said what needed to be said, especially given the dreadful experience of the Eurozone currency union (which is not over yet in my opinion), and that Canadians should read it. (H/T David Smith).
Is Ottawa Shortchanging Ontario? You Decide.
Well it is federal budget time once again and the inevitable political opera around transfer payments is in progress. This time, Ontario is feeling shortchanged and wants Ottawa to restore the 641 million dollar cut in transfer payments it is slated to receive for the 2014-15 fiscal year. Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa argues that […]
What happened to the distribution of real earnings during the recession?
[Note: I noticed an error in some of the graphs a few minutes after publishing the original post.] [Update: Everyone should read Kevin Milligan's take using the SLID data. I'll get back to this in another point soon.] I noted on Econowatch at Maclean's a few weeks ago that average and median real earnings increased […]
Opposition to two FTAs: Canada/US 1987 vs Canada/EU 2013
I don't understand this. In 1987 Canada negotiated a Free Trade Agreement with the US. In 2013 Canada negotiates a Free Trade Agreement with the EU. The US and the EU are both very big advanced economies. Wikipedia confirms my memory of 1987: "The debate in Canada over whether to implement the negotiated agreement was […]
What’s a Billion?
I have finally been able to catch my breath this week and ponder the situation in Ontario over the report on the final cost of cancelling two natural gas electricity plants in the Oakville-Mississauga area ostensibly in order to retain seats for the Ontario Liberal government given local opposition to the plants. The Ontario auditor […]
Is this a bank bailout by the CMHC? Quotas vs tariffs.
I learn from the CBC that the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation has imposed a quota of $350 million per month per individual bank (or other lender) on the amount of mortgage-backed securities it will guarantee. Presumably the CMHC did this because the Federal government wanted to put a cap of $85 billion on the […]
Who Gets What Federalism
The recent Mowat Centre report on Ontario’s fiscal gap with Ottawa and the lament that Ontario puts more into Confederation than it gets out brought to mind a poll done in 2005 by EKOS that showed that 51 percent of Canadians believed their province was putting more money into Confederation than it gets out. Of […]
What does the federal budget mean for the post-secondary sector?
Reforming universities is difficult. Cures tried elsewhere, like the UK Research Assessment Exercise, have induced people to publish more. Yet, to the extent that research comes at the cost of time spent teaching or engaging with students, "incentivizing" research could actually decrease the social value of universities. University reform is doubly difficult in Canada, […]
Son Spots: The merits of dynasties
Politics seems to run in families. The question is: why? Why would electors choose the son, daughter or spouse of a successful politician over other candidates who are, on paper at least, equally or more qualified? An economist is in no position to answer this question, but is ably equipped to theorize about it.
Game of Premiers: The Premiers, Health & Public Policy
Well, Canada’s premiers and territorial leaders are gathering in Halifax this week engaged in their version of the Game of Thrones with hurt feelings and fiscal uncertainty rather than beheadings, swordplay and pillaging the most likely dire consequences. Among the issues planned for discussion are energy and health care. Not on the official agenda will […]
Worthwhile Canadian Initiative 
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