C.d. Howe Institute

With most of Canada partially vaccinated and 41% going into a “two dose summer”, is now the time to pull back on COVID-19 related stimulus spending? The Institute’s Bill Robson and Jeremy Kronick tell Michael Hainsworth that the economic data support the move as consumers prepare to open their wallets wide.

Bill C-10’s attempts to amend Canada’s Broadcasting Act has it performing a high-wire act of its own. Globe & Mail columnist Andrew Coyne and Youtube’s Jeanette Patell sit down with Michael Hainsworth to discuss criticism around Canadian content requirements, and why they feel the bill’s foundational concern is flawed: that the playing field requires leveling in the first place.

The 1st anniversary of CUSMA is around the corner. But what does the future look like for the Canadian automotive industry in a post-CUSMA, and a post-COVID world? We turned to KPMG Canada’s Joy Nott and Transport Canada’s Megan Nichols to learn how much the breakdown in supply chain management over the last 15 months and a new trade deal will change the sector forever.

Cigarette smoking is the single largest cause of avoidable premature death in Canada. It’s estimated to cut 10 years off a smoker’s life. Cigarettes have gotten a 21st century makeover since they were first introduced in the 19th century. Concordia University economics professor Ian Irvine says Ottawa should tax vape-based products as a harm reduction strategy aimed at kicking the habit. But by how much?

Meeting Ottawa’s climate plan requires our cars and light trucks to cut GHG by 34 percent over the next decade. What’s it going to take to make the transportation sector do the heavy-lifting on reducing Canada’s carbon footprint? Host Michael Hainsworth learns there’s no “silver bullet,” it’s more like “silver buckshot.”

Ottawa is kicking the cost of COVID-19 down the road and crossing its fingers we don’t encounter any additional economic or health crises between now and 2055. The Institute’s CEO Bill Robson is joined by Director of Research Alex Laurin and Senior Fellow Don Drummond to discuss the implications, why we can’t grow our way out of the fiscal hole like we did after the Second World War, and why a consumption tax would be a more effective tool than a wealth tax.

With vaccinations ramping up, our attention turns to the post-pandemic recovery. But how can the country recover without women in the workforce? Dr. Jennifer Robson of Carleton University and McGill’s Ken Boessenkool tell Michael Hainsworth that now is not the time to build a national childcare program from scratch, but work needs to begin now on providing more accessible and affordable childcare, building on structures already in place.

Times of crisis open the door to new economic theories. As governments inflate debt to address them, talk about Modern Monetary Theory has grown into a chorus in some circles – particularly as the Americans discuss the “Green New Deal.” But as report authors Farah Omran and Mark Zelmer tell host Michael Hainsworth, Modern Monetary Theory has a serious flaw: relying on politicians to do the right thing.

Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh’s plan to pay for the pandemic is to tax the companies that benefitted the most from the coronavirus response. It would inject more than $5B into Canada’s coffers. Taxing big business is one thing, but how will the NDP help small businesses weather the third wave of infections and beyond? Host Michael Hainsworth found the party leader is preparing for an election he doesn’t want.

The explosive growth in demand for green bonds is expected to return post-COVID. C.D. Howe Institute Senior Fellow Glen Hodgson tells Michael Hainsworth the pandemic has given the oil patch, foreign investors, and Ottawa an opportunity to rebuild the economy around green thinking.

Governments are increasingly using industrial policy to give their Industry 4.0 economies a competitive edge. How should Canada respond after past failures in guiding the invisible hand of the markets? C.D. Howe Institute VP of Research Daniel Schwanen and Fellow-in-Residence Dan Ciuriak on lessons learned, and why we can’t fear the future.

The shift to remote work during COVID-19 has shone the spotlight on Canada’s infrastructure – and its digital divide. It comes at a time when the world is making a major shift to 5G. But unlike the previous generation, this one will trigger the next industrial revolution. Host Michael Hainsworth speaks to Shaw's SVP Brian O'Shaughnessy, Telus' Chief Customer Officer Tony Geheran, and Rogers' SVP Luciano Ramos for insight into how Canada stays competitive and bridges the geographic and economic divide.

The US President has scrapped the Keystone XL pipeline. Is this the end of the southbound extension for TC Energy and the province of Alberta? The University of Calgary’s Kristen van de Biezenbos warns the White House isn’t the biggest threat to the oil rich province: it’s the states.

In the midst of the worst pandemic in 100 years, addressing gaps in access to healthcare services in Canada has become a priority. The problem of a fractured provincial-based healthcare system has been exacerbated by COVID-19. With as many as 11,000 cancer, gynecologic, and other elective surgeries postponed each week in Ontario alone, the solution is in part more bodies. But as we learn from the C.D. Howe Institute’s Rosalie Wyonch and Doctor John Kingdom of Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital, we can’t just throw more money at doctors to fill the gaps.

2020 will be known as “the year of unprecedented times.” As COVID-19 vaccine injections begin, we look back at how Canada handled the pandemic – what we did right and what we did wrong – with crisis communications expert David Herle of The Gandalf Group, and the C.D. Howe Institute’s CEO Bill Robson.

Ontario Liberal leader Steven Del Duca says if made premier, he would make education his top priority. But by 2022 it’s expected COVID will be behind us as vaccines are distributed through the course of next year. So what’s his plan to get the economy back on track? And is now even the time to talk about that? Del Duca believes the time to set aside partisan politics in the COVID fight has come — and tells host Michael Hainsworth that the tipping point was Ford’s lack of focus on a safe return to the classroom.

The second wave of COVID-19 is upon us, and hard lessons learned over the spring aren’t necessarily being applied today. So how do we flatten the curve going into the holidays? Hear insights from Colleen M. Flood, University of Ottawa Research Chair in Health Law & Policy; Paul Jenkins, former Senior Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada; and C.D. Howe Institute policy analyst Rosalie Wyonch.

What will it take to put Canada on the path to prosperity in a post-COVID world? The economy is forecast to rise in 2021 but it’s a case of “one step forward, two steps back.” Taxing our way out of Coronavirus debt isn’t the solution, warn Goldy Hyder and Robert Asselin of the Business Council of Canada. And Deloitte’s Chief Economist Craig Alexander tells us the solution was obvious before even the first confirmed case.

With the U.S. Presidential election right around the corner, what would Donald Trump's re-election mean for Canada? Michael Hainsworth put that to the Wilson Centre’s Christopher Sands and former PMO communications director Scott Reid, and learned how we might navigate four more years of a Trump presidency.

With the U.S. Presidential election right around the corner, what would a Joe Biden win mean for Canada? Michael Hainsworth sits down with the Wilson Centre’s Christopher Sands and former PMO communications director Scott Reid, to find out if a Biden victory will smooth over some of the cracks in the US-Canada relationship.