The limitations inherent in the traditional pension models – defined contribution (DC) and defined benefit (DB) – are facing increased scrutiny and new models are developing in response to these pressures. Due to extremely low interest rates and the volatility of equity markets, over the...

Recent research has shown that monetary policy based on price-level targeting has several advantages over the traditional inflation targeting method, particularly in times of economic distress. Although several central banks have been coping with the aftershocks of the 2008 financial crisis for...

The aging of Canada’s babyboomers is going to put significant pressure on the way in which we pay for and organize long-term care (LTC) services. The demand for LTC services remains relatively small for the first decade of life after age 65, but rises sharply around the time people turn 80....

In Canada and around the world governments are granting an increasing number of professionals and other occupations in the service sector the right to self-governance and self-regulation or the delegation of authority that the state would normally hold. Self-regulation has become the preferred...

In the wake of a series of crises, international and domestic financial regulation has become highly complex and prescriptive, and oriented to leverage, liquidity, and capital ratios among financial institutions. This raises concerns over monitoring incentives, and over the increased role of...

Compared to most Canadian provinces, Québec is endowed with a large and fast growing number of family doctors relative to its population. In spite of this, Québec’s family physicians and the general public regularly report that provincial residents have poor access to healthcare services....

After years of an economic relationship that can be described fairly as cool, Canada and India have begun negotiating a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). Canada’s main interests in the CEPA are to secure transparency and non-discrimination for Canadians in the Indian...

Charging for the life cycle cost of waste management is contentious. The recent example of some retailers charging "eco-fees" in Ontario, with respect to sales of household products such as detergent, batteries and fluorescent light bulbs, is a case in point. However, the Ontario program for...