In the wake of the financial crisis, Credit Rating Agencies (CRAs) have been criticized for having played a significant role in the market turmoil. Numerous reports have identified failures on the part of CRAs that have affected the quality and integrity of the rating process. In light of the...

Retiring babyboomers are driving a shift from retirement-fund accumulation to decumulation, but they need better choices to protect against longevity risk. The author says to enhance retirees' options, policy reforms should level the playing field for annuity products and promote market-driven...

The Canada Health Act (CHA) creates a series of “grey zones” in which considerable discretion is granted to the federal health minister to determine what is subject to penalty under the Act. This report outlines the provisions of the CHA, and examines four current issues relating to the Act:...

Important changes are now underway to Canada Pension Plan “adjustment factors” that will increase the penalty for those who retire before age 65, and will raise the amount of additional CPP benefits available for those who delay retirement beyond 65. The new pension adjustment factors have...

As Canada’s society ages, more personal care and health support will be needed for people who, either as a consequence of disability or aging, require assistance to function independently. As this happens, policymakers face the daunting challenge of balancing the fiscal burden on taxpayers...

Over the coming two decades people are likely to stay in the workforce much longer – by about five years. There will be a strong trend towards later retirement as a result of social and economic pressures, without any policy action. The results will be largely positive and should therefore be...

Canada’s energy sector, and the Canadian economy, would benefit from a renewed focus on pipeline review policy and regulation. Recent cases, including the Mackenzie Valley pipeline, the Keystone XL, and the Northern Gateway pipeline, highlight current challenges and the need for an improved...

The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) could improve its development aid impact by focusing on basic education. In the report, the author documents the importance of universal literacy in enabling countries to escape from extreme levels of poverty and identifies specific types of...

There are little-acknowledged yet striking inequities built into the payout formulas of defined-benefit (DB) pension plans, which are typically provided to government employees across Canada. An analysis of representative DB plans shows they systematically transfer income away from groups of...

Financial instruments indexed to the general price level are of great potential use to borrowers and lenders alike. But up until recently, they have been relatively scarce – in part because private borrowers dislike offering protection against inflation that they do not control. Since the...