With the federal government projecting swelling budget deficits in the Fall Economic Statement and then the 2021 Budget due to pandemic relief measures, debate is shifting to the revenue raising measures needed to pay for them. But before raising broad-based taxes, governments should evaluate...

Newfoundland and Labrador’s current fiscal problems began in 2012/13 when the budget balance swung back into deficit and the net debt burden rose. The fiscal deterioration ramped up when the decline in oil prices beginning in late 2014 drastically reduced offshore royalty revenues accruing to...

Canada’s economic recovery post–coronavirus pandemic will take shape alongside its commitment to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Although COVID-19 is an unexpected catastrophe, climate change is an expected one. All risks are important, but this E-Brief focuses on climate risk...

Gig workers have become a fixture of the modern workforce and a focus of policy ideas to reduce their often marginalized status. This E-Brief examines one aspect of that status: the lack of unemployment insurance that magnifies the precarious nature of their work lives; an issue being examined...

As membership in traditional defined-benefit pension plans declines, plans in which benefits are contingent on the financial status of the plan are becoming more common. Rather than placing all the risk on sponsors to deliver guaranteed benefits to members, these contingent pension plans require...

A new in-depth report reveals Alberta’s best schools using student results on Provincial Achievement Tests in math, reading, science and social studies in grades 3, 6 and 9. In “Identifying Alberta’s Best Schools,” Professor David Johnson compares student outcomes on an...

Canadian provinces should be concerned about slipping high-school students’ scores – in reading, science and mathematics – as assessed by the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), according a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Warning Signs for Canadian...

December 19, 2019 – Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) have had great success over the past decade, but could use a tune-up, says a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute.In “TFSAs: Time for a Tune-Up,” author Alexandre Laurin argues that after a decade in existence, there is now enough...

The best and worst major Canadian cities for business investment as measured by overall tax burden are identified in a new report by authors Adam Found and Peter Tomlinson.Before a business decides to locate or expand in a given jurisdiction, it must consider the tax implications of such an...

Postponing retirement has become a new reality for many older workers in the wake of the market crash, underlining the need for reform of the rules around retirement saving in tax-deferred programs.In this report, author Joseph Nunes argues Ottawa should raise the age at which workers must stop...