Canadian business and political leaders have long looked to strengthen bilateral economic relations with the ASEAN Economic Community based on its openness to trade, its dynamism and its integration into Asian production chains. Given the shift from an Asia-Pacific to an Indo-Pacific framing for...

At the five-month mark, the costs of Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” have soared and spread. The short-term economic costs of the invasion include not only the direct war damage in Ukraine and the immediate consequences of the economic sanctions and counter-sanctions on...

Public-sector investment funds (especially pension funds) have been increasingly pooled and managed by investment management firms in Ontario. Pooled asset management generates a net benefit to public-sector spending patterns by realizing benefits from economies of scale, including reducing...

In the decade leading up to the pandemic, safe assets did not keep pace with global demand. The supply of high-grade government bonds in advanced economies was constrained because budget deficits were declining. At the same time, the demand for these assets increased due to the aging population,...

There are some 2,500 international investment agreements (IIAs) in force around the world, whether as stand-alone treaties or incorporated into bilateral or regional free trade agreements (FTAs). They are a significant feature of the international business scene.A main feature of these...

In this report five leading experts in health law and medicine at the University of Ottawa examine vaccine passports in the context of Charter rights, privacy rights, and implementation. The paper first explores whether a vaccine passport regime would infringe Charter rights, including mobility...

This working paper uses an epidemiological-economic model to determine the optimal intervention strategy in order to achieve desired health outcomes while minimizing economic damage. The results show that, compared to a uniform lockdown in which everyone is locked down the same, a targeted...

In “Damage Control: Options for Reforming the Land Transfer Tax in Manitoba,” authors Bev Dahlby and Jack Mintz examine the land transfer tax in Manitoba and consider three options for its reform. “Compared to other Canadian cities, the land transfer tax in Winnipeg for a property sold at...

The new North American trade deal takes effect on July 1 amid heightened uncertainty about its likely impacts. The effect of the COVID-19 crisis on supply chains, the digital transformation of the economy, and the possibility of the US reimposing aluminum and steel tariffs all cloud the...

The Trump Administration is proceeding with unilateral measures to address what it has characterized as “unfair” trade, risking retaliation, but banking on a threat of massive escalation to extract a favorable outcome for itself. Notwithstanding widespread speculation that the threats to...