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1. Competitiveness should be a top priority for finance ministers

   Serious concerns about the country’s competitiveness hovered above talks this week at the federal-provincial finance ministers meeting in Ottawa. Which is not surprising. Canada has become a less appealing place to do business due to ...

2. The finance minister said what? Part 3

   This third installment in what has unfortunately become an ongoing series of blog posts examining statements by Canada’s federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau (pictured above) focuses on recent comments made during testimony before the ...

3. The finance minister said what? Part 2

   Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau (pictured above) recently appeared on BNN Bloomberg and made a number of incredibly worrying statements indicating that he (and the federal government) are either wholly misunderstanding the ...

4. The finance minister said what?

   Coming out of an emergency cabinet meeting earlier this week, ostensibly called to deal with the watershed announcement that Kinder Morgan was halting all “non-essential” spending on its Trans Mountain pipeline despite regulatory and ...

5. Trump reforms lay bare Canadian policy missteps

   Prime Minister Trudeau has stated unequivocally that he won’t reduce Canadian taxes to remain competitive. ...

6. Sensational headlines about economic growth breed complacency

   Appeared in the Financial Post, September 7, 2017 Given the sensational media headlines hyping Canada’s recent economic growth, it’s hard to blame Canadians for being complacent. “Canada's economy steamrolls ahead—4.5% annualized rate of expansion” ...

7. Morneau’s tax changes—another missed opportunity as Ottawa searches for revenue

   Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau (pictured above) today proposed a series of tax changes intended to crackdown on tax-planning strategies involving the use of private corporations that can “result in high-income individuals gaining ...

8. Morneau wrong about Canada’s economy and competitiveness

   Appeared in the Financial Post, April 13, 2017 Canada’s anemic economic growth should be of the upmost concern to Canadian policymakers. In 2016, the economy had one of its most difficult years, with growth at a mere 1.3 per cent. Looking forward, it ...

9. Personal income taxes and the capital gains tax

   Numerous studies have demonstrated the high costs imposed on economies that maintain capital gains taxes, particularly those such as Canada that are relatively small and trade-oriented. The source of these costs is that capital gains ...

10. Budget season—Alberta and Ottawa must revert back to proven fiscal policies

    Budget season in Canada is now in full swing as governments unveil their tax and spending plans for the coming year and beyond. Two upcoming budgets deserve special attention: Alberta’s (March 16) and the federal government’s (March 22), ...