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1. Expanding government won’t help Canada’s recovery

   Enough signals have been sent by the federal government over the last few weeks for Canadians to formulate reasonable expectations about the upcoming throne speech next month and what might be included in the government’s plan for ...

2. Ten year-end facts Canadians need to know

   As we end 2017, here are 10 year-end facts Canadians should understand and consider as we enter 2018: • The total tax bill for the average Canadian family will exceed $35,000 in 2017, or 42.5 per cent of their income—more than what the ...

3. Budget 2017 spells end of the Chrétien Consensus?

   Under the Trudeau government, deficits continue with no end in sight, debt is growing and taxes have increased. ...

4. Morneau’s ‘Plan for Middle Class Progress’ cuts GDP by $131 billion

   Appeared in the Toronto Sun, November 2, 2016 On Tuesday, Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau released his government’s Fall Economic Statement titled A Plan for Middle Class Progress. As noted in the release, “Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced ...

5. Federal deficits could total nearly $200 billion over next five years

   Appeared in the Financial Post, May 12, 2016 As the saying goes, a moving target is hard to hit. That is why repeated shifts in the federal government’s deficit and debt goals over the past six months have been so concerning. What started as a promise to ...

6. Moving Targets: Re-estimating Federal Deficits and Debt-to-GDP through 2020/21

   The federal government has repeatedly shifted the goal posts on its own “fiscal anchors.” This bulletin examines the robustness of the current “fiscal anchor” to reduce the debt-to-GDP ratio by the government’s first mandate. The 2016 federal budget ...

7. Why waste a budget? Trudeau should learn from Chretien and Martin

   Appeared in National Newswatch, March 18, 2016 As Prime Minister Trudeau delivers his first budget next week, one that reportedly contains a deficit in excess of $30 billion, his government may want to consider the lessons learned by former Prime Minister ...

8. End of the Chretien Consensus in Canada?

   Appeared in the Financial Post, November 24, 2015 Canada enjoyed an economic and fiscal renaissance starting in the mid-1990s that lasted more than a decade. The boom was rooted in sound fiscal policy (balanced budgets, focused spending, and tax ...

9. What are the top three business/economic issues federal parties should be addressing in the current federal campaign?

   Appeared in Business in Vancouver, September 29, 2015 With a relatively weak Canadian economy, depressed commodity prices and the myriad of international economic issues (i.e. uncertainty in China), federal parties should offer solutions to the economic ...

10. Spending Beyond Our Means; Sticking it to the Next Generation

    Appeared in the National Post Over the course of the past several months, outgoing Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney and Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty have repeatedly warned that Canadians are spending beyond their means and taking on too much ...