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1. Ontario’s fiscal paradox—a balanced budget and mounting debt

   Ontario has wrapped up its 2018 pre-budget public consultations as it prepares to deliver its next provincial budget. Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa confirmed in the fall fiscal statement that Ontario’s 2018 budget will be ...

2. Under OHIP+, access to new or innovative drugs for rare disorders is limited

   The Ontario government has launched its much promoted, publicly-funded pharmacare program called OHIP+, which will provide cost-free access to all prescription drugs in the Ontario formulary for the province’s four million children and ...

3. Ontario coal phase-out did not end ’smog days’

   Jennifer Keesmaat, chief planner for the City of Toronto, has been tweeting about how phasing out coal in Ontario has made “smog days” a thing of the past. She also credits the coal phase-out with enabling Toronto to meet its city ...

4. To reform its retail liquor market, Ontario can learn from Alberta

   During the recent long weekend, many Ontarians celebrated Canada’s 150th birthday with celebrations at their homes and cottages across our wonderful province. While having fun, relaxing and catching up with friends and relatives, it was ...

5. Ontario government celebrates lotteries and booze while applying ‘sin taxes’

   Ontario’s dispute with Liquor Control Board (LCBO) employees, which led to a tentative agreement earlier this week, highlights the continuing importance of “sin taxes” as a source of Ontario government revenue. Moreover, Ontario’s ...

6. Wynne government gives public employees a raise despite deep red ink

   Appeared in the Ottawa Sun, June 14, 2017 Earlier this week, Premier Wynne’s government offered a four-year contract extension to Ontario government workers with 7.5 per cent pay raises over the life of the deal. This follows a two-year extension recently ...

7. Ontario’s basic income unlikely to help people get ahead

   This spring, the Ontario government will launch a three-year “basic income” pilot program and a key question to consider is how the program will impact the willingness of recipients to work. While it is possible to create a basic income ...

8. Unemployment rate doesn’t tell full story of Ontario’s economy

   According to Statistics Canada, Ontario’s unemployment rate dropped to 5.8 per cent in April, its lowest level since January 2001. The drop puts Ontario well below the national average, which shrank by 0.2 percentage points to 6.5 per ...

9. Risky business—the clean tech gamble

   Governments across Canada are betting big (carbon tax) money on clean tech. Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta have all directed funds from carbon pricing into ventures promoting “clean tech” (a.k.a. technology that provides ...

10. Why are northern Ontario’s cities really shrinking?

    The latest census results have caused quite a bit of alarm in northern Ontario as three out of the five major cities have seen a drop in their population while the other two are displaying rather stagnant population growth rates. ...