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  1. 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 ...

  2. Federal finances and the irony behind Ottawa’s new ‘stress test’

    Appeared in the Financial Post, October 18, 2016 Ottawa recently announced a series of new regulations for the housing market to “protect the long-term financial security of borrowers and all Canadians.” You have to love the irony. While the federal ...

  3. Slow growth in Canada and the elephant in the room—bad government policy

    Appeared in The Huffington Post, October 3, 2016 It seems there’s no shortage of headlines claiming that slow economic growth is the “new normal.” The latest stream came from a recent speech in the United Kingdom by Carolyn Wilkins, senior deputy governor ...

  4. To spur future growth, Morneau should study recent history

    Appeared in the National Newswatch, August 29, 2016 The federal Liberals have repeatedly talked about the importance of encouraging long-term economic growth and bringing about greater prosperity, particularly for Canada’s middle class. As part of the ...

  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. With the federal budget looming, Canadian economy faces troubled waters—partially self-imposed

    Appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press, March 22, 2016 As the federal budget nears, there’s no question the Canadian economy is not firing on all cylinders. The global economic slowdown coupled with depressed commodity prices is posing real challenges for ...

  8. 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 ...

  9. Moving targets, routine deficits, and Canada’s short-lived federal ‘fiscal anchor’

    Appeared in the Financial Post, February 25, 2016 During last fall’s federal election, the Liberals campaigned on a commitment to run budget deficits for its first three years, while promising that the size of those deficits would be capped at $10 billion ...

  10. The Impact of Higher Interest Rates on the Cost of Servicing Government Debt

    An important fact to consider when assessing the medium-term fiscal plans announced by the federal and provincial governments is that interest rates are at historically low levels. A return to more normal levels would jeopardize promises for balanced ...