Two new essays—Putting Government on a Financial Diet: The Role of Statutory Fiscal Rules by Jack Mintz, president’s fellow at the University of Calgary, and Government Size and Economic Growth: An Overview by Livio Di Matteo, professor of economics at Lakehead University and a senior fellow at the Fraser Institute—note that the federal government’s budget deficit and mounting debt, and the overall size of government in Canada, will discourage economic productivity and the possibility of a four-day work week.

Distribution of CERB: Estimating the Number of Young People Eligible and Living with Parents finds that young people living at home with their parents in households with at least $100,000 of income are eligible for as much as $11.8 billion in Canadian Emergency Relief Benefit (CERB) payments. Crucially, many of these young, dependent Canadians could actually see a significant increase in their monthly income by receiving CERB payments.

Comparing Government and Private Sector Compensation in Canada finds that public-sector employees in Canada—including municipal, provincial and federal government workers—received 9.4 per cent higher wages, on average, than comparable workers in the private sector in 2018, and also enjoyed more generous pensions, earlier retirement, more personal leave and greater job security.