Average per-person income in Canada is now roughly US$51,000 versus US$54,000 in Australia.
Australia
The Trudeau government raised the top income tax rate from 29 per cent to 33 per cent.
As the Ontario government moves ahead with plans for a new mandatory provincial pension program in January 2017, early signs suggest the program will be largely modelled after the Canada Pension Plan. Ontarians, however, would benefit from a broader debate that looks beyond their borders.
Professor Colleen Flood’s recent column in Globe Debate (Canada should look to Europe on health care, not the U.S) got the title right – but just about everything else wrong. Canadians would indeed benefit from a look at Europe for lessons on healthcare reform. What they should not do is fall for Ms. Flood’s erroneous jumbling of statistics that muddle reality and results in false conclusions.
As Canada's finance ministers meet to discuss the Canada Pension Plan, the debate has thus far been insulated from international pension models and limited to whether or not we should expand the CPP.
For many Canadians, the Victoria Day long weekend marks the beginning of summertime holiday planning, if not a late May escape after a long winter. For those who travel outside of the country in the coming months, we have a modest proposal: find a pub, sit down with locals and ask about their nations health care system.