Here are some examples of the Institute’s policy work in December 2011:
Better foreign investment rules needed for Canada
Ottawa should transform the Investment Canada Act to create a broader, more transparent foreign investment review regime to encourage investment inflows while protecting Canadian national interests. In “Reforming the Investment Canada Act: Walk More Softly, Carry a Bigger Stick,” authors Philippe Bergevin and Daniel Schwanen say that Canada should scrap the “net benefit test” that now restricts inbound foreign investment. The authors argue that such an overhaul could help reverse Canada’s declining share of global foreign direct investment, and bring Canada in line with its more open peers.
The benefits of new border rules
C.D. Howe Institute research has long focussed on how Canada and the United States can reduce security risks and foster more fruitful flows of commerce across their common border. The new Canada-US border agreement will lead to improved business opportunities on both sides of the border, says the Institute’s Daniel Schwanen.
- For a BNN interview with Daniel Schwanen on the new Canada-US border agreement click here.
- For the study “Beyond the Border and Back to the Future: Seizing the Opportunity to Enhance Canadian and US Economic Growth and Security” click here for the summary and here for the full report.
Equipping Canada’s workers for a competitive world: The best (and worst) provinces for business investment
Robust business investment in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador continues to outstrip the poor performances of other provinces. In “The Retooling Challenge: Canada’s Struggle to Close the Capital Investment Gap,” authors Colin Busby and William B.P. Robson find that new capital spending on tools for Canadian workers, in the form of machinery, equipment or buildings, still lags that in the United States and other major developed countries. While Canada narrowed the gap in the late 2000s, preliminary figures for 2010 and 2011 suggest that Canada is slipping again. Considering the outsized contributions of the three resource-based provinces to the national performance, other provinces clearly need to raise their game.
- For the summary click here.
- For the study click here.
- For an article on the study in the Montreal Gazette click here.
- For an article citing the study in the Vancouver Sun click here.
Ottawa’s public-sector pension bubble grows to $227 billion
The federal government’s unfunded liabilities for its employee pension plans total $227 billion, far more than reported. In “Ottawa’s Pension Gap: The Growing and Under-reported Cost of Federal Employee Pensions,” authors Alexandre Laurin and William Robson find that, using fair-value accounting like private-sector plans which value assets and liabilities using current market prices and interest rates, Ottawa’s unfunded employee pension obligations are $80 billion more than reported in the Public Accounts.
- For the summary click here.
- For the study click here.
- For a Financial Post op-ed click here
- For an article on the study in the Globe and Mail click here.
- For an article on the study in the Toronto Star click here.
How to fix the flaws in Ottawa’s design for Pooled Registered Pension Plans
The federal government’s design for Pooled Registered Pension Plans (PRPPs), as proposed in Bill C-25, has flaws that need fixing to meet the needs of Canadians without a workplace pension plan. In “Saving Pooled Registered Pension Plans: It’s Up To the Provinces,” authors Keith Ambachtsheer and Edward Waitzer say that in its current form, the design blueprint will fall short of its primary objective: to ensure that the majority of Canadians who do not have a workplace pension will have access to a well-regulated, low-cost, private-sector capital accumulation plan.