With pandemic benefits ending, will the unemployed return to the work force? – Globe and Mail Op-Ed
All COVID-related economic recovery measures in Canada are set to end soon. Employers who have been having trouble filling vacancies are hoping this will spur a flood of people back into the work force, but unfortunately for business owners, the situation isn’t quite that simple.
Canada should negotiate a fairer share of drug R&D costs – Financial Post Op-Ed
Big changes are afoot in the way patent drugs are priced in Canada. At present, Canada’s Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB), a federal agency, is responsible for setting maximum prices for patented drugs (i.e., pharmaceuticals, biologics and vaccines). The agency has been criticized for failing to rein in prices, which are higher than in some peer countries. This criticism is unfair: the tools the PMPRB was given to regulate drug prices when it was established in 1987 have become less effective over time.
From: William B.P. Robson
To: Canadian voters
Date: September 21, 2021
Re: The Election’s Over and Canada’s Spending Bill is Coming Due
Former Prime Minister Kim Campbell got pilloried in 1993 for saying an election is no time to discuss serious issues. Yet in September 2021, her words ring true.
How Will Canadians Feel About Today’s Campaign Promises When the Bill Comes Due? – Globe and Mail Op-Ed
Former Prime Minister Kim Campbell got pilloried in 1993 for saying an election is no time to discuss serious issues. Yet in September 2021, her words ring true. Foreign policy? We all but ignore the rest of the world. Monetary policy? Not something to think about, even with inflation above 4 per cent. Fiscal policy? Almost no one is talking about whether, over time, we will be willing and able to finance all the goodies being added to the federal budget.
William B.P. Robson on BNN – Canada’s Business Investment Is Lagging Other Countries
Bill Robson, CEO of the C.D. Howe Institute, joins BNN Bloomberg to discuss how business investment in Canada is falling behind other OECD countries, and how this could impact wages and productivity growth for our country going forward.
From: Aurelien Portuese
To: Canadians Concerned About Competition
Date: September 17, 2021
Re: Principles of Dynamic Antitrust
Charles DeLand on The Agenda – Who has the Best Climate Plan?
Ahead of the federal election, The Agenda looked at the various party platforms on climate change. The C.D. Howe Institute's Associate Director of Research Charles DeLand spoke to Steve Paikin alongside Mark Jaccard, Professor of Sustainable Energy and Director of the School of Resource and Environmental Management at Simon Fraser University; Sarah Petrevan, Policy Director at Clean Energy Canada; and the Globe and Mail's Adam Radwanski.
To: Canadians concerned about innovation
From: John Lester
Date: September 16, 2021
Re: Canada’s Support for R&D is Unbalanced. A Patent Box Would Help.
Election platforms for both major parties contain pledges to reform Canada’s support system for research and development.
That is good news, because there is much to improve. Canada provides too much R&D support to small firms, not enough for large firms and could do better on commercialization.
Business Investment in Canada Not Keeping Pace with Workforce or Competitors Abroad
Business Investment in Canada Not Keeping Pace with Workforce or Competitors Abroad
September 16, 2021 – Recent figures on Canada’s stock of capital and new investment prefigure lower incomes for Canadian workers, according to a new report released by the C.D. Howe Institute.
In “Declining Vital Signs: Canada’s Investment Crisis,” authors William B.P. Robson and Miles Wu examine Canada’s stock of business capital and new investment, comparing it to the United States and other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries.