To: Doug Ford and Ontario’s New Government

cc: Governments across Canada

From: Benjamin Dachis

Date: July 12, 2018

Re: Business Property Tax Cuts Can Be a Secret Weapon

Your government has committed to reducing taxes and increasing the competitiveness of Ontario business. Lower taxes on business mean more investment, making workers more productive and businesses more competitive.

From: Jeremy M. Kronick and Nikki Hui

To: Federal, Provincial, and Municipal Policymakers

Date: July 11, 2018

Re: Housing Supply Is the Fix to High Household Debt

From: Jon Johnson

To: Canadians Concerned about NAFTA

Date: July 10, 2018

Re: Section 232 Tariffs and the Automotive Threat (Part Two)

The imposition of 20-percent tariffs against automotive products under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 is not a foregone conclusion.

From: Jon Johnson

To: Canadians Concerned about NAFTA

Date: July 9, 2018

Re: Section 232 Tariffs and the Automotive Threat (Part One)

From: Daniel Schwanen

To: The Honourable Chrystia Freeland

Date: July 6, 2018

Re: A New Coalition for Trade in the Era of Trump

On June 6, 2017, in a much remarked speech in the House of Commons, you rightly extolled the virtues of a global order based on rules, including rules promoting, as you put it, “free and friendly trade.”

To: Ontario’s new Progressive Conservative government

From: Adam Found and Peter Tomlinson

Date: July 5, 2018

Re: Business Tax Cuts in Ontario: Expanding the Menu

From: Antoine Genest-Grégoire, Luc Godbout, René Beaudry, and Bernard Morency

To: The Hon. Bill Morneau, Minister of Finance

Date: July 4, 2018

Re: Deferring Receipt of Public Pension Benefits: A Tool for Flexibility

Retirement savers would benefit from greater flexibility and security with a longer Canada and Québec Pension Plan (C/QPP) deferral period.

From: James Bushnell, Jonathan Hughes and Aaron Smith

To: Regulators and users of the Western Canadian rail network

Date: July 3, 2018

Re: Food vs. Fuel? Impacts of Petroleum Shipments on Agricultural Prices

The shale revolution generated tremendous changes in both the volume and geographical distribution of oil production.

From: Michael Lindsay

To: Premier-Designate Doug Ford

Date: June 29, 2018

Re: Navigating icebergs en route to a balanced budget

In the recent election campaign, you expressed a desire to move in a “modest and responsible” way towards the elimination of Ontario’s deficit.

The causes of the province’s deficit are structural. Eliminating the deficit will require a comprehensive and thoughtful approach. Allow me to share a framework that might prove helpful.

Dear friends and supporters of the C.D. Howe Institute,

Things looked so promising when we celebrated Canada’s 150th birthday last July.  This year Canada’s policy challenges look more complicated, due to a few unforced errors on the domestic scene and some remarkably complex challenges abroad.