Industry Regulation and Competition Policy - Op Eds

The Liberal government’s 23-move cabinet shuffle last week missed out on one sensible extra move. As a major review of Canada’s competition policy continues, it’s a good time to highlight competition’s crucial importance in the economy by giving it its very own minister. An effective and dedicated competition minister might actually raise Canadians’ incomes by thousands of dollars a year.

At the moment, competition policy is the responsibility of the minister of innovation, science and industry, who is currently François-Philippe Champagne, one of only seven ministers left unshuffled last week. Many observers think Champagne has been effective in executing the government’s priorities. But his portfolio is vast and he is known…

Canada is not keeping up in the global competition for innovation-led growth and prosperity.

Our research and development intensity is low relative to other countries and not enough of our inventions are commercialized at home. Can Ottawa’s current review of the Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax credit announced in its last budget make a difference?

In principle, yes, but early indications are that the review will focus on issues of dubious merit or those that would best be handled with new measures rather than by modifying SR&ED.

The federal review has two objectives. The first is to assess whether the SR&ED program is effective in encouraging R&D that benefits Canada. The…

Pas facile de lâcher le biberon pétrolier qui empoisonne notre planète. Comment concilier la nécessaire décarbonation et la sécurité énergétique ? Et, de surcroît, assurer une transition juste pour les provinces productrices ?

Ces questions n’ont pas de réponses faciles. À raison, les environnementalistes poussent pour un sevrage et une transition rapide vers les énergies renouvelables. Mais les consommateurs sont habiles à rationaliser l’utilité de leur VUS. Et à l’ère du populisme, les gouvernements craignent de les brusquer. Quant aux pétrolières et aux provinces productrices, elles cherchent évidemment à protéger leur pactole le plus longtemps possible.

En Europe, la guerre en Ukraine a rappelé brutalement l’impératif…

Canada’s process for reviewing foreign investments is too opaque, and protects neither our economic nor our national-security interests.

Ottawa should therefore follow Washington’s lead and create a system wherein certain transactions must be cleared before an investment is ever made.

The timing couldn’t be better: Earlier this month, Innovation, Science and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced a review of Canadian’s Competition Act. The minister should leverage this moment to create a tailor-made solution for foreign investment reviews, as well.

Rather than prioritizing national security, the current regime is more concerned with investors. Canadian companies and their advisers would all benefit…

The Ontario Housing Affordability Task Force released its final report Feb. 8 after two months of consultation and study. It offers bold reform to boost housing supply. The ball is now in the province’s court to decide which recommendations to adopt; the province would be wise to adopt as many as it can.

The debate on why housing costs are so high is settled. Study after study shows supply restrictions are behind the price rises. One C.D. Howe Institute study shows delays and extra costs add hundreds of thousands of dollars to home costs.

The government has focused on boosting supply before. In 2019, it announced a Housing Supply Action Plan and a first package of legislative and regulatory changes. (Full disclosure: I…