Speeches and Presentations

Only a little more than six months after the symbolic photo of a US helicopter evacuating US embassy staff out of Kabul was taken, Russia invaded Ukraine. This came hot on the heels of an accord between China and Russia that recognized each other’s respective “interests” in Taiwan and (implicitly) Ukraine. Russia's invasion of Ukraine represents an extinction-level event for the incumbent world order as one commentary after the other opines: “everything has changed."

The short-term costs of the invasion may be tabulated in the trillions of dollars, with no offsetting benefits for any of the parties. The longer-term dynamic costs add considerably to the negative total. International economic relations…

"Despite lower unemployment rates in Canada and neighbouring countries, people in many segments of our society carry a sense of uncertainty, risk, or dare I say fear or dislocation. This undercurrent has generated growing resentment and anger among some voters at the perceived unwillingness or inability of governments to be responsive to the threat of economic, social or cultural dislocation, and a perceived loss of control over their livelihoods and future. The result in a number of countries in recent elections has been a rise of populism, with misplaced blame on immigration and/or trade."

Remarks by Jonathan T. Fried, Coordinator, International Economic Relations and Personal Representative of the Prime Minister for the…

The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is beneficial for both the European Union (EU) and Canada, but could be further improved, states a new Verbatim from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Understanding CETA: An Upgrade for Canada’s Global Connections,” author Dan Ciuriak suggests that CETA represents a tidy deal for Canada and the European Union. It will encourage companies that are not currently trading to do so, which will have a positive economic impact on both sides of the Atlantic.

CETA represents an important statement for the international community presently. It shows an agreement between two sides committing themselves to maintaining open economies, rules-based free trade, as well as multilateralism. Both the…

The Trump team will likely demand removal of NAFTA’s binational panel system in Chapter 19 during the impending renegotiation of the agreement, a position that could lead to a breakdown in the talks, states a new C.D. Howe Institute Verbatim. In “NAFTA Renegotiations – A Different Route to Settle Trade Disputes,” author Lawrence L. Herman urges the government to pursue a strategy that prevents the Americans – or Canadians – from withdrawing from the trade deal in its entirety in the event of an impasse on dispute resolution.

Canadian exporters can challenge the dumping and subsidy determinations of US agencies via the Chapter 19 binational panels, which can remand those decisions to these agencies for misinterpreting US law,…

The following is a transcript of remarks presented by the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, to the C.D. Howe Institute's Sylvia Ostry Lecture. 

Toronto, September 13, 2016

Good morning.

Thank you for your kind introduction, John, and thank you, Bill Robson and the C.D. Howe Institute, for your invitation and for hosting this wonderful event today.

I am grateful for the opportunity to deliver a lecture in honor of Sylvia Ostry, the great Canadian economist and policymaker, and above all, the woman pioneer who broke into the closed world of high finance and sherpa-dom that still is largely a man’s world.

Dr. Ostry, who is right here in the audience,…