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Just over two decades ago, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act put the regulation of corporate compliance on the map. It has since become a governance preoccupation, spawning armies of compliance professionals, commanding a substantial portion of every board’s agenda and costing hundreds of billions of dollars. Elaborate legal mechanisms — such as sentencing guidelines, whistleblowing regimes and personal…

This week’s federal budget focuses on spending initiatives that, in the name of intergenerational fairness, it asks the wealthiest among us to pay for. A better way to finance new spending would be to arrest and reverse Canada’s growth and productivity challenges. Not only does the budget not do that, but its increase in the capital gains inclusion rate from 50 per cent to 66 per cent for…

The federal expenditure management system looks good on paper. Transparency is served by publication of five-year spending plans for major spending categories in the annual budget and detailed information in the government’s main estimates and departmental plans. Efficiency and effectiveness are served by setting objectives for program spending and requiring departments to report on the…

To: The Hon. Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Finance From: Alexandre Laurin and Nicholas Dahir Date: January 8, 2024 Re:  Charities Fall Victim to Federal Tax-the-Rich Plan The end of 2023 last week marked the likely end of full tax relief for some charitable giving. The federal government has yet to table its legislation for reforming the alternative minimum tax (AMT), but if…

From: Bob Baldwin To: Pension watchers Date: April 3 2024 Re: How to Resolve the Alberta Pension Issue Last fall, the Alberta government released a report proposing the creation of an Alberta Pension Plan (APP) funded initially by withdrawal from the Canada Pension Plan, taking with it $334 billion in assets. My recent C.D. Howe Institute E-Brief examines the financial…

The federal government recently finalized regulations for its “zero-emissions vehicle” mandate. The mandate requires sellers of light vehicles (passenger cars and light trucks) to sell a rising minimum of zero-emissions vehicles — basically, electric vehicles or EVs — every year, culminating with 100 per cent EVs in 2035, just 11 years from now. Reasonable forecasts of production and sales…