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By Finn Poschmann Published in the Financial Post on March 22, 2012 The federal budget due March 29 almost certainly will unveil the government’s thinking on the future of the Canadian covered bond market. This may prove strangely important, because covered bonds lie at the heart of one of the most contentious public policy issues in the Canadian financial system. The bonds are “covered” because…

Ottawa should move to reform seniors’ benefits in the upcoming budget by letting recipients choose richer payments, later, from the Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement programs if they wish, according to a report from the C.D. Howe Institute.  In “What to do About Seniors’ Benefits in Canada: The Case for Letting Recipients Take Richer Payments Later,” William B.P. Robson says…

While Ottawa’s proposed reforms to the pension plans of federal employees and MPs are a move in the right direction, the deep flaws in these plans require more fundamental revisions, according to a report released today by the C.D. Howe Institute. In  “Federal Employee Pension Reforms: First Steps – on a Much Longer Journey,” authors William B.P. Robson and Alexandre Laurin argue that more…

Reforms underway to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), which impose higher penalties for opting to receive CPP before age 65 and greater rewards for delaying take-up until after 65, were meant to ensure people do not have a strong financial incentive to retire early and take-up CPP at age 60, according to a report from the C.D. Howe Institute.  In “Comparing Nest Eggs: How CPP Reform Affects…

Published in the Globe and Mail on April 26, 2012 By Gerard Boychuk Having won the Alberta election, Premier Alison Redford is now setting her sights on providing leadership in establishing the national agenda on health-care reform. In doing so, she won’t be able to ignore the issue of patient wait times. Wildrose may have lost the election, but it did propose some ideas in this regard that are…

Published in the Financial Post on January 12, 2012 By James P. Feehan Amid flags and fanfare in November 2010, Newfoundland and Labrador’s Danny Williams announced that the long awaited hydroelectric development of the Lower Churchill River was finally at hand. With premiers, energy executives and Innu leaders sharing the stage, all were agreed: A new plant would be built at Muskrat Falls in…