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Published in the Financial Post on March 22, 2012 By Philip Cross Recently, the CBC released a DVD set featuring all its televised work of Glenn Gould. One of the interesting non-musical items was his hour-long film calledThe Idea of North, a reminder of the recurring if intermittent Canadian infatuation with our Northern frontier. We seem to be in one of those moods these days, with annual photo…

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…

May 31, 2012 — 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…

Published in the Globe and Mail on June 13, 2012 By Alexandre Laurin, Kevin Milligan and Tammy Schirle It's a simple fact -- Canadians are living longer. Many Canadians are also working longer and might want to delay taking up their retirement benefits. Recent changes to Old Age Security are designed to encourage flexible choice for retirement, applying an actuarial adjustment to the pension…

Toronto, March 22 – Ontario faces a $19.7 billion unfunded liability at its Workplace Safety Insurance Board (WSIB) based on a fair-value accounting approach, according to a report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “The Hole in Ontario’s Budget: WSIB’s Unfunded Liability,” authors Colin Busby and Finn Poschmann say the WSIB,  which levies employer premiums intended to fund benefits for…

Published in the Financial Post on January 4, 2012 By Finn Poschmann It was a good run. And now, in 2012, it is time for Canada’s housing market to stop running and catch its breath. Three things have pushed me, growling and snarling, into the bearish camp. First is the seemingly relentless upward march in housing prices, which eventually will stop rising faster than incomes.…