The narrative the Saskatchewan government would like you to believe is that during the COVID-19 crisis, it has been the sole, steady hand on the tiller of the economy—making the sober, sensible decisions both for the public’s health and the public’s purse. If the federal government is mentioned at all…
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The U.S.–Canada trade war is far from over. Whether it resumes hinges in large part on the outcome of this presidential election.
Two giants have left us—Mel Watkins a few months ago, and now John Loxley. John (pictured, left, with Andrew Jackson and Watkins, his John Kenneth Galbraith Prize co-winners in 2008) was an inspiring and fiercely dedicated leader. His scholarly work, though impeccable, was not of an ivory tower vintage,…
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A new mathematics curriculum guide is set to drop this September in Ontario, the first update since 2005. Not only will students be heading back to the basics, they’ll also be introduced to a new “strand” of learning: financial literacy. The reason I’m so excited about this development is that…
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In 25 years of Alternative Federal Budgets, this edition of the AFB stands out: reflecting a chapter of history as it is unfolding, in real time, in the middle of a global pandemic. Future generations will look back at 2020 as a critical turning point, a year in which the…
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David Macdonald appeared as an expert witness before the federal Finance Committee June 18, to discuss banking and the government’s response to COVID-19. This is a copy of his prepared remarks. Thank you Mr. Chair and I’d like to thank the Committee for their invitation to speak to you today….
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Twenty-five years ago today, on June 8, 1995, the people of Ontario elected one Michael Deane Harris as premier. Harris’s program, the “Common Sense Revolution,” changed Ontario overnight. He slashed program spending. He slashed social assistance. He slashed taxes. Thousands lost their jobs. Others became homeless. Many died. It’s all…
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With the COVID-19 recession getting deeper by the day, the Bank of Canada has joined other central banks in quickly reducing its target interest rate to near zero and implementing “quantitative easing” (QE) measures to suppress other interest rates and support credit flows, including borrowing by government. Starting April 1,…
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