Between 1999-2000 and 2010-11, total government program spending increased by 36.4%, from $7,505 per capita to $10,240 on a constant dollar basis. Nowhere is the need to bring expenditures and revenue into alignment more obvious and critical than in health care... with the population aging –...

As Canada’s society ages, more personal care and health support will be needed for people who, either as a consequence of disability or aging, require assistance to function independently. As this happens, policymakers face the daunting challenge of balancing the fiscal burden on taxpayers...

The adoption of new health technologies brings potential improvements to quality of life as well as new costs for provincial healthcare systems. An appropriate evidence-based framework for adoption decisions therefore can go a long way to improving value for money in our health systems. While...

Each spring, Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial legislatures vote budgets that set out their spending and revenue goals for the fiscal year. Budget votes are critical for holding governments accountable to legislators, and in turn to voters and taxpayers. Over the last decade,...

Quebecers are carrying a $682 billion fiscal burden – the higher tax bill for increased healthcare costs over the next half-century – and should prepare now for the coming demographic squeeze, says a report released today from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “An Aging Population Fiscal...

Control over public money is fundamental to democratic government, and presents huge challenges to legislators and taxpayers. Getting the information needed to answer simple questions such as how planned spending in the upcoming year compares to actual results in the prior year can be hard, and...

After trailing the average performance of G7 countries for 15 years, Canada’s relative business investment performance stands out in a promising light for 2009 and 2010. Amid the recession, new capital spending on tools for workers, in the form of machinery, equipment or buildings, has held up...

Modern health systems, like Canada’s, face similar pressures. Populations are aging, government revenues are dwindling, and the scope for new services is increasing as new technologies develop. However, each country is responding to these pressures in unique ways. Arguably, Canadians pay too...

Fiscal pressures and sovereign debt concerns around the world are intensifying scrutiny of government finances. Even in Canada, where these pressures and concerns are less acute, federal and provincial fiscal controls could be better. Some Canadian governments still present budgets to their...

When provinces raise royalties charged on oil and gas production, the result can be less, not more tax revenues. The authors show how resource-rich provinces would be better off relying more on auctions for exploration and development rights and relying less on royalties levied on output. Oil...