More than bad luck lies behind the plight of single-employer defined-benefit pension plans in Canada. Deals that purported to relieve employees of risk, while offering sponsors a powerful workforce-management tool and low current compensation costs, were attractive to the contracting...

A rapidly aging population means the Atlantic provinces face the prospect of shrinking workforces as early as 2010. To stem the population pressures of tomorrow, a suite of policies – such as those that boost workforce participation and others that prefund demographically sensitive government...

Government-mandated cartels in eggs, dairy and poultry products impose high costs on consumers and harm Canada’s standing in international trade. The authors offer compelling evidence of the high costs to Canadian consumers and limited benefits to farmers arising from the supply management...

Government spending overruns and missed revenue targets remain a common occurrence in Canada. Countrywide, spending overruns by the federal, provincial and territorial governments over the past decade exceeded $70 billion, limiting debt reduction and tax relief in earlier years, and materially...

As Toronto gears up for a municipal election this fall, the city's poor record on fiscal accountability promises to be a central issue. As the sixth largest government in Canada, with a budget of over $11 billion annually, Toronto city hall should have its finances under better control. A...

Every year, legislators in Canada vote for budgets that set out targets for the coming fiscal year. But every year, governments tend to spend more than they promise at budget time. The result: accountability between legislators and voters breaks down. Canadians should demand better.

Fear of lawsuits may inhibit employers from steering employees into defined-contribution pension plans and RRSPs, and from guiding them into sensible choices for investing and withdrawing their money. Safe-harbour provisions that reduced this threat would help employers act in good faith to...

Near-term turbulence should not distract Ottawa budget-makers from critical long-term tasks. This 2008 shadow federal budget will move Canada a key step forward by providing improved incentives and rewards for Canadians' work and saving, and a more congenial environment for investment and...

Canadian governments are projecting large amounts of red ink in their 2009 budgets. Notwithstanding the impact of the economic slump on government finances, it is natural for Canadians to ask whether this new borrowing is partly the result of insufficient fiscal discipline during the good times,...