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,...

Crumbling bridges and leaking pipes need fixing; new roads and power lines need building as cities cope with growth — Canada needs infrastructure investment. Last fall’s Advantage Canada document from federal finance minister Jim Flaherty made infrastructure a priority. Yet governments face...

As a result of demographic change, Canadian governments face a net liability of $1.4 trillion for healthcare, education, seniors' and children's programs. Meeting this challenge will require fiscal discipline, partial prefunding and growth-friendly policies.

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...

The Canada Pension Plan, like all pension plans and social-security programs, is under constant tension. On one side are current and hopeful beneficiaries, who typically want richer payouts. On the other are younger actual or potential contributors, who typically want lower or at least...

Can Canada improve on its successful monetary order based on a 2 percent inflation target when it expires in 2011? Yes – better price measures, a lower inflation or price-level target, and stronger accountability could better preserve the value of Canadians’ money.