Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are an important collective force in the Canadian economy, however the visibility and economic power of small businesses suffer due to their size and frequent turnover. When it comes to the issue of businesses being subject to occupational fraud, the...

Retirement planning is often seen as a tool that may assist individuals to successfully accumulate retirement capital. However, the low level of ‘customization’ of the general information on retirement planning may prompt some individuals to oversimplify their approach to retirement savings...

The knowledge economy puts higher pressure on young Canadians to pursue higher education. The goals of the Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) have focused on providing prospective students with affordable savings options and financial support for post secondary education. However, the RESP...

MD&A content has been an ongoing topic of recent debate with the views divided on the impact that regulated content has on the quality of the MD&A. Complexity has amplified as a result of emerging issues of particular importance to investors such as transition to IFRS, the environment and...

Recent studies show that Canadians are increasingly worried about their financial wellbeing at retirement and into the golden years. Counter-intuitive as it may seem however, the household savings rate continues to plunge as Canadians take on more and more debt. This paper analyzes the level of...

The government of Canada has reduced the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate by 2-percentage points over the past several years. This tax measure seems to be welcomed by the public and some public policy observers; however, it is also associated with certain economic and social costs. This paper...

Increasing debt of Canadian households has been a subject of intense discussion for a good number of years. In the current economic situation, thought, the topic of household indebtedness is rapidly becoming a more critical area. This paper seeks to understand the extent to which the 2008...

Canadian federal government registered 11 consecutive budgetary surpluses between 1997 and 2007. In the Canadian context, the federal surplus often has two components: the planned component and the surprise component; the latter appearing when the actual budgetary balance exceeds the planned...

Lowering or eliminating the tax on capital gains may be a tempting undertaking for Canada's federal government facing electorate pressure. It may also be a tempting course of action for interest groups and public policy stakeholders. To analyse the merits of such a policy measure, this paper...

Environmental policy instruments that generate budget revenues may become an increasingly attractive policy option for Canada's federal government due to amplified fiscal pressures. If that is the case, revenue recycling is an essential element of pricing carbon. This paper present a brief...