Cities are the most visible level of government for most Canadians, providing services such as waste collection, policing and transit. Yet their budgets are the most opaque of any level of government. Municipalities generally use accounting in their budgets that does not match what they use in...

Canadian municipalities are hurting housing affordability by imposing expensive water charges on development, according to a new report published by the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Hosing Homebuyers: Why Cities Should Not Pay for Water and Wastewater Infrastructure with Development Charges”,...

Ottawa should clear up confusion about its plans for clean fuel standards, according to a new report by the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Speed Bump Ahead: Ottawa Should Drive Slowly on Clean Fuel Standards” author Benjamin Dachis argues federal policymakers must examine the inherent limitations...

Cities are the most visible level of government for most Canadians, providing services such as waste collection, policing and transit. Yet their budgets are the most opaque of any level of government. Municipalities generally use accounting in their budgets that does not match what they use in...

The federal government should progressively allow new entrants to bid for some of the mail services currently provided by Canada Post, says a report released today by the C.D. Howe Institute. In “How Ottawa Can Deliver a Reformed Canada Post,” author Benjamin Dachis, Senior Policy Analyst at...

We study public‐sector bargaining and contract outcomes using Canadian data from 1978 to 2008. We have a number of interesting results, but our principal findings are from our analysis of wage settlements. We find that the essential services designation, which only allows non‐essential...

Canada’s energy sector will need to think about more than just low oil prices in 2016. There are numerous structural issues facing the sector that will need to be overcome, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “The Future of Canadian Energy Policy,” the second edition...

Provincial and municipal governments should cut excessive regulations on new housing development projects and lower the upfront costs on homebuyers to help Canadians grapple with skyrocketing housing prices. The author estimates the gap between the marginal cost of construction for new housing...

Cities save money through competitive tendering of waste services contracts. This study finds municipalities that have their waste services provided through contracted operations have substantially lower average costs per household than municipalities with few of their services provided through...