Refocusing the debate on industrial policy
The debate on industrial policy should not be about the amount of government intervention in the economy we need, but rather how effective that intervention is.
Does the fall economic statement pass the test?
Canada cannot avoid the coming economic slowdown any more than we could have avoided the global pandemic. The risks remain enormous, and the government’s fiscal firepower is not what it was three years ago.
Don’t become complacent about fiscal policy
Economic and fiscal outlooks always look better down the road until they don’t. Nobody expected inflation to rise as quickly as it did.
Who will speak for Canada?
Constantly arguing that we have less and less in common will lead to a heap of ruins.
Robert Asselin: Our short-term politics has left us unable to solve big problems
We used to have election campaigns to guide governing mandates. Too often, we now witness a large share of governing mandates only serving as a set-up for the next election campaign. We used to campaign to govern and now we govern to campaign.
Robert Asselin: Big questions remain as the central banks look for balance on inflation
When and how central banks will start winding down this unprecedented accommodative monetary support has become a central question. It comes with huge implications for fiscal policy but more importantly for consumers (mortgages, prices) and taxpayers (deficit financing).
Robert Asselin: Time to ditch the incremental approach to innovation and go big
It’s about time we substitute our incremental approach to innovation mostly made of ill-targeted programs that have yielded sub-par outcomes in the past for a higher risk, higher reward approach.
Robert Asselin: The federal budget has no answers on the question of growth
Governing is about making choices, but if this budget can be defined as anything it is everything. No one has been left out.