Don Drummond: Affordability Relief and How to Pay for It

The Herle Burly was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as CN Rail and Forestry for a Better Future.

Greetings, you curiouser and curiouser Herle Burly-ites! Today on the pod, the kind of show I love. One of those single topic podcasts, where we drill down on a question, let the conversation flow and assume its own shape. I’ll outline the question in a moment, but first our guest: My friend and heavy-hitting Canadian-economy-deep-thinker, Don Drummond.

The Right Honourable Paul Martin called Don Drummond “One of the most principled and imaginative public servants with whom I have ever worked.” Don spent almost 23 years in senior positions in the federal Department of Finance, culminating in Associate Deputy Minister. Post government, he was Chief Economist for TD Bank, he is an Adjunct Professor at the School of Policy Studies at Queen’s University, and he’s an in-demand thinker, writer and commentator.

So, the question we’re exploring here is this: With the Fall Economic Statement as a backdrop, how can government address the political demand for affordability relief to Canadians? From programs like pharmacare and school food, to Poilievre “axing the tax”, to Doug Ford cutting every Ontarian a cheque for $200 … what is smart and what is dumb?

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