The CDHI Podcast

Ottawa is kicking the cost of COVID-19 down the road and crossing its fingers we don’t encounter any additional economic or health crises between now and 2055. The Institute’s CEO Bill Robson is joined by Director of Research Alex Laurin and Senior Fellow Don Drummond to discuss the implications, why we can’t grow our way out of the fiscal hole like we did after the Second World War, and why a consumption tax would be a more effective tool than a wealth tax.

With vaccinations ramping up, our attention turns to the post-pandemic recovery. But how can the country recover without women in the workforce? Dr. Jennifer Robson of Carleton University and McGill’s Ken Boessenkool tell Michael Hainsworth that now is not the time to build a national childcare program from scratch, but work needs to begin now on providing more accessible and affordable childcare, building on structures already in place.

Times of crisis open the door to new economic theories. As governments inflate debt to address them, talk about Modern Monetary Theory has grown into a chorus in some circles – particularly as the Americans discuss the “Green New Deal.” But as report authors Farah Omran and Mark Zelmer tell host Michael Hainsworth, Modern Monetary Theory has a serious flaw: relying on politicians to do the right thing.

Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh’s plan to pay for the pandemic is to tax the companies that benefitted the most from the coronavirus response. It would inject more than $5B into Canada’s coffers. Taxing big business is one thing, but how will the NDP help small businesses weather the third wave of infections and beyond? Host Michael Hainsworth found the party leader is preparing for an election he doesn’t want.

The explosive growth in demand for green bonds is expected to return post-COVID. C.D. Howe Institute Senior Fellow Glen Hodgson tells Michael Hainsworth the pandemic has given the oil patch, foreign investors, and Ottawa an opportunity to rebuild the economy around green thinking.

Governments are increasingly using industrial policy to give their Industry 4.0 economies a competitive edge. How should Canada respond after past failures in guiding the invisible hand of the markets? C.D. Howe Institute VP of Research Daniel Schwanen and Fellow-in-Residence Dan Ciuriak on lessons learned, and why we can’t fear the future.

The shift to remote work during COVID-19 has shone the spotlight on Canada’s infrastructure – and its digital divide. It comes at a time when the world is making a major shift to 5G. But unlike the previous generation, this one will trigger the next industrial revolution. Host Michael Hainsworth speaks to Shaw's SVP Brian O'Shaughnessy, Telus' Chief Customer Officer Tony Geheran, and Rogers' SVP Luciano Ramos for insight into how Canada stays competitive and bridges the geographic and economic divide.

The US President has scrapped the Keystone XL pipeline. Is this the end of the southbound extension for TC Energy and the province of Alberta? The University of Calgary’s Kristen van de Biezenbos warns the White House isn’t the biggest threat to the oil rich province: it’s the states.

In the midst of the worst pandemic in 100 years, addressing gaps in access to healthcare services in Canada has become a priority. The problem of a fractured provincial-based healthcare system has been exacerbated by COVID-19. With as many as 11,000 cancer, gynecologic, and other elective surgeries postponed each week in Ontario alone, the solution is in part more bodies. But as we learn from the C.D. Howe Institute’s Rosalie Wyonch and Doctor John Kingdom of Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital, we can’t just throw more money at doctors to fill the gaps.

2020 will be known as “the year of unprecedented times.” As COVID-19 vaccine injections begin, we look back at how Canada handled the pandemic – what we did right and what we did wrong – with crisis communications expert David Herle of The Gandalf Group, and the C.D. Howe Institute’s CEO Bill Robson.