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We use simulation methods and a detailed tax calculator to analyze the likely effects of two recent proposals aimed at reforming the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP): the federal proposal, eventually implemented throughout Canada, and the Quebec government's December 2016 proposal. Accounting for education-adjusted life expectancy, earnings variability over the course of a career, and their interactions with the tax code and retirement income system, we find that internal rates of return (IRRs) for new QPP contributions are similar under both reforms for individuals with lifetime average annual earnings of more than $40,000. Both reforms yield substantial IRRs for low-income individuals. Although the Quebec proposal offers higher IRRs for individuals earning less than $40,000, the federal proposal yields greater present value benefits for these same individuals. We show that if new QPP benefits were exempted from the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) clawback, and provided that the working income tax benefit and GIS were not enhanced, the two reforms would yield similar IRRs for individuals with average earnings of more than $15,000. The QPP reform would thus better focus on the middle-income earners originally targeted by reform advocates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a statistical picture of the economic well-being of Canadian children. We discuss changes in families, nationally and by province. We outline how Canadian policy in support of children has changed and how it differs across regions. Changes or differences in median incomes, in income distributions and in child poverty both before and after taxes and transfers, at different points of time, in different kinds of families, and in different provinces constitute the core of the article. Finally, the economic well-being of Canadian children in 2010 is compared with that of children in eight other affluent countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the impact of recent reforms on the enforcement of the Ontario Employment Standards Act (2000). It analyzes changes to complaints processing before and after the implementation of the Open for Business Act (2010), part of which aimed to streamline workplace regulation. Drawing on a previously untapped source of information on employment standards enforcement, the Ministry of Labour's Employment Standards Information System, we argue that reforms to enforcement under the Open for Business Act appear to have eroded both the accessibility of the complaints system and the remedies available to complainants. By way of conclusion, the article outlines measures that hold the potential to strengthen the complaints system in Ontario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a consumption-based greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting model for Canada, based on a multiregional input–output formulation. The outputs resulting from this model comprise a set of detailed input–output tables displaying trade in embodied emissions across regions and sectors (in contrast to the usual financial value input–output tables). After a complete exposition of our embodied GHG emission accounting model, we provide a brief analysis of production- and consumption-based GHG emission footprints and the related interregional trade in embodied emissions across Canadian provinces for 2004–2011. Our initial analysis is intended to present the model and illustrate general conclusions to highlight the utility of the resulting detailed GHG input–output tables as a resource for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is renewed discussion of a basic or guaranteed income at both the federal and the provincial levels in Canada, but counterarguments about the cost, work disincentives, and electoral appeal of such schemes remain challenging. In this article, we argue that a grand plan for a basic or guaranteed income is unnecessary because self-financing redesign of existing tax credits to be refundable can better target benefits to low-income families while improving tax equity. Using 2015 tax and transfer parameters and estimates of income and population, we assess the federal transfer system as a source of universal income security, identify the revenues that can be raised through the elimination of selected federal tax credits, present four options that could be financed within that budget constraint, assess their performance, and select our preferred universal basic guaranteed income (UGBI) option. We then provide a more detailed assessment of the impact of our preferred UGBI design and discuss the extension of that design to provincial tax and transfer systems. We estimate that the combined federal and provincial UGBI that we propose would effectively target benefits to low-income households and virtually eliminate poverty for all but single non-elderly individuals at a modest efficiency cost in terms of work disincentives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Six Canadian provinces have banned the sale of junk food on school property to address child health issues such as obesity. Differences in the timing of the introduction of provincial policies provide variation in treatment across provinces, and variation within provinces comes from differences across students in the number of years of schooling during which junk food was banned. Using data from cycles of the Canadian Community Health Survey, I find that each year of a junk food ban is associated with a decline of about 0.05 body mass index. Students exposed to five or more years of a junk food ban had lower body mass index equivalent to a decrease of about two pounds for an individual who is five feet, six inches tall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the role of multinationals and reallocation in productivity growth in the Canadian manufacturing sector in 2001–2010. It finds that foreign-controlled enterprises were more important than domestically controlled enterprises in overall labour productivity growth for 2001–2010, but the contribution of foreign-controlled enterprises declined after 2006 as a result of an increase in the exits of large and productive foreign-controlled firms during that period. Restructuring in the manufacturing sector intensified after 2006. During 2006–2010, there was an increase in reallocation to enterprises that are more productive and an increase in reallocation of labour to industries that are more capital and intermediate input intensive. The effect of new enterprises displacing exitors also increased after 2006, mostly because of the increased effect of domestic entrants displacing exitors while the effect of foreign entry and exit declined. Offsetting those positive effects of reallocation on labour productivity growth is the negative effect of reallocation of labour to the firms with lower relative capital and intermediate intensities within the same industries. Finally, the article finds that the decline in labour productivity growth after 2006 was partly due to a decline in the productivity contribution of foreign-controlled enterprises as a result of an increase in the exits of large and productive foreign-controlled firms during that period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses in detail the relevant mechanisms that affect the development of Chinese outward foreign direct investment (OFDI). It first describes the current situation in China and the influences these mechanisms have on the development of OFDI. It then points out current problems, discusses the effects of those problems, and illustrates the roles of the relevant mechanisms. China's foreign direct investment in Canada is growing, which has increased the economic ties between the two countries, but Chinese enterprises are facing strengthened scrutiny in the acquisition of Canadian companies. This article also examines the practices and experiences of other countries in this field and presents suggestions and ideas on how to establish and improve the mechanisms in the growth of Chinese transnational corporations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the world's major exporters, China has witnessed a substantial increase in its outward foreign direct investment (OFDI). This article examines the effects of export-driven factors on China's OFDI through export-supporting and export platform. On the basis of 2003-2010 panel data from 144 countries and regions, including Canada, we find a strong effect of rising exports on China's OFDI. In addition, the export platform is an important part of China's OFDI, and this trend has strengthened in recent years. Moreover, markets of neighbouring host countries do not have a significant effect on the OFDI. China's OFDI has an obvious agglomeration effect in the host countries, particularly in high-income countries. The empirical results suggest that China should pay attention to the dual effects of its export-supporting and export platform on OFDI. The government should guide enterprises to implement a mixed international trade and investment strategy and build a platform of networking investment to protect firms' overseas investments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1990s, the development of a market-oriented economy and engagement with globalization have given China a role as the primary export platform of the East Asian economy. This has not only promoted the exports of capital and intermediate goods of other East Asian economies, but it has also deepened the regional production networks under the US-dominated global economic system. Currently, as China is entering an economic "new normal," its economic structure and growth pattern will experience a period of transition. Thus, its role in the East Asian economy and the global economic system will change accordingly. China's new role as a main market for the final consumer goods in the region might increase. Tofacilitate its change in role, China should continue to reform its domestic economy, develop regional economic cooperation, and increase the qualities of its labour force and foreign direct investment inflows. In addition, it needs to deal with several uncertainties that might arise during the transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article exposes the strategic planning of government personnel as they prepare to engage in media management and spin. It presents the findings of in-depth interviews with 17 Conservative-era insiders and more than 100 internal planning instruments obtained during the nascent period of Liberal governance under Justin Trudeau. Inward-facing media enquiry processing forms, media relations strategies, communications calendars, and rollout plans are discussed. Examples of a Message Event Proposal and a social media rollout template are presented. The author concludes that under Trudeau the Prime Minister’s Office divested but understandably did not abandon central message control over ministers and departments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All three global automakers currently manufacturing vehicles in Australia have announced their total shutdown of operations there by 2017. This shutdown has sparked some fears that Canadian auto manufacturing may follow a similar trajectory. This article reviews the factors contributing to the closures in Australia and considers key structural, economic, and policy differences between the Australian and Canadian cases. The Canadian industry enjoys several structural advantages compared with Australia, chief among them its large and bilateral trade relationship with the United States. These advantages suggest that the Canadian industry has a better prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moving to a low-carbon future will create challenges for Canada’s fossil-fuel industries, but opportunities in the form of a new market for low-carbon goods and services. The challenges for the resource sector will vary across commodities. Competition in the new market for low-carbon goods and services will be tough; sustained competitive advantage will be difficult to maintain due to capital mobility. With these challenges in mind, this article proposes three questions for Canadians looking ahead to a low-carbon future. First, how large will the market for low-carbon goods and services be? Second, where are Canada’s advantages likely to lie in serving these markets? Finally, what are the roles for Canada’s existing natural-resource industries in a low-carbon economy, and what are the strategies to maximize the value of these resources? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2005 the Supreme Court of Canada issued a landmark ruling in the debate on privatization of Quebec's health care system. The Quebec government subsequently made several decisions, such as lifting the ban on private insurance for some health services already offered in the public system. We interviewed 42 stakeholders who were involved in the decision process between 1999 and 2008 and analyzed their views. We identified three types of positions on privatization, based on two key factors raised in these encounters: (a) the ideological and political inertia of both civil society and the state and (b) the concerted action of stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Australian and New Zealand health systems are both heavily reliant on international medical graduates (IMGs) to meet workforce demands. In that context, those responsible for deciding whether or not to register IMGs to practise must balance the need to ensure the quality and acceptability of medical services against the requirement that these services remain available and accessible. This paper examines and compares the approaches that have been taken in Australia and New Zealand in this area from 2000 to 2012 and the impacts of that decision-making on public protection and the wider public interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares the public indebtedness of the Canadian provinces and the US states (including a share of the federal debt) over the 2000–2007 period. It presents rankings of the most indebted subnational jurisdictions based on five public debt concepts. Among the provinces, Quebec (with the lowest average rank) and Alberta (with the highest average rank) display the most stable position across the rankings. All other provinces show important fluctuations in their position in the rankings. Hence, allocating the federal debt to subnational states and the specific debt concept being considered significantly influence the rankings, quite spectacularly in some instances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In-depth interviews with government officials are a critical research method for the study of government. Historical and institutional factors, and particularly the informal internal dynamics that influence policy, require a depth of understanding that is often best investigated through such interview methods. At the federal level in Canada we see many trends that point to the increasing centralization and control of government information. There has been political interference in Access to Information Requests; the outcomes of scientific research have been suppressed; and media access to politicians has become highly constrained. This led us to ask whether tightening controls on information have also affected access to research interviews with government officials. This paper explores this issue by interviewing both academics and public servants in the Canadian federal government. We ask is there evidence of a tightening grip on access to governmental research interviews and, if so, is this affecting how and what we research? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Canada, advocates of universal child-care often point to policies implemented in Quebec as providing a model for early education and care policies in other provinces. While these policies have proven to be highly popular among citizens, initial evaluations of access to these programs indicated they led to a multitude of undesirable child developmental, health, and family outcomes. These research findings ignited substantial controversy and criticism. In this study, we show the robustness of the initial analyses to 1) concerns over whether negative outcomes would vanish over time as suppliers gained experience providing child-care; 2)concerns regarding multiple testing; and 3) concerns that the original estimates measured the causal impact of child-care availability and not child-care attendance. A notable exception is that despite estimated effects stemming from the policy indicating declines in motor-social development scores in Quebec relative to the rest of Canada, our analyses imply that on average attending child-care in Canada leads to a significant increase in this test score. However, our analysis reveals substantial heterogeneity in program impacts that occur in response to the Quebec policies and indicates that most of the negative impacts reported in earlier research are driven by children from families who only attended child-care in response to the implementation of this policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Fewer Politicians Act (FPA), 1999 (Ontario) led to the creation of identical national and provincial electoral constituencies in the province. While the bill was intended by the provincial Conservative government to reduce costs and increase efficiency, the FPA has also had substantial unanticipated consequences for political party organizations in Ontario. I first review the introduction of the FPA and, second, draw on 60 interviews with party constituency association officials, including seven long-term participants with experience prior to the introduction of the FPA, and make a comparison of associations in Ontario and New Brunswick (where boundaries are not identical) to demonstrate that congruent boundaries facilitate integration and cooperation between national and provincial political parties in the constituencies. Congruent riding boundaries do so by merging the geographic and ecological contexts that both national and provincial party organizations structure themselves in response to, and by reducing the number of actors participating in national-provincial cooperation. The FPA can therefore be understood as a case study of legislation containing important unanticipated consequences, and I conclude the article by evaluating the FPA from this perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]