Tausi Insider

Last April, when the Trudeau government tabled a budget amid some of the most difficult economic questions in decades, it said it was going to seek help finding answers. In the budget, the government announced it would establish a permanent Council of Economic Advisors. This body of top economic experts would be there to provide sage counsel on how to shape policy to best navigate the current murky waters, and chart a course for future prosperity. It promised details about the council’s composition “in the coming months.” But nearly eight months later, the promised council isn’t helping find those answers. The government hasn’t even found its council yet. The Liberals have been all but silent about the plan since trumpeting it in the spring budget. There was no mention of it at all in the government’s fall economic statement this month. “Work is still very much ongoing,” Finance Department spokesperson Jessica Eritou assured me through an e-mail on Friday. But from the perspective of...

Former federal finance minister Bill Morneau's new memoir – titled Where To From Here – warns of the threats posed by our increasingly partisan political process. Kellyann Petry/Tausi Insider Former federal finance minister Bill Morneau sees a bright future for Canada. What he doesn’t envision is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau leading the country to this promised land. On Jan. 17, Mr. Morneau will publish a book detailing his five-year stint in cabinet, his abrupt resignation during the COVID-19 pandemic in August, 2020, and his prescription for an ailing Canadian economy. While the onetime Bay Street CEO focuses his memoir – titled Where To From Here – on the positive role government can play and the federal Liberals’ achievements, the ex-politician also takes targeted shots at both Mr. Trudeau and the team that surrounds him in the Office of the Prime Minister. The book also warns of the threats posed by our increasingly partisan political process, with Mr. Morneau taking direc...

In his new book Where to from Here: A Path to Canadian Prosperity, former Finance Minister Bill Morneau proposes a national agenda prosperity, and outlines why the Trudeau government has fallen short on execution when it comes to the economy. Kellyann Petry/Tausi Insider Introduction by Andrew Willis Before Bill Morneau became federal finance minister in 2015, the former Bay Street chief executive officer had to win over voters in some of the country’s poorest neighbourhoods in downtown Toronto. Knocking on doors of families struggling to make ends meet, including recent immigrants scrambling to find housing and jobs, was a “reality check” that Mr. Morneau says he used as a touchstone during his five years in government, and in his post-political career. In an interview ahead of next week’s launch of his book, Where To From Here: A Path To Canadian Prosperity, the 60-year-old said his overarching goal as a politician was improving the country’s anemic economic performance, for the be...

Canada's banking regulator is launching public consultations on rules around mortgage lending as it says loan risks have increased considerably since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Justin Tang/The Canadian Press Getting caught up on a week that got away? Here’s your weekly digest of Tausi Insider’s most essential business and investing stories, with insights and analysis from the pros, stock tips, portfolio strategies and more. New mortgage rules could restrict more borrowers Earlier this week, Canada’s banking regulator proposed new mortgage guidelines, including three new limits on how lenders grant the loans. According to Robert McLister, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions wants to skim another layer of the least-qualified borrowers off the federally regulated mortgage market. The proposal includes restricting how much banks can lend borrowers whose mortgage exceeds a certain percentage of their gross income, limiting the debt-service coverage exce...