Opinion
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Miners & Manufacturers Beware: Canada To Review Overseas Human Rights Abuses
The Office of the Canadian Ombudsperson For Responsible Enterprise (“CORE’) is open for business. Established by Order in Council and not legislation, CORE has no enforcement powers nor can it compel witnesses to appear or even cooperate. This has disappointed many advocates. CORE can conduct reviews “concerning an alleged human rights abuse” arising from a Canadian…
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Bank of Canada Accelerating Its Consideration Of A “Digital Loonie”
We have previously flagged the growing threat of private digital currencies to official (paper) currency. In a recent speech the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada confirmed that the Bank is accelerating its consideration of the role and form of an official digital currency. This is the result of the declining use of cash during the…
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Ontario’s Capital Markets Modernization Taskforce Releases Final Report
The Capital Markets Modernization Taskforce released its final report today . The report makes a number of recommendations designed to amplify growth and competitiveness in Ontario’s capital markets and to address the decline in new issuers and initial public offerings. The Taskforce aims to reverse this trend and encourage more head offices, more entrepreneurs and more growth investment opportunities in…
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OSFI Consultation on Climate-Related Risk Will Shape Regulation of Financial and Pension Sectors
The Office of The Supervisor Of Financial Institutions (“OSFI”), Canada’s regulator of financial institutions and federally regulated pension plans, has launched a consultation on climate related risks in the financial sector. OSFI identifies climate risk as potentially impacting the safety and soundness of federally regulated institutions and pensions. OSFI sees severe climate events increasingly driving…
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The Gloves Are Off: Throne Speech Launches New Parliamentary Session
The Liberals are back in the House of Commons, at least for the next few days. Yesterday, a rag tag group of socially distant Liberal MPs (and a few opposition ones as well), honoured Parliamentary tradition and trudged across Wellington Street in Ottawa to stand like supplicants at the back of the Senate Chamber. There,…
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Finance Minister Resigns: Where Does That Leave The Liberal Government?
The resignation of a finance minister is no small matter. For an opposition party, bringing down a finance minister is the equivalent of bagging big game (in the political jungle). For a government, losing a finance minister (because of a rupture in the relationship with a prime minister or over policy disagreements) is a huge…
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Canada Applies The Breaks On Foreign Takeovers
Canada is definitely not fully open for business “until the economy recovers from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.” In a terse announcement in the middle of this past weekend, the Investment Review Division of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada moved to protect from foreign takeovers, businesses: “related to public health or involved in the supply…
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We Need To Plan For The World After COVID-19
In this thoughtful piece below, Campbell Strategies business associate, Steven Bright, urges us to start to think now about post COVID-19 economic and social reconstruction. The last time Canada faced a similar challenge and opportunity was in the aftermath of World War II. We have to think about the future before we get there and…
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Updated Government Measures To Combat The Economic Impact Of COVID-19
The federal government has made several new announcements and amendments to its direct support program for businesses and to support the retention of employees. The links below outline all of the initiatives announced to date. Please note that these programs are constantly being refined: Department of Finance https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/economic-response-plan.html Bank of Canada https://www.bankofcanada.ca/markets/market-operations-liquidity-provision/covid-19-actions-support-economy-financial-system/ OSFI https://www.osfi-bsif.gc.ca/Eng/Pages/COVID-19.aspx If…