Canadian Economic Policy Issues. Are You Still Awake?

October 19, 2006 12:38 PM

I have an interview with the Canadian federal government and I am appallingly uninformed. Can you provide me with links about some of the issues I may need to get up to speed on?

It is a post-graduate recruitment campaign. It is my understanding that many of the questions are substansive and address my knowledge about current issues that may be facing the department.

So far I plan to read up on inter-provincial transfers, the effects of Alberta's oil boom, U.S.-Canada relations, and Newfoundland's oil exploration rift with the Harper government (the interview is in Halifax). I could not if asked speak at length on these issues right now, or many others.

Does anyone know of any efficient information source that could get me informed quickly (other than searches on CBC and Globe and Mail). Or can anyone think of any other pertinent issues, and where I might learn more about them? Hopefully I'll be able to avoid any answers that consist of a slack-jawed "Gah?"

Thanks!

posted by Idiot Mittens to Law & Government (6 answers total)

Another thing to add to your list, given your field: whether or not the federal govt will decide to prevent companies from converting into income trusts to avoid corporate taxes (a la Bell/BCE last week). Converting to an income trust costs the federal govt a huge amount of tax revenue in the short-term, though could theoretically in the long-run actually reap more taxes as the marginal personal tax-rate is higher than the corporate one. The stumbling block over altering the rules about income trusts is not only the Bay St. lobbyists, but also that a lot of seniors have pensions that are based on such trusts, and they vote in droves. This is definitely something you should bone-up on.

I'll be back later with some links for sources to what's on your list. PS - I always you knew you were appallingly uninformed. You know who this is.
posted by modernnomad at 1:40 PM on October 19, 2006

All these think-tanks have lots of free downloadable position papers. I've included a variety of viewpoints to get you started.

Socially and fiscally to the left:
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Socially and fiscally to the right:
C.D. Howe Institute

Socially centre-left and fiscally right:
Montreal Economic Institute

That should get you started! You can find more here, and going through some well-known journals at your university library would be good too. Good luck with the interview!
posted by modernnomad at 2:01 PM on October 19, 2006

The Canadian Parliamentary Information and Research Service has some background papers on taxation.

The Department of Finance website has a links page.
posted by russilwvong at 2:18 PM on October 19, 2006

It might also be helpful to take a look at various provincial government sites, specifically their departments of finance.
posted by Merlyn at 3:21 PM on October 19, 2006

I second the importance of income trusts - see here, for example.

On transfers/fiscal imbalance, see this discussion paper [PDF] - in my opinion its historical summary is a bit skewed, but it does provide a good indication of how the department (or at least the Harper government) thinks about the issue.

I assume you are already aware of these documents. Even perusing the executive summaries from the last couple years' worth might be useful.

Lastly, do you not know what specific section/unit you are applying for, or is this only determined after you are hired? If so, the interview might be intended less to test the breadth of your knowledge than to match you up with a section that best fits your particular knowledge/expertise.
posted by Urban Hermit at 4:20 PM on October 19, 2006

Check out publications by the Institute for Research on Public Policy. Also, back issues of How Ottawa Spends.
posted by RibaldOne at 6:17 AM on October 20, 2006