With the Federal Government set to table the budget on Tuesday, February 27th the University of Waterloo has experts available to speak on this topic
Jean-Paul Lam - Associate Professor of Economics
Jean-Paul Lam is an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Waterloo and was formerly an assistant chief economist at the Bank of Canada. His research interests and expertise focus on central banking, monetary policy and cryptocurrencies.
“The Finance Minister, Bill Morneau, will present his government’s third federal budget on Tuesday. The budget comes at a time of uncertainty for the Canadian economy with the ongoing renegotiation of North American Free Trade Agreement and important reforms in United States’ personal and corporate taxes that are expected to blunt Canada’s competitiveness. We expect the budget to contain measures to increase the competitiveness of Canadian firms and workforce.”
— Jean-Paul Lam
Olaf Weber - School of Environment, Enterprise and Development
Olaf Weber is a researcher in the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development and a Centre for International Governance Innovation Senior Fellow. His research examines the connection between financial sector players such as banks, government and sustainable development, and the link between sustainability and financial performance of enterprises.
“To mitigate and to adapt to climate change significant investments will be needed. Therefore, it is crucial to spend money addressing climate change in the most effective and efficient way. With regard to investments in climate change mitigation the question should be what the most cost-effective investments are that reduce carbon emission. Spending more does not always mean reducing more emissions. Furthermore, the government should invest in creating incentives for the financial sector to invest in the transition to a low carbon economy in Ontario.”
— Olaf Weber
Jason Thistlethwaite - School of Environment, Enterprise and Development
Jason Thistlethwaite is an Assistant Professor in the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development at the University of Waterloo. His research focuses on climate change and flood risk governance, specifically policy and management strategies to reduce economic vulnerability at the local level.
Although flooding represents Canada’s most significant climate change risk costing $600M a year in out-of-pocket expenses, the Federal Government lags its international counterparts in taking actions to protect Canadians. This is unfortunate as our research shows a small increase in the budget supporting flood mitigation and adaptation programs could make a huge difference and enjoy wide political support among Canadians.
— Jason Thistlethwaite
