November 7, 2011 – Our recent study, Canada’s Looming Fiscal Squeeze by economics professor Christopher Ragan, has generated a great deal of interest. It was discussed in the National Post on November 3rd by reporter Derek Abma. The column was subsequently published across the country in the Ottawa Citizen, Vancouver Sun, Montreal Gazette, Saskatoon’s The Star Phoenix, Regina’s Leader-Post, Calgary Herald, Windsor Star, and BC’s The Province.
On November 5, The Globe and Mail columnist Jeffrey Simpson wrote a piece on the study. He said, “The latest academic to underscore the country’s challenge is Christopher Ragan, a public policy economist at McGill. His paper for the Macdonald-Laurier Institute has the virtue of clarity and rigour. He doesn’t prescribe, he describes, the first stage of wisdom.”
At the end of the column, he underscored professor Ragan’s main point:
Borrowing is the easiest political option, but the least responsible. No matter how today’s economic turmoil in the world works out, the aging of the population will force us to talk about two options that make most Canadians nervous: higher taxes or significantly changed public programs. As professor Ragan correctly wrote: “There is nothing else.”
In addition, the Huffington Post Canada published an article based on this study on November 3rd, “Grey Tsunami: Canada’s Aging Population Means Fiscal Squeeze Coming, says study.”
Finally, on November 7, Philip Till invited professor Ragan on his show, CKNW’s Morning News, to discuss the study. CKNW is the highest-rated talk radio station in Vancouver, BC.
