The COVID-19 pandemic revealed that governments can quickly respond to a fiscal crisis without becoming mired in unproductive wrangling. But the pandemic has also revealed the limits of traditional policy instruments in stabilizing the economy, controlling inflation, and fostering economic growth. Fiscal Choices sheds light on the economic dimensions of COVID-19 and examines the state of Canada’s fiscal policy and fiscal health following the pandemic.

The book covers a cluster of key fiscal policy topics: the overall capacity of government, the growth of inequalities, the management of sovereign debt, and the troubled institutions of federalism and parliamentary government. The book draws upon candid, in-depth interviews with over 70 former and current politicians, public servants, and academic experts who aim to establish a sustainable future within an accountable political system.

The book argues that although those who are entrusted with the instruments of power are intelligent and well meaning, they are reluctant to take risks or abandon well-known, if poorly performing, formulas. It concludes with a set of predictions and prescriptions rooted in a realistic interpretation of Canada’s political economy. Ultimately, Fiscal Choices presents a sober assessment of federalism and parliamentary government as instruments of democratic accountability.

Michael M. Atkinson is an emeritus professor at the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Saskatchewan and an adjunct professor in the School of Public Administration at the University of Victoria.

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Haizhen Mou is a professor at the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Saskatchewan.

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