So what’s going on?

Canada’s social safety net is not keeping up, but it was never designed to address food insecurity.

In our latest episode of The Politics of Money, IFSD convenes leading experts to unpack the issue.

💬 “Food insecurity is not a food issue — it’s a resource issue.”

IFSD's Managing Director Helaina Gaspard speaks with Sarah Stern (Executive Director, Maple Leaf Centre for Food Security), Valerie Tarasuk (Professor Emerita, University of Toronto),  Craig Gundersen (Snee Family Endowed Professor, Baylor University), and Jennifer Robson (Associate Professor, Political Management, Carleton University).

Their discussion digs into: 

• Why food bank use is rising—even among employed households
• The limits of existing supports like EI and the Canada Child Benefit
• How responsiveness, timing, and targeting of income supports matter
• What lessons Canada could draw from programs like SNAP in the U.S.

👉 At its core, the challenge is this:
How do we design a social safety net that actually prevents food insecurity—rather than responds after the fact?

For more, please also check out our special live event at the University of Ottawa, Hunger in a Time of Rising Food Costs: The Immediate and Sustained Impact of Food Insecurity. 

In this episode of The Politics of Money: An IFSD Podcast, we bring together American and Canadian perspectives to move the discussion beyond slogans and examine the real‑world tradeoffs and consequences. Including how the pursuit of tax competitiveness risks becoming a race to the bottom.

Tax debates often start and end with a single idea: tax cuts. But in public finance, lower taxes still must be paid for — either through spending reductions, higher user fees, deferred public investments, or decisions to raise revenue elsewhere. 

Scott Pattison (Federation of Tax Administrators) offers a state-level U.S. lens. He explains why states face intense pressure to compete for jobs and investment, including the implications of operating under balanced-budget constraints that limit their ability to run deficits outside of capital borrowing. He also cautions against simplistic cross-border comparisons. To compare jurisdictions meaningfully, he argues, we must look beyond headline GDP figures and focus on measures that better reflect lived experience — such as median household income, life expectancy, and quality-of-life indicators.

Heather Scoffield (Canadian Tax Observatory) provides perspective on how Canada’s tax debate has become politically “toxic” and dominated by tax cuts. She explains how this focus can detach the conversation from the costs of national priorities — and from the role taxes play in funding public services, as well as the trust required to sustain that social contract.

The episode closes with an IFSD roundtable featuring Kevin Page, Sahir Khan, and Mostafa Askari on what today’s “hinge moment” means for Canadian tax policy. They discuss how competitiveness isn’t only about tax rates — it’s about choices, capacity, and how the fiscal system can support the country Canadians say they want.

In this special live event hosted by the IFSD—in partnership with the Maple Leaf Centre for Food Security and the Office of Research and Public Policy Outreach at the University of Ottawa—leading researchers, economists, and practitioners examine the real cost and consequences of food insecurity in Canada — from its impact on health systems and labour markets to the long‑term impacts for children, households, and communities.

The event is moderated by Adrian Harewood (Journalist and Associate Professor at Carleton University) and features:

• A conversation with Dr. Valerie Tarasuk (Professor Emerita, University of Toronto) on the drivers and health costs of food insecurity
• A panel discussion with Geranda Notten (Full professor, University of Ottawa), Rebekah Young (Vice-President, Scotiabank), and Natalie Spooner (Interim CEO, Ottawa Food Bank) on worsening food insecurity and the health, economic, and policy consequences for Canada.

The cross-sector event explores why food insecurity has risen so sharply in Canada, its impacts on health, dignity, well‑being, and economic security, and what policy tools can actually make a difference.

📍 Recorded live at the University of Ottawa

 Hosted by the Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy (IFSD)

They look beyond the headline deficit improvement to assess the credibility of the fiscal framework, the role of fiscal guardrails, and what actually changed under the hood. 

The discussion examines the trade‑off between short‑term affordability measures and longer‑term fiscal risk, alongside execution challenges and key transparency gaps—particularly around delivery, defence spending, and major capital projects.

The episode offers listeners a clear framework for understanding the Fiscal Update and asks the key question whether Canadians should have confidence in the government's fiscal plan, as Canada heads toward the fall budget in an increasingly uncertain global environment.

Ahead of the government’s spring Economic and Fiscal Update, The Politics of Money brings together IFSD President and CEO Kevin Page, Executive VP Sahir Khan, and Chief Economist Mostafa Askari, for a timely preview of what they're looking for in the government's plan. 

The conversation explores the government’s room to manoeuvre amid global shocks and affordability pressures, while achieving a balance between short-term relief and long-term fiscal credibility. IFSD's team talk about how deficits fit into the over all fiscal picture, what bond rating agencies are looking for, looming pressures around execution and implementation, and the growing importance of transparency as well as expectations facing the Liberal government now that they have secured a majority in the House of Commons. 

A must-listen Fiscal Update primer for parliamentarians, public servants, journalists, and anyone interested in Canada’s economic outlook.

Each year, Parliament is asked to approve hundreds of billions of dollars in public spending through the Main Estimates. And each year, confusion follows about what the Estimates do and don’t mean.

What’s new spending? What Departments are being cut and by how much? How do we reconcile the Estimates and the Budget? Why don’t the numbers line up?

Kevin Page and Sahir Khan worked inside central government agencies crafting budgets and spending plans. Later they worked in the Parliamentary Budget Office, helping MPs decode government’s spending plans. 

In this bonus episode of The Politics of Money, Kevin and Sahir discuss why Canada’s spending system is so difficult to interpret – by design. They unpack the parallel systems that govern public finance: one built for planning and policy; the other for parliamentary approvals. 

The conversation walks listeners through how Budgets, Main Estimates, Departmental Plans, and Public Accounts fit together — and why Parliament is often asked to vote without a single, coherent picture of government spending. Kevin and Sahir close with practical ideas for reforms that would make Canada’s public finance system clearer, more transparent, and more accountable. 

In this episode of The Politics of Money, IFSD’s President Kevin Page sits down with Stéphane Dion for a wide‑ranging discussion on the difficult choices facing Canada today. 

Drawing on Dion’s experience as a cabinet minister to three prime ministers, ambassador to Europe, and political scientist, the conversation dives into how Canada navigates ongoing regional tensions and threats of separation, the durability of our democratic institutions, and how federalism provides checks and balances on governments. 

Recently returned from eight years as Canada's lead Ambassador in Europe, Dion shares insights into Canada–Europe relations, trade diversification, and the geopolitical challenges shaping Canada’s international economic and diplomatic choices –– including the war in Ukraine and prospects for reconstruction.

🎙️ Smart, fact-based discussions about how decisions are made – and why they matter.

The Politics of Money. A trustworthy podcast in uncertain times.  

Click here to watch a video of this episode.

In our first (bonus!) episode, former Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page is joined by former Deputy PBOs Sahir Khan and Mostafa Askari for a quick discussion on the nomination of Annette Ryan as the next PBO.

The IFSD team explores the state of the PBO today, Annette Ryan's qualifications and the potential challenges ahead for the Office of the PBO.   

Our first full length episode, coming soon, will feature a one-on-one conversation with Stéphane Dion and Kevin Page. They discuss Canadian unity and potential provincial referendums, the state of Canada-Europe relations and the war in Ukraine.