Law and Public Policy

D21 - Policy Analysis and Policy Design

Date: Jun 14 | Time: 03:30pm to 05:00pm | Location: 680 Sherbrooke St. West 495

Chair/Président/Présidente : Alison Smith (University of Toronto)

Discussant/Commentateur/Commentatrice : Olivier Jacques (Universite de Montreal)

The Digital Canadian Dollar: A Survey Experiment on Democratic Risks and Public Trust: Ori Freiman (McMaster University), John McAndrews (McMaster University), Jordan Mansell (McMaster University), Anwar Sheluchin (McMaster University), Clifton van der Linden (McMaster University)
Abstract: Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are a new form of money that has the potential to significantly affect the economy and society. Implementation and adoption require the public's trust, however, public trust in CBDCs is not well understood. Here, the Bank of Canada has recently concluded a public consultation about the possibility of issuing a CBDC - the digital Canadian dollar. This paper discusses an online survey experiment (n=~1000) that examines how different governance and technological mechanisms affect public trust in the digital Canadian dollar and the Bank of Canada. The survey consists of a baseline assessment of the knowledge and awareness about the digital Canadian dollar; a vignette priming subjects to democratic risks; a vignette that presents the different mechanisms of trust, followed by the questions about trust; and a trolley-style question to understand the tradeoff between personal financial privacy and public safety. The paper analyzes the causal effects of CBDC trust mechanisms on public trust, as well as the preferences and attitudes of the respondents towards various aspects of the Canadian CBDC. The paper contributes to the global literature on CBDCs and democracy by providing empirical evidence and local policy recommendations for implementing a CBDC that respects and protects democratic values and principles.

Rent banks as a tool of eviction prevention in Canada: Alison Smith (University of Toronto)
Abstract: Protecting the housing rights of people who are currently housed is an important part of an equitable response to the housing crisis, especially as the price of rent soars in cities across the country. In the landscape of homelessness prevention in Canada, eviction prevention is recognized as an important emergency-level strategy for keeping financially precarious households from losing their dwelling. One tactic under this strategy is a rent bank: emergency funds allocated to people at-risk of losing their dwelling to supplement their rent and cover rent arrears. Despite their role in eviction prevention, there has been little comparative research to better understand how different models of rent banks function and to assess their ability to keep households stably housed. In this presentation I describe different models of rent banks in Canada, the US, and Europe, their respective political contexts, their perceived effectiveness, and discuss how rent banks fit within a broader homelessness prevention typology. By comparing these different models, I intervene in literature on homelessness prevention in Canada, specifically by highlighting the role that emergency interventions can play when more structural measures to prevent homelessness are unsuccessful. I also propose a broader conversation on eviction prevention where tangible solutions to preventing homelessness are proposed through promising practices in rent banks.

Drivers of tax evasion in the construction and renovation industry: opportunities, beliefs and justifications of consumers: Antoine Genest-Grégoire (Université de Sherbrooke), Masarah Paquet-Clouston (Université de Montréal), Lyne Latulippe (Université de Sherbrooke), Luc Godbout (Université de Sherbrooke)
Abstract: Tax evasion is considered as very common in the home renovation and construction industry of Quebec. The province’s tax collection agency has identified it as one of the main areas of focus for increased enforcement in the future. This study takes the posture of consumers of such services and tries to understand why many of their transactions are done without proper payment of sales taxes (GST and QST). Using data from focus groups as well as a representative survey, it documents the extent of such evasion and the main pathways that explain it. Attention is given to the importance of opportunity coming from service providers themselves, selfish economical reasoning and motivational scales of attitudes such as risk aversion, altruism and in-group solidarity. Borrowing from criminology, we also document the justifications consumers invoke to reconcile their past behaviour with their values and thus manage any remorse they may feel. We look at individual versus redistributive political postures as such possible pathways for justification, along with reference to peer groups and general trust in society. It appears that evasion in this field is generally mostly explained by desires to save money, and that is not generally perceived very negatively, even amongst non-evaders. Evaders do not markedly differ from non-evaders in terms of attitudes and most do not feel enough remorse to need justification strategies. Evaders are generally more hostile to redistribution, but this might be more directly explained by their relative wealth compared to non-evaders.