Regulation of securities trading in Canada.

The financial crisis in the United States and the ghost of a recession.

The Open Skies Agreement between Europe and the United States comes into force.

The Open Skies Agreement between Europe and the United States comes into force.

The regulated maple syrup market in Quebec.

In Canada, regulation of securities trading and related activities falls under 13 separate provincial and territorial bodies, most of them called securities commissions. The federal and Ontario governments argue that these should be replaced by a single national (or interprovincial) body. The other provincial and territorial governments oppose this and, since 2004, have created a mutual recognition process called the passport system.

The real estate crisis in the United States and the specter of a recession.

The underground economy (or illegal economy) covers market production of goods and services, legal and illegal, which are sold or purchased illegally. It is composed of both the irregular economy, where legal goods and services are produced and exchanged under illegal conditions, and (productive) black markets, the preserve of goods and services that are illegal but satisfy all the parties involved. History presents us with a large number of prohibition and taxation events that gave rise to contraband. However, smuggling and other forms of underground markets are not only a historical phenomenon, but an everyday fixture of contemporary economies: drugs, alcohol, fuel, tobacco, etc. One should not think of the underground economy as only black markets or smuggling on irregular markets. The irregular economy mainly includes otherwise legal services sold “under the table” like labour services sold to businesses or individuals (in residential construction and renovation, for example). […] To deal with the underground economy, four public policy approaches are possible.

The record industry and the Internet.

The rise of the Canadian dollar.