It’s not entirely surprising that the first three candidates to declare they are running for mayor of Ottawa in 2022 are all experienced politicians. Increasingly, politics has become a career path in which the drawbacks outweigh the incentives and the risks are greater than the rewards.
So despite the frequent calls for a business candidate to join the race, there aren’t many good reasons for someone to give up an appealing job in the private sector and enter the minefield of electoral politics in the age of social media.
But just because there might not be a candidate from the private sector doesn’t mean the needs of the business community can’t be prominent during the campaign and for the next term of city council. Jim Watson has spent most of his life in the public sector. But over the past decade, and in his previous stint as mayor in pre-amalgamation Ottawa, he’s been a good friend of the business community. Watson has consulted regularly with business leaders, established Invest Ottawa and ensured that economic development was a much greater consideration in city policy, and worked closely with the tourism sector to bring major events to the city.
And Watson did this without compromising in other important areas. There’s a false perception that political leaders must choose between the economy and other priorities; likewise, that policies that bolster the private sector are rewarding only the rich. We saw that contrivance play out regularly during the pandemic, with the trope that by allowing restaurants to reopen, the provincial government was choosing the economy over public health, as though there were no health consequences to job losses.
A strong economy is good for everyone. It creates and sustains jobs and it generates tax revenue to pay for social programs and infrastructure. Likewise, a strong community is healthy for business. You can’t find good customers and good employees in a depressed environment. So let’s hope the next mayor sees economic growth and social justice as each contributing to the other, rather than a zero-sum game in which we must choose between them.
Let’s hope the next mayor sees economic growth and social justice as each contributing to the other, rather than a zero-sum game
What kind of policies would be included in such a platform? A strategy to address the future of downtown Ottawa would be a start. What does the urban core look like in a post-COVID world in which more people work from home? What does it mean for public transit, for city planning, for the businesses that are located downtown? How can we turn downtown Ottawa into a more livable neighbourhood, an appealing destination even if fewer people are required to be there for their jobs? How can a changing downtown become part of a solution for homelessness and more affordable housing? How can we make it safer, with much fewer accidents involving pedestrians and cyclists?
Ottawa also has the potential to be a more diverse and inclusive city. How can we be a leader among communities that are implementing policies that recognize the dignity of every person, eliminate persistent systemic barriers, make everyone feel safe and welcomed, and build new models in everything from policing to social services? How can we make it easier for employers to hire new Canadians? A community that is fairer and more diverse benefits everyone.
The next council should also place a significant priority on creating a greener Ottawa. Too often, we view environmental policy as a provincial, federal, or even global matter. But like most things, saving the planet starts with local behaviour. We need to do more than put a few solar panels on the roofs of government buildings. We need to make climate change central to all our decision-making, and provide incentives for developers to build much more energy-efficient buildings.
The next mayor should see the business community as a valued partner in building a better Ottawa, and view economic, environmental, and social progress as equally vital to building a safer, fairer, and more inclusive community that is beneficial to all its citizens. This isn’t about left or right, but up instead of down.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was higher in late-morning trading, helped by strength in energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets also moved up.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 34.91 points at 23,736.98.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 178.05 points at 41,800.13. The S&P 500 index was up 28.38 points at 5,661.47, while the Nasdaq composite was up 133.17 points at 17,725.30.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.56 cents US compared with 73.57 cents US on Monday.
The November crude oil contract was up 68 cents at US$69.70 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up three cents at US$2.40 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$7.80 at US$2,601.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.28 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
OTTAWA – Canada’s inflation rate fell to two per cent last month, finally hitting the Bank of Canada’s target after a tumultuous battle with skyrocketing price growth.
The annual inflation rate fell from 2.5 per cent in July to reach the lowest level since February 2021.
Statistics Canada’s consumer price index report on Tuesday attributed the slowdown in part to lower gasoline prices.
Clothing and footwear prices also decreased on a month-over-month basis, marking the first decline in the month of August since 1971 as retailers offered larger discounts to entice shoppers amid slowing demand.
The Bank of Canada’s preferred core measures of inflation, which strip out volatility in prices, also edged down in August.
The marked slowdown in price growth last month was steeper than the 2.1 per cent annual increase forecasters were expecting ahead of Tuesday’s release and will likely spark speculation of a larger interest rate cut next month from the Bank of Canada.
“Inflation remains unthreatening and the Bank of Canada should now focus on trying to stimulate the economy and halting the upward climb in the unemployment rate,” wrote CIBC senior economist Andrew Grantham.
Benjamin Reitzes, managing director of Canadian rates and macro strategist at BMO, said Tuesday’s figures “tilt the scales” slightly in favour of more aggressive cuts, though he noted the Bank of Canada will have one more inflation reading before its October rate announcement.
“If we get another big downside surprise, calls for a 50 basis-point cut will only grow louder,” wrote Reitzes in a client note.
The central bank began rapidly hiking interest rates in March 2022 in response to runaway inflation, which peaked at a whopping 8.1 per cent that summer.
The central bank increased its key lending rate to five per cent and held it at that level until June 2024, when it delivered its first rate cut in four years.
A combination of recovered global supply chains and high interest rates have helped cool price growth in Canada and around the world.
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem recently signalled that the central bank is ready to increase the size of its interest rate cuts, if inflation or the economy slow by more than expected.
Its key lending rate currently stands at 4.25 per cent.
CIBC is forecasting the central bank will cut its key rate by two percentage points between now and the middle of next year.
The U.S. Federal Reserve is also expected on Wednesday to deliver its first interest rate cut in four years.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
FREDERICTON – New Brunswick‘s finance minister says the province recorded a surplus of $500.8 million for the fiscal year that ended in March.
Ernie Steeves says the amount — more than 10 times higher than the province’s original $40.3-million budget projection for the 2023-24 fiscal year — was largely the result of a strong economy and population growth.
The report of a big surplus comes as the province prepares for an election campaign, which will officially start on Thursday and end with a vote on Oct. 21.
Steeves says growth of the surplus was fed by revenue from the Harmonized Sales Tax and federal money, especially for health-care funding.
Progressive Conservative Premier Blaine Higgs has promised to reduce the HST by two percentage points to 13 per cent if the party is elected to govern next month.
Meanwhile, the province’s net debt, according to the audited consolidated financial statements, has dropped from $12.3 billion in 2022-23 to $11.8 billion in the most recent fiscal year.
Liberal critic René Legacy says having a stronger balance sheet does not eliminate issues in health care, housing and education.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
