When I was chairman of Magna International Inc., I could always tell how competitive one of our factories was the moment I set foot in the front door. All I had to do was look at how many people were working upstairs in the administrative and executive offices.
Economy
Frank Stronach: Canada must slash bureaucracy to reap economic prosperity
One of the great dangers any democratic society faces is the enormous buildup of bureaucracy over time
One of the great dangers any democratic society faces is the enormous buildup of bureaucracy over time as government grows and extends its reach into all aspects of our lives.
The more regulations we adopt, the more bureaucrats the government needs to administer them. Bureaucracy just keeps mushrooming. All of the new regulations that come along with more government become a hidden cost of doing business that ultimately chokes productivity and makes businesses less competitive.
Last month, I suggested that Canada needed a new national movement of concerned citizens who would endorse seven core principles to revitalize our economy and improve the living standards of all Canadians. One of those core principles was to cut government overhead by reducing spending by five per cent per year over a ten-year period. This reduction needs to happen at every level of government.
By implementing these targeted annual reductions, we would be able to cut government overhead in half by 2033, a decade from now, returning it closer to levels that existed 50 to 60 years ago when economic growth in this country was at an all-time high and living standards for the majority of Canadians were much higher.
In our personal lives and in business, we always have to sort out what our priorities are when it comes to spending. But that’s never the case with government because there’s never any limit on what they can spend.
Ultimately, lower government overhead will allow us to begin lowering taxes for individuals and businesses. For workers, that means more money in their pockets to spend or invest. And for companies, lower government overhead will make them more competitive at a time when the global economic arena is increasingly cutthroat.
The global economy is spinning faster and faster with each passing year, and countries in the West — especially Canada — need to find new and better ways to remain globally competitive.
Jobs are the most precious commodity in the world, and in an effort to raise the living standards of their people, countries everywhere will fight tooth and nail to lure those jobs to their shores. But it’s the leanest and shrewdest countries, the ones with the lowest overhead and the lowest taxes, that will win the lion’s share of new jobs and investment dollars.
If Canada wants to be one of those countries, we need to start reducing our bloated overhead.
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VICTORIA – British Columbia is forecasting a record budget deficit and a rising debt of almost $129 billion less than two weeks before the start of a provincial election campaign where economic stability and future progress are expected to be major issues.
Finance Minister Katrine Conroy, who has announced her retirement and will not seek re-election in the Oct. 19 vote, said Tuesday her final budget update as minister predicts a deficit of $8.9 billion, up $1.1 billion from a forecast she made earlier this year.
Conroy said she acknowledges “challenges” facing B.C., including three consecutive deficit budgets, but expected improved economic growth where the province will start to “turn a corner.”
The $8.9 billion deficit forecast for 2024-2025 is followed by annual deficit projections of $6.7 billion and $6.1 billion in 2026-2027, Conroy said at a news conference outlining the government’s first quarterly financial update.
Conroy said lower corporate income tax and natural resource revenues and the increased cost of fighting wildfires have had some of the largest impacts on the budget.
“I want to acknowledge the economic uncertainties,” she said. “While global inflation is showing signs of easing and we’ve seen cuts to the Bank of Canada interest rates, we know that the challenges are not over.”
Conroy said wildfire response costs are expected to total $886 million this year, more than $650 million higher than originally forecast.
Corporate income tax revenue is forecast to be $638 million lower as a result of federal government updates and natural resource revenues are down $299 million due to lower prices for natural gas, lumber and electricity, she said.
Debt-servicing costs are also forecast to be $344 million higher due to the larger debt balance, the current interest rate and accelerated borrowing to ensure services and capital projects are maintained through the province’s election period, said Conroy.
B.C.’s economic growth is expected to strengthen over the next three years, but the timing of a return to a balanced budget will fall to another minister, said Conroy, who was addressing what likely would be her last news conference as Minister of Finance.
The election is expected to be called on Sept. 21, with the vote set for Oct. 19.
“While we are a strong province, people are facing challenges,” she said. “We have never shied away from taking those challenges head on, because we want to keep British Columbians secure and help them build good lives now and for the long term. With the investments we’re making and the actions we’re taking to support people and build a stronger economy, we’ve started to turn a corner.”
Premier David Eby said before the fiscal forecast was released Tuesday that the New Democrat government remains committed to providing services and supports for people in British Columbia and cuts are not on his agenda.
Eby said people have been hurt by high interest costs and the province is facing budget pressures connected to low resource prices, high wildfire costs and struggling global economies.
The premier said that now is not the time to reduce supports and services for people.
Last month’s year-end report for the 2023-2024 budget saw the province post a budget deficit of $5.035 billion, down from the previous forecast of $5.9 billion.
Eby said he expects government financial priorities to become a major issue during the upcoming election, with the NDP pledging to continue to fund services and the B.C. Conservatives looking to make cuts.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said the debt would be going up to more than $129 billion. In fact, it will be almost $129 billion.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
NANAIMO, B.C. – Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney says he’ll be advising the Liberal party to flip some the challenges posed by an increasingly divided and dangerous world into an economic opportunity for Canada.
But he won’t say what his specific advice will be on economic issues that are politically divisive in Canada, like the carbon tax.
He presented his vision for the Liberals’ economic policy at the party’s caucus retreat in Nanaimo, B.C. today, after he agreed to help the party prepare for the next election as chair of a Liberal task force on economic growth.
Carney has been touted as a possible leadership contender to replace Justin Trudeau, who has said he has tried to coax Carney into politics for years.
Carney says if the prime minister asks him to do something he will do it to the best of his ability, but won’t elaborate on whether the new adviser role could lead to him adding his name to a ballot in the next election.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says she has been taking advice from Carney for years, and that his new position won’t infringe on her role.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government has introduced a bill that would kick-start the province’s offshore wind industry without federal approval.
Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton says amendments within a new omnibus bill introduced today will help ensure Nova Scotia meets its goal of launching a first call for offshore wind bids next year.
The province wants to offer project licences by 2030 to develop a total of five gigawatts of power from offshore wind.
Rushton says normally the province would wait for the federal government to adopt legislation establishing a wind industry off Canada’s East Coast, but that process has been “progressing slowly.”
Federal legislation that would enable the development of offshore wind farms in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador has passed through the first and second reading in the Senate, and is currently under consideration in committee.
Rushton says the Nova Scotia bill mirrors the federal legislation and would prevent the province’s offshore wind industry from being held up in Ottawa.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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