Former federal finance minister Bill Morneau says he thinks Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberal government he used to be a part of “probably” spent too much on COVID-19 stimulus. Now, he’s “worried” about the potential for a recession this year.
In an exclusive interview with CTV News’ Chief Political Correspondent Vassy Kapelos airing Sunday on her debut episode of CTV’s Question Period at 11 a.m. ET, Morneau said that in hindsight, the amount of economic stimulus and COVID-19 aid the federal government poured into the Canadian economy during the worst of the global pandemic, may have been too much.
Morneau said that when you look around the world, Canada was one of the countries that “did a good job” when it came to supporting its citizens through the tumultuous time, but “was there too much? Probably.”
“But getting it exactly right, that’s tough. So I think now that we have the benefit of seeing what transpired, I think we need to be very cautious given that we know that the economic environment that we’re facing is challenging,” Morneau said.
According to a recent Auditor General report calling out eligibility verification shortcomings in the Liberals’ rollout of COVID-19 financial programs, the Liberals spent an estimated $211 billion on COVID-19 aid.
The biggest ticket benefit programs were the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS), which paid out $100.7 billion to 460,000 businesses seeing 5.3 million employees kept on the payroll, and the Employment Insurance benefit which evolved into the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), and saw $74.8 billion sent to 8.5 million Canadians.
Morneau’s comments build on a perspective he expresses in his forthcoming and revealing new book ‘Where To from Here: A Path to Canadian Prosperity’ which delves into both his time in one of the top political positions in the country and what led him to resign in August 2020, as well as his views about the country’s future economic potential.
While Morneau left the federal cabinet six months after the Liberals started rolling out billions of dollars in financial aid to Canadians and employers—amid tension with Trudeau over what he considers a difference of opinion over tapering off COVID-19 aid— during his time in the top fiscal position, Morneau did defend the federal government’s economic approach.
“I think I need to be really clear, the response to COVID— the initial response— I think, was the right response,” Morneau said in the interview. Other examples he gave of economic programs he thinks the government has gotten right are the Canada Child Benefit and expanding the Canada Pension Plan, while he thinks programs aimed at encouraging investment such as the Canada Infrastructure Bank weren’t followed through on “as well as we could have.”
“One of the challenges while I was there, and now, is having a focus on a few things that are going to make a big difference, rather than dealing with everything that comes your way on a day-to-day basis,” Morneau told Kapelos. “And, you know, as someone who came from business, it’s not a new challenge.”
‘I DO WORRY ABOUT THE POTENTIAL FOR A RECESSION’
The former finance minister is not the first high-profile economic voice to suggest that Canada may have rolled more economic aid than prudent out the door, for too long. In September, Bank of Canada deputy governor Paul Beaudry said governments and central banks should have withdrawn stimulus measures earlier, as doing so would have likely resulted in lower inflation, as The Canadian Press has reported.
Now, amid ongoing high inflation, Morneau says that while the Central Bank’s “only appropriate response” is to raise interest rates, he is among the economic observers who is concerned about the country’s current economic situation.
“I think the challenge that we’re facing now is obviously significant,” Morneau said. “Inflation is hugely problematic for people to deal with. And so, when you raise interest rates, inevitably there’s less investment. So I do worry about the potential for a recession in 2023.”
“My hope is that if we have one, it will be shallow recession, and one that we would we be able to come out of,” he continued.
Morneau said this means the government’s current focus on fiscal prudence is “doubly important.”
“We really need to make sure that we’re not adding to the challenge with government actions,” he said.
DOES HE THINK TRUDEAU IS AN EFFECTIVE ECONOMIC MANAGER?
Kapelos had to ask Morneau twice to get a direct response as to whether he thinks his former boss is an effective manager of the economy.
After initially speaking about how he thinks the federal government is currently “rightly focused” on Canadians’ concerns about the economy, and how there needs to be better long-term planning with both the provinces and the private sector when it comes economic growth, Morneau said “everyone can do better.”
“Look, I think we could have done better while I was there. I think that the government can do better now,” he said.
“And, I think being an effective manager means focusing on a few things that are critically important and doing them every day. The challenge of the 24/7 news cycle response is that takes your eye off the ball. And so for me, growth in the economy, long-term solutions to a health-care crisis that continues to repeat itself… and thinking about that energy transition, they all need that perspective.”
With files from CTV News’ Chief Political Correspondent Vassy Kapelos and CTV’s Question Period associate producer Spencer Van Dyk
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
