Business Beat: Resetting priorities to help Canada compete

By Medicine Hat News on August 8, 2018.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce President and CEO, Perrin Beatty, recently spoke at a Chamber of Commerce Business Before 9 in Ontario and below are a few excerpts from his speaking notes that merited sharing locally, particularly in follow-up to my article last month on ‘Death by 130,000 cuts’. I hope readers are riveted by the importance of the message and the scale of work that Chambers do across our country.

“We should all understand that, in times like this, there are no more Liberals, Conservatives and New Democrats, federal and provincial governments, or public and private sectors. There are simply Canadians and, whatever our differences at home, we must speak to the outside world with one voice.”

“The plans and policies that might have made sense even a few months ago are now obsolete. Governments and businesses must develop new strategies to protect our economic interests, ensure the survival of our businesses, and protect the livelihoods of millions of Canadian families.”

“In my opinion, we urgently need to focus on what we can control and what we can do to help our businesses survive and prosper in this new environment.

“Last July, the presidents of all of the provincial and territorial chambers of commerce and I wrote a letter to the prime minister and the provincial premiers. We pointed out that actions by governments at all three levels were driving up the cost of doing business in Canada and, as a result, companies were struggling to grow and to compete for investment and customers from abroad.

“We noted that Canada is a high labour cost jurisdiction. We pointed out that we do not score well in terms of labour productivity and innovation. Other factors were hurting us too, including tax increases, the price of electricity in many jurisdictions, and the cost of complying with our increasingly burdensome regulatory regime, to name just a few.

“That letter was written a year ago, before tensions between Canada and the U.S. multiplied, before the stalemate in the NAFTA negotiations, before deregulation had gained momentum and tax reform had been passed in the United States, and before the government decided it had to buy the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion to keep that project alive.”

“In my work at the Canadian Chamber I get to hear from businesses in all sectors of the economy and from all parts of the country. I see Canada’s enormous potential — we truly are the most fortunate people on the face of the Earth — but what I’m increasingly hearing about how we are capitalizing on that potential is not reassuring.

“The Canadian Chamber’s message to governments at all levels is simple: now is not the time for idle tinkering or being distracted by nice-to-haves. This is a time for us — all of us — to be laser-focused on ensuring our businesses can compete and win at home and abroad. If we want the resources to create a more inclusive economy, it means tackling the problems that sap our competitiveness and hurt those very businesses we count upon to create wealth and economic opportunity. Our approach to regulation in Canada is a good place to start.

“Well-designed and well-implemented regulations support our health and safety, our prosperity and our environment. But not all regulations are created equal. Onerous administrative costs and inefficient regulatory processes divert resources away from more productive activities. And the increasing costs of regulatory compliance and uncertainty affect Canadian businesses across the spectrum.”

“What, then, should be on the agenda when MPs return in the fall? When our elected representatives reconvene, Parliament will have just over a year until the next federal election. They need to use that time well. I believe the government should announce that it will present a new Speech from the Throne in the fall to set out an urgently-needed, focused response to the growing economic challenge. And that Throne Speech should be followed by a mini-budget that updates the economic projections for the coming year and lays out a clear strategy to help our businesses compete.

“Canadian businesses and Canadian families need to know that our leaders understand how serious the challenge is and that addressing it comes before all other priorities. We need to regain our competitive edge, diversify our markets, and encourage new investment in our country.

“For our part, I give you this pledge: the Canadian Chamber will support any effort to address these challenges in a real, tangible way.”

So what does this mean for our community, it means that we have leverage and influence at a federal, provincial and local level actively working for you, as a community and as business leaders we need to work towards a more stable, predictable and fair regulatory regime; a plan that works for all Canadians at all levels of governments. Now that’s something worth getting involved in!

Lisa Kowalchuk is executive director of the Medicine Hat Chamber. Find out more about your local C of C at http://www.MedicineHatChamber.com and our policies at https://medicinehatchamber. com/pages/Advocacy. To read the full transcript of President & CEO Perrin Beatty’s speech from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, click here: http://www.chamber.ca/media/speeches/180628-were-not-in-kansas-anymore/ and to see the full Regulate Smarter campaign click here: https://regulatesmarter.com/.

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