Hon. Lisa Raitt

"The problem is not the level of B.C.’s debt, but how quickly it is rising. S&P calls that trend “a turning point” for the province’s finances, noting that the “size and persistence of material after-capital deficits differentiate B.C. from its peers.” The words are measured, but the warning is clear: B.C.’s finances are headed in the wrong direction. The fiscal plan is likely understating the problem. Health spending, for instance, is to increase by 14.9 per cent in the current year, but that growth suddenly decelerates to 2.6 per cent and 1.6 per cent in the following two years. That would result in reduced health care funding, once adjusted for population growth and inflation. The same pattern shows up for the education and social services budgets. Is the NDP contemplating a period of relative austerity? Or are those numbers understated to keep the deficit and debt picture from looking even more gloomy?" https://lnkd.in/gJYWaYfc

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Facts and insights from today’s unprecedented political events. Happy to chat about implications for your organization as the political dust settles. https://lnkd.in/eFFTcmkT

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See Kirk LaPointe's article for The Orca: "B.C.'s economic woes laid bare as past premiers push policy overhaul." Kirk discusses some highlights from last week's B.C. Economic Summit. Past premiers Glen Clark and Christy Clark offered their perspectives on the state of provincial economic policy. At the beginning of the day, I also gave a short presentation on some of the economic challenges facing the province: 1. Several mega capital projects that have been boosting economic activity in recent years are winding down. 2. No growth in real incomes: the government expects provincial GDP per capita to be lower in 2028 than 2022 (per page 99 of the provincial budget). 3. Almost no private sector job growth since 2019 - and for every new private sector job there have been 5.5 new public sector jobs created, a trend which is not affordable or sustainable. 4. Canada's households are the second most indebted in the world (and B.C.'s are the most indebted in the country). Household face a difficult period as pandemic-era mortgages come due for refinancing at higher interest rates. 5. Fiscal deterioration, prompting downgrades by international credit ratings agencies on the quality of provincial debt.

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Last Friday, the Canadian Bankers Association submitted its 2024 Pre-Budget Submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance which focused on recommendations to improve Canadian prosperity, competitiveness and financial security. Specifically, it highlights economic contributions the sector has made to Canada's economy and competition in the financial sector. It has also made recommendations around: productivity-enhancing #tax reform, including removal of banking sector-specific taxes; a harmonized regulatory approach in financial services; a resilient, principles-based consumer-driven banking framework; implementation of an Anti-Scam Plan; adequate resources for financial crime prevention, investigation and prosecution; and improvements to Canada's anti-money laundering (#AML) regime. Am looking forward to seeing how they make it into the government's policy agenda.

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Over the past few months, nearly every conversation I've had has been drenched in pessimism. We’re grappling with the national productivity crisis flagged by Bank of Canada Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers. She says it’s an emergency, and it’s time to break the glass. We’re digesting the OECD forecast that pegs Canada for the slowest growth among advanced economies in the coming decades. We’re still debating capital gains, with many entrepreneurs questioning how the federal government became so out of touch with the challenges of scaling a business in 2024. Canadians across all sectors are feeling the sting of a stagnant economy. Housing is wildly unaffordable, food costs are soaring, and political leaders are stuck in 20th-century policy “solutions.” I know I'm often seen as the skunk at the garden party on Canada's innovation record because I'm not shy to share feedback on how governments across Canada are doing when it comes to commercialization and supporting homegrown companies working hard to scale-up globally. But here’s the thing: despite the current gloom, I’m bullish on Canada’s future. Our country is a breeding ground for brilliant and inspiring entrepreneurs. You know them, I know them, and the world knows them, too. Every day, someone launches a new venture with a fresh idea and boundless ambition, and year after year, some of these startups hit their stride and enter a high-growth phase. Many of these companies go on to join us at the Council of Canadian Innovators | Conseil canadien des innovateurs, linking arms with fellow scale-ups to succeed globally. At CCI, we’re driven by a fundamental belief that Canada’s potential is vast, and that belief is reaffirmed daily when I speak with founders and tech workers building innovative solutions that will change the world. Yet Canadian policy and institutions — the structural backbone of our economy — need to step up. Our politicians must better grasp the 21st-century digital economy and the economic strategies that drive success with intangible assets and innovative ideas. Reorienting Canada's economic thinking towards the intangible economy and building the policy capacity to succeed in the modern world is why CCI exists. Everything we do - including our advocacy, this newsletter, our upcoming Innovation Governance Summit on July 18 in Toronto, and our Mooseworks pieces that drill deep into the policy issues that can make Canada a more supportive place for scale-ups - we do them to build Canadian capacity. This Canada Day, I’m proud of our collective work towards a more prosperous country. As a reader and follower of our work, thank you for being here for the journey and supporting the ecosystem in the ways you do. Innovation builds a nation, and together, we can keep working to make this country better. Happy Canada Day, and keep innovating.

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Interesting to see the #Ontario government making its preparations for the impact of the #US #elections (President, Congress, state and local) and the mandatory 2026 #CUSMA review. Definitely positive to see this forward-thinking approach by Ontario to advocate in the interests of our multi-billion $$ relationship. Does the Ontario government know about your company's interests, to be able to advocate for them? How is your company preparing for these events? #onpoli #cdnpoli #Canada-US #trade #investment https://lnkd.in/e6FJBgtN

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Nova Scotia municipal elections take place October 19. I've written the Province to ask what measures they have taken to ensure homeless people are registered or otherwise made aware of their right to vote. I have previously checked with Elections Canada and Elections Nova Scotia regarding voter eligibility. Both bodies told me being homeless doesn’t disenfranchise people. Elections Nova Scotia wrote: "The Elections Act currently allows homeless individuals to vote. To vote they must be registered, or if they are not registered, they need to provide an address where they intend to return daily. This address could be that of a shelter or of another public address (e.g. parks). There is also flexibility regarding providing identification. Often, our returning officers work directly with shelters who confirm the identity of their residents or those without sufficient identification can take a declaration and provide their signature to be registered. Further details can be found on our website Nova Scotia Voters With Special Needs (electionsnovascotia.ca)." It might be helpful if people contacted their town, village, county office to ask what steps they are taking to ensure the homeless can vote? Encouraging this growing, concentrated block of voters might just be the motivation some in public office need to resolve homelessness. His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales launched Homewards, a scheme to end homelessness in the UK in five years. William knows nothing happens without a deadline. A local vote could be a starting point to a solution.

Some answers and lots more questions about the Prime Minister’s big announcements today. Check out the StrategyCorp team’s analysis of what comes next, including the deep procedural knowledge of the one and only Garry Keller: https://lnkd.in/epN_mqvD Let’s chat about what this means for you and your organization!

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Great summary - Will be interesting to see how they consider potential adverse/cumulative impacts crossing provincial to Indigenous territories/jurisdictions, which is where feds would have to consider a federal designation - considering recent SCC case law re: C92 Quebec Reference on UNDA!

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Kevin Carmichael’s recent column in The Logic noted Cogeco Inc. CEO Frederic Perron’s conclusion of the cause of Canada’s productivity crisis — a “Break the Glass Emergency” in the eyes of the Bank of Canada. Regulation was the winner. Canada’s regulatory burden, at the federal, provincial and municipal levels is OECD-leading, but not in a good way. Additionally, we also lead in the creation of “command and control” regulations — these are regulations that define a process that must be followed rather than a threshold that must be achieved. This effectively eliminates the opportunity to innovate. Achieving productivity growth requires, as a foundational element, the ability to innovate. This Government has made substantial progress in modernizing Canada’s harmfully outdated Competition Act, including increasing the Competition Bureau Canada’s resources — essential to enforcing the Act. However, a major anti-competitive challenge remains — that being the enormous burden of regulations, policies and programs across the whole-of-government, at every level of government in Canada. I wrote about this in The Hill Times about two years ago (see below). I’m one of many recommending that the Statutory Instruments Act be modernized to formalize the incorporation of standards, codes-of-practice and certifications as being equivalent to regulations. Additionally, regulatory sandboxes can be prioritized as tools for learning where their current regulations are preventing innovation, and as a tool for providing regulatory oversight in fast-changing sectors — ensuring that arms-length oversight exists, essential to maintaining social license, while not preventing innovation. Lastly, attention is needed to limit cabinet-level interference when regulators recommend or make changes that go against the interests of large incumbents. Simply, this restriction will help to limit the overwhelming power of the well-funded, highly-lawyered, anti-competitive voices of large incumbents. Every time they drown out the voices of innovative new entrants, consumers lose. By way of example, a year ago Cabinet rejected a CRTC order forcing Bell, TELUS and SaskTel to allow smaller competitors to buy access to their fibre-optic cable nationwide. This CRTC order was supported by the Competition Bureau and would have improved competition in internet services markets across Canada. I’m willing to bet that the vast majority of Canadians see a lack of competition as being responsible for our globally-leading (in a bad way) internet and cellular services. Reforming regulations is essential to increasing competition, innovation and productivity in Canada. To be clear, this is not traditional “deregulation”. It’s about regulatory modernization and agility — updating the frameworks necessary to protect Canadians, our environment and our economy. Regulatory stagnation does the opposite. #CompetitionMatters #competition #innovation #productivity #investment #prosperity

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This series of concise op-eds is worth a few minutes of time.

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Listening to Albertans On March 15 at the Alberta Municipalities | Strength in Members Spring Municipal Leaders Caucus I asked Minister McIver if the provincial government would be open to ideas from Alberta Municipalities about how we could help them achieve their intended goals for more transparency and fairness in Bill 20. While he didn’t say yes, he also didn’t say no outright. I wish he had said no because then Alberta Municipalities staff wouldn’t have wasted their time coming up with thoughtful solutions to help make local elections more fair and transparent. If he had just said no, it at least would have been honest that the provincial government had no intent to listen to anyone about overhauling how local democracy works in Alberta. Instead Albertans were made to believe their opinions could influence critical legislation. With only four weeks left in the spring sitting of the Legislature, Bill 20 is going to be forced through even though Albertans overwhelmingly oppose it. Instead of working with Albertans to co-create changes to our local democracy, we will get less fair and transparent elections. Groups like Alberta Municipalities and Rural Municipalities of Alberta have regularly offered to work with the provincial government on ways to improve local democracy. Unfortunately, they have never taken time to listen to anyone about something as fundamental as changing local democracy. Albertans deserve better. #Edmonton #Alberta #LocalDemocracy

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Great to see the Competition Bureau go after some of the hidden monopolies in the Canadian economy. Dye and Durham attracted attention after rolling up niche software sectors and jacking up prices more than 500%. Article also shows how the Competition Bureau's new powers are being put to work. "The changes give [the Competition Bureau] teeth to go after sectors rife with market concentration, including stronger tools to take enforcement action and protect competition with an eye toward reducing prices and improving service and choice."

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Whether you agree or disagree with the China EV tariff policy, it’s important to look at the numbers involved. The reality is the policy looks to have disproportionate regional impacts: with primarily industries in central Canada that it is aiming to protect, and prairie agriculture most negatively affected.

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High speed internet is now so integral to our lives. Accessing government services, health care, education and employment now depends on adequate and affordable internet. There has been substantial progress, but Indigenous and northern communities still lack the speeds needed to fully realize societal and economic benefits. Low-income households also struggle to afford monthly internet bills. What can governments do to bridge this next frontier in closing the digital divide? Join the Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP) on June 18th (in person in Ottawa or virtual) for a lunchtime conversation with Ian Scott, former chairperson of the CRTC, Bill Murdoch, chair of the First Mile Connectivity Consortium working to improve First Nations broadband infrastructure, and Elisha Ram, Senior ADM with ESDC's Income Security and Social Development Branch. IRPP president and CEO Jennifer Ditchburn will moderate the panel discussion and Q&A. https://lnkd.in/grBtXjEQ

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Looking for someone with knowledge of the CPP disability benefit on behalf of a reader. Here's the story. Any thoughts? "This query is related to a friend with money troubles. He recently applied for his CPP retirement pension and still plans to work for several years. He is 63 now.   He just received a letter from CPP advising he owes them a large amount of money because many years ago he continued to collect his CPP disability pension for several years after going back to work.  CPP will take 25% off his pension each month, which we estimate could take up to 25 years to pay off. Strangely enough, CRA never flagged this or withheld any refunds on his income tax. I guess they don’t talk to each other!   Questions: 1.      If he dies, does Service Canada try and collect any money owing from his estate? 2.      Is there any way he could ask that the 25% reduction be reduced or forgiven as he won’t have any other income other than CPP or OAS?"

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The report from North Economics (shared by Matthew Mendelsohn below) is an important read on the eve of #Budget2024. It outlines why bringing competition and innovation into Canada’s banking sector is so crucial. The other important read is the Competition Bureau Canada’s recommendations to strengthen competition in Canada’s financial sector (https://lnkd.in/eHR6YKfr). Specifically, the Bureau urges Finance Canada / Finances Canada to swiftly adopt a consumer-driven banking framework because it will boost competition and innovation by challenging established providers and empower new service providers. The Bureau also urged policymakers to reconsider the application of the stress test when renewing mortgages for uninsured borrowers, allowing them to switch lenders and benefit from competition. These are ways to help struggling Canadians without having to write big cheques. I look forward to seeing the Finance Minister fulfill her important commitments on this file. #CompetitionMatters

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