The economy in B.C. and elsewhere across the country will continue to need a lot of government help if it hopes to recover from COVID-19 damage.
The challenge is ensuring that help is grounded in economics not politics, but that is a challenge too big for too many politicians and political parties.
Justin Trudeau’s minority Liberal government acted decisively when it came to opening federal financial floodgates to stem the rising tide of economic devastation from the pandemic’s first wave. But it has been far less adept at knowing when to turn off the tap and get down to the much harder task of mapping out a recovery plan to address Canada’s looming $1 trillion debt. There is little evidence, too, that Trudeau’s government, mired in ethics controversies, has any clear vision for setting priorities to help businesses recover in the country’s depressed economy.
Unfortunately for government, the avenues least politically palatable but most economically viable are to cut spending and raise taxes.
Banking on economic growth with the spectre of rising interest rates in a country largely reliant on energy and natural resources in today’s pandemic environment is a long shot at best.
But strategic help to get private-sector business back on its feet is available for government if it has the good sense to listen. A recent dispatch from the C.D. Howe’s Crisis Working Group is one example.
Its list of policy priorities for government includes supporting the rapid digitization of small businesses, reducing barriers to inter-provincial trade and resolving confusion around Canada’s convoluted foreign investment review regime.
These are all well thought out and practical actions that government should pursue as part of its responsibility to create an environment in which enterprise and business can survive and prosper.
