Thoughts on BC Politics and More

Canada’s largest corporations are pushing the Mark Carney government for faster and more radical changes in their favour, weeks after a federal budget that was seen by critics as already capitulating to many big business demands.  CEOs from two of the country’s largest business lobby groups, the Business Council of Canada and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, published an op-ed in the Toronto Star on December 4 calling the budget’s measures “baby steps” and asking for deeper tax cuts and fewer regulations. “If Mark Carney wants to hit his $1 trillion investment goal for Canada, baby steps won’t do,” the article’s headline stated. The CEOs called for Canada to “distinguish itself in a big way on the tax front” from the United States.  “Given the level of uncertainty, it is unclear how sensitive business investment is to marginal tax changes,” they wrote ... CLICK HERE for the full story

... new targets play an important role in showing fiscal restraint, the government has argued. Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem called the new guardrails “helpful” to monetary policy. But the government has systematically disregarded its past fiscal goals, raising doubts about its latest promise, according to a new report from the Business Council of Canada. “To meet their proposed deficit target they’ll either need much stronger-than-expected economic growth or they have make substantial program cuts ahead of an election" ... CLICK HERE for the full story