Terrorism has Changed Priorities but not Fundamentals, Business Leaders Tell Commons Finance Committee

September 25, 2001

The terrorist assault of September 11 has changed Canada’s short-term priorities, but not the fundamentals of sound fiscal policy, says the Business Council on National Issues (BCNI). And despite today’s high degree of uncertainty, Canada’s long-term economic prospects remain promising, BCNI President and Chief Executive, Thomas d’Aquino, assured the Standing Committee on Finance of the House of Commons.

In the short term, however, the need to fund new security-related measures at a time of slowing economic activity will require the federal government to focus on essentials, Mr. d’Aquino added. “We face hard choices between what we want and what we need. In the public and private sectors alike, there is no more room for frills.”

His remarks addressed some of the key issues that have emerged in the wake of the terrorist attacks in the United States:

On the war on terrorism, he criticized those who suggest that Canada should stand aloof because the terrorists only attacked the United States. “This is Canada’s war too, not because the Americans say so, but because we dare not betray our own heritage and values.”

On deficits, he said that the uncertainty spawned by the terrorist attacks reinforces the need to plan prudently, and said the government would be ill-advised to rush into a wave of new spending and tax cuts to stimulate the faltering economy. “A deficit in any given year remains a possibility, but it is not one for which we should deliberately plan.”

On North American security, he said that Canada must decide quickly how it will address issues of defence, customs and immigration in ways that protect both the lives of Canadians and the country’s access to the United States market. “We may be unable to ensure an open southern border unless we are able to convince our American allies of the integrity of our external perimeter.”

The full text of Mr. d’Aquino’s remarks is available on the BCNI website at www.ceocouncil.ca. Also available is a memorandum for Prime Minister Jean ChrǸtien, dated September 7, 2001, that discusses in more detail the Council’s policy priorities and recommendations on fiscal strategy.

The BCNI is the senior voice of Canadian business on issues of national and global relevance to Canadian chief executives. A non-partisan and not-for-profit organization, its member chief executive officers head companies that administer assets in excess of $2 trillion, have a yearly turnover of more than $600 billion and are responsible for a significant majority of Canada’s private sector exports, investment, research and development.