Canada’s Top Business Associations Unite in Call for Tax Cuts
Canada’s three leading business associations — The Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the Alliance of Manufacturers and Exporters Canada and the Business Council on National Issues (BCNI) — today called for immediate and substantial federal tax cuts as an essential first step in a strategy for sustainable economic growth and social renewal. The united message from the business community was endorsed enthusiastically by delegates and members of the Alliance and the Canadian Chamber at their simultaneous annual meetings. The BCNI, Canadian Chamber and Alliance agreed that significant and broadly-based tax reductions must be the federal government’s top priority in the next budget and beyond. At the same time, they said lower taxes must be part of a comprehensive strategy to stimulate innovation, productivity, competitiveness, employment and incomes. The three business groups stressed that the urgency of tax reduction requires the government to avoid new spending programs. And they said that in […]
Winning Conditions for a Prosperous Canada
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak to you today. I know you have a very busy agenda today and tomorrow and you will be tackling some very difficult issues. As you are well aware, our country is grappling with some extremely important policy matters and the Chamber, as the largest business association in Canada, has a vital role to play in this process. Countless businesses and associations have come and gone from the Canadian landscape since the Chamber of Commerce was formed 75 years ago. You, on the other hand, have grown and prospered, building on your mandate to create an influential voice for Canadian business, and promote policies that encourage long-term economic growth and prosperity. The fact that you are still here, larger, more vibrant and more influential than ever, is a testimonial to the hundreds of thousands of Chamber members […]
Time is Running Short for Canada to Prevent
Drain of Key People, Jobs and Assets,
Business Leaders Warn Prime Minister
Canada is likely to suffer a growing loss of key skills, jobs and strategic corporate assets unless it dramatically changes its ways within the next one or two years, the Business Council on National Issues (BCNI) says in a memorandum to Prime Minister Jean ChrǸtien. The BCNI, comprised of the chief executive officers of 150 leading Canadian corporations, says Canadian companies face severe disadvantages within the process of restructuring, reinvention and consolidation sweeping the global economy. “The combination of a weak currency, high corporate and personal taxation and policies and regulations that restrict growth and diminish the value of Canadian equities are leaving many major Canadian enterprises highly vulnerable to foreign takeovers. A low Canadian dollar does help exports, but it also cripples the ability of Canadian companies to recruit top talent and makes it more difficult for them to grow through acquisition rather than being acquired.” The chief executives […]
Mediocrity Versus Excellence:
The Choice Facing Canada
Dear Prime Minister, In June, the members of the Board of Directors of the Business Council on National Issues (BCNI), known as the Policy Committee, offered you a few brief thoughts on the need to enhance the competitiveness of the Canadian economy in order to support a healthy society. We also promised to keep you up to date on the progress of our Canada Global Leadership Initiative. Last Thursday, we met again in Vancouver to review the initiative and to exchange views on the state of the Canadian economy and its prospects in the months ahead. We would like to take this opportunity to highlight some key themes that are emerging from our initiative in the hope that this will provide constructive food for thought as your government contemplates a Speech from the Throne this autumn. In particular, while we continue to see great potential for progress within the evolving […]
Partners in Progress:
A Strong Economy and a Healthy Society
Dear Prime Minister, Yesterday, the Board of Directors of the Business Council on National Issues (BCNI), known as the Policy Committee, met in Ottawa to discuss the state of the Canadian and global economies. Knowing that you and your Cabinet colleagues are scheduled to convene at a retreat in the coming weeks to consider the future direction of Canadian economic policy, we are pleased to share the following views with you in the hope that you will find them timely and constructive. When we wrote to you on the subject of economic and fiscal priorities in September, 1998, it was a time of much uncertainty in the global economy and capital markets. You will remember that we urged great prudence. In particular, we advocated more rapid reduction in public debt combined with a cap on new discretionary spending to leave room for significant reductions in personal income tax rates. The […]
New Policies for a New Century
After the NAFTA and the WTO
Where do we go from here?
Let me begin my brief remarks with a salute. A salute to Presidents Reagan and Bush for their leadership and vision in advancing the cause of free trade in North America and the hemisphere. We are delighted that President Bush is here with us today as convinced as ever of the importance of trade liberalization to the advancement of global economic prosperity. A salute to the Mexican leadership — political and private sector — for boldly reversing history and for opening the Mexican economy to North America and the world. No single Mexican more clearly represents this spirit of opening — of apertura — than my friend Jamie Serra who is with us today. A salute to Brian Mulroney who pursued the goal of free trade in Canada with extraordinary courage and conviction and who won a decisive mandate from the people of Canada in the election of 1988 — signaling a mammoth transition in the economic history of Canada. […]
The Hurricane’s Aftermath: The Challenge to the Global
Financial and Trading Order
The Hurricane’s Aftermath: The Challenge to the Global Financial and Trading Order
Productivity and Prosperity
Chairman, Honourable Members, Ladies and Gentlemen, Today, you have asked the Business Council on National Issues to address the issue of productivity. Let me say at the outset that while the public debate over productivity is important, I am worried that it has become dangerously focused on arguments over how to describe the symptoms rather than how to treat the disease. A doctor assessing a patient will normally take his or her temperature. But the thermometer alone cannot provide a reliable diagnosis. So it is with economic health. Productivity, and the rate of productivity growth, is simply one way to assess the health of a nation’s economy. It is an important measure, but it is neither perfect nor the only measure that matters. What do we mean by productivity? In economic terms, it means the value of goods and services produced in relation to the time, money and resources used […]
Canada Needs Creativity not Spending
With only one year of budgetary surplus under our belts at the federal level, the spenders are out in force. Predictably, the policy debate on Parliament Hill has degraded into a one-dimensional battle between tax cuts and increased spending. The real issues are much more complex. The debate should be about creative public policy that would engage the public, private and non-profit sectors in the search for stronger growth, a rising standard of living and a better quality of life for all Canadians. Throwing money at our problems is not the answer. We’ve been there and done that. We need to face our challenges with greater candour and honesty. We need to dispense with the old ideological shin guards and begin to use some "out-of-the-box thinking" and new ideas. Some of the answers are staring us in the face. Just look south of the border. Our unemployment rate stands today […]
Business Leaders Elect David P. O’Brien
as Chairman of the Business Council on National Issues
The Business Council on National Issues has elected David P. O’Brien as its new Chairman. Mr. O’Brien, who is Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Pacific Limited, succeeds A. L. Flood, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CIBC. Mr. Flood now assumes the post of Honorary Chairman. The Business Council on National Issues is a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization that is the vehicle for Canadian chief executive participation in national and global issues. The member companies of the BCNI administer close to $1.9 trillion in assets, have a yearly turnover of more than $500 billion, employ about one in ten working Canadians and are responsible for a majority of Canadian private sector investment, exports, research and development and training. “I am honoured to take on the responsibility of chairing the BCNI at what I believe is a critical time for Canada’s economy,” said Mr. O’Brien. “We have taken on […]
Previous
