The Global Economic Hurricane:
The Challenge to Canadian and
International Business
Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen. En route to Beijing this week, I visited a number of East Asian economies and I also attended the APEC Business Summit in Kuala Lumpur. Everywhere, two words came up time and time again — change and opportunity. It is most fitting, therefore, that the Canada China Business Council should choose as this year’s Annual General Meeting theme — Opportunity in Times of Change. In no economy in the world do these two words complement each other more aptly than in China. This morning I will share my thoughts with you on the state of the global economy as I see it and outline the challenges that lie ahead for business leaders in Canada and throughout the world. Before doing so, I wish to salute the Canada China Business Council (CCBC) on its 20th anniversary and the leadership of Chairman André Desmarais and President Jack Austin for making this organization […]
The Global Economy and National Imperatives
The Challenge to Canada’s Business Leadership
Mr. Chairman, Special Guests, Fellow Members. It is my task this morning to set the scene for this Economic Summit, to help prepare ourselves for our deliberations which are certain to inform and to provoke, and which will involve, in a very direct way, more than 100 chief executives — all committed members of our BCNI family, all of us dedicated to building a stronger Canada in a more prosperous world. Let’s begin by taking measure of the world as we see it today. While the Cold War is increasingly a fading memory, new threats have emerged — the threat of globally co-ordinated terrorism, of rogue states that ignore the rule of law, of civil conflict arising in states incapable of holding themselves together or of preventing the spread of hostilities beyond their borders. But a potentially more destructive threat has now emerged — the threat of global disorder arising from a sharp contraction in economic […]
Business Leaders say Fiscal Prudence
Requires Firm Targets and Clear Priorities,
not Wishful Thinking
The Business Council on National Issues (BCNI) says Finance Minister Paul Martin’s autumn fiscal update was strong on prudent sentiment but short on the choices and commitment needed to deliver a rising standard of living for all Canadians. The Council, comprised of the chief executives of 150 leading Canadian corporations, was pleased that the $3.5 billion surplus recorded in the 1997/98 fiscal year was used to pay down the public debt. But in a presentation to the Standing Committee on Finance of the House of Commons today, it expressed disappointment with the lack of commitment to firm targets in future. “Paying down debt for the first time in 28 years is a good start, but where do we go from here?” said BCNI President and Chief Executive, Thomas d’Aquino. “Mr. Martin says the ratio of debt to Gross Domestic Product could fall to 55 percent in five years, but he […]
Courageous Choices and Clear Priorities
Chairman, Honourable Members, Ladies and Gentlemen, When I last spoke to this Committee in June, I was able to say that most economic indicators were positive. I also warned, however, that the business cycle was not dead and that fiscal policy must not assume that good news will last forever. Global events since then have made that point abundantly clear. I also told you that the BCNI was in the process of developing its fiscal priorities for the post-deficit era. In particular, our member chief executives were engaged in detailed discussion of ways to reduce the burden of taxes in an affordable and sustainable way. Our recommendations for a framework of continuing tax reduction were sent to the Minister of Finance earlier this month. Our paper, entitled Creating Opportunity, Building Prosperity — A Tax Reduction Strategy for Canadians, has been distributed to members of the Committee. We also have distributed copies of […]
Income Tax Cuts Better Than EI Premium Reductions
even at Modest Incomes, says Business Council
Cutting Employment Insurance premiums instead of personal income taxes would hurt most lower-income Canadians, according to the Business Council on National Issues (BCNI). The Council was rejecting allegations by union leaders and others that a BCNI tax cut proposal issued yesterday would put money only into the hands of the rich, while EI premium reductions would help average workers. “Either form of tax relief would put money back into the pockets of hard-working Canadians, but the BCNI approach would provide more relief to lower income families at less cost to the federal treasury,” said BCNI President and Chief Executive, Thomas d’Aquino. He also criticized suggestions by Bloc QuǸbǸcois Leader Gilles Duceppe that the federal government will record a $15 billion surplus this year. “To tell Canadians that we can dramatically reduce EI premiums, increase health care spending and cut taxes in a single year is ludicrous and irresponsible,” Mr. d’Aquino […]
Business Leaders Propose Seven-year Plan to cut Annual Federal Tax Bill by $18 billion
The Business Council on National Issues (BCNI) is urging the federal government to reduce its annual tax bill by $18 billion over the next seven years, beginning with a $3 billion tax cut in the 1999 budget. Some 80 percent of the proposed cuts would reduce personal income tax rates, with 13 percent going to reduce Employment Insurance premiums and seven percent allocated to assist in corporate tax reform. The $14.5 billion in personal tax cuts is equivalent to 20 percent of this year’s personal income tax revenue. The BCNI, which is composed of the chief executive officers of 150 leading Canadian companies, said that reducing public debt must remain the top fiscal priority in an environment of global economic uncertainty. But Canada’s personal income tax burden is so far out of line with that of the country’s major trading partners and competitors that significant tax reduction must begin now. […]
Creating Opportunity, Building Prosperity a Tax
Reduction Strategy for Canadians
Creating Opportunity, Building Prosperity a Tax Reduction Strategy for Canadians
Hemispheric Integration After
the Santiago Summit: A Canadian
Business Perspective
The organizers of this meeting — the Canadian Foundation for the Americas, the Norman Patterson School of International Affairs, and the Chilean Embassy are to be congratulated. Coming as it does at the beginning of the FTAA negotiating process, the timing of the conference could not be better. With Canada as chair of the Trade Negotiations Committee, and host of next year’s meeting of hemispheric trade ministers, as well as the Fifth Americas Business Forum, Canadian views on the evolution of the FTAA process are of keen interest to our Latin American friends. The Business Council on National Issues has long been an enthusiastic advocate of the benefits of free trade. We played a private sector leadership role in shaping the historic and very successful 1988 Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement. We have been strong supporters of NAFTA, and more recently of the Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement. Of course, we always have […]
Brain Drain Cuts Tax Take Too
The brain drain is more than a corporate problem. The growing flow of highly skilled and highly paid Canadians to the United States also undermines our tax base and threatens the services supported by that tax base. A recent study by the C. D. Howe Institute highlighted one costly aspect of the brain drain: the vast sums of public money invested in the education and training of those who leave. It also estimated the costs to the economy of having to replace highly paid emigrants with immigrants from other countries. The study estimated that for managers and professionals alone, the net loss to Canadian society between 1982 and 1996 was $6.7 billion, and said the “churning costs” of replacing all those who left between 1989 and 1996 would have totaled $11.8 billion. The best paid Canadians also pay the most tax, and they are the most likely to leave. According […]
Global Slowdown Requires Federal Spending Cap,
Early Tax Cuts and Faster Debt Repayment,
Business Leaders Advise Prime Minister
In light of slowing global growth and turbulent currency markets, any plans for new spending by Canada’s federal government must give way to accelerated debt reduction and early personal tax cuts. That was the advice delivered to Prime Minister Jean ChrǸtien by the Business Council on National Issues (BCNI), whose members are the chief executive officers of 150 leading Canadian corporations. “In the current environment of uncertainty, increased attention to debt reduction is mandatory, and commitment to significant tax cuts is essential to preserve Canada’s competitiveness and ensure its prosperity. There is no room at all for new discretionary spending at this time,” the Council said in a memorandum entitled Confronting Global Economic Uncertainty — A Canadian Strategy. The business leaders noted that Canada is in much better shape to withstand global turmoil than it was five years ago. “We face trying circumstances, but we are well positioned to endure and then […]
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