Stop Dragging Us Down

July 26, 2005

The following article appeared in the July 26, 2005 issue of the Ottawa Citizen.

By Thomas d’Aquino
Chief Executive and President
Canadian Council of Chief Executives

True or false: Canadians are facing unprecedented competition from emerging economies such as China and India, and it is therefore important that we work co-operatively to build a more prosperous future.

Most people would probably consider the answer to be obvious. Sadly, Canadian Labour Congress president Ken Georgetti does not seem to be among them.

In late June, the Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE) launched an initiative that we call Canada First! Our members, who head most of Canada’s largest enterprises, are deeply disturbed by the extent to which our country’s Parliament has been dominated by jockeying over short-term political advantage rather than serious debate about longer-term national strategy.

In Canada First!, we pointed out that we live in a world that is changing with incredible speed as emerging economic powers such as China and India transform global patterns of trade and investment. We argued that Canadians need to think hard about what kinds of economic opportunities our children will enjoy, and to decide what we have to do as a country to achieve that vision.

Apparently, this was too much for Mr. Georgetti. In a missive published by this newspaper ("Canada’s gloomy CEOs," July 19), he called our statement "predictable and self-serving" and accused us of trying to undermine democracy. Excuse me?

Perhaps the real problem here is Mr. Georgetti’s blinkered view of the business community. In his response to our statement, he keeps up his tired rant that business cares about nothing but tax cuts. Yet the CCCE statement of June 28 clearly lays out six areas for action: more transparent and accountable government; better public services and infrastructure; smarter regulation and taxation; stronger productivity growth; better education and training; and more effective recruitment and integration of immigrants.

We are not "gloomy," but neither are we complacent. We are fully confident that Canadians can take on the best in the world and win, but we also recognize that we cannot take our current good fortune for granted.

What are Mr. Georgetti and his members in the health-care sector doing to make sure that tens of billions of dollars in extra public spending actually lead to faster access to better care? How are he and his private-sector members helping businesses to become more productive and competitive so that they can provide more secure and better-paying jobs? And if he thinks high tax rates do not matter, how would he improve Canada’s ability to persuade international and Canadian investors (including the pension funds on which his members are counting for retirement security) that they should invest more of their money in this country instead of somewhere else?

The CLC leader dismisses our Canada First! statement as "pompous and incredibly titled." Perhaps he would have been happier if we had called it Canada Last! It is indeed to last place that the wrong-headed policies of the CLC would lead Canada and Canadian workers. Consider the CLC’s record: they said the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement would lead to the demise of Canada; they argued that deficits do not matter as Canadians owe the money to themselves; they said anti-inflationary policies would hurt the economy; they argued that high taxes are not only acceptable, they are essential.

On every seminal economic issue facing Canada, the CLC has chosen the wrong side. Our country would be vastly better served if Mr. Georgetti and his leftist brigade were replaced by a progressive social-democratic labour movement and gifted leaders such as those in most of the world’s industrialized countries.