Given the state of government finances, and the costs it imposes on Canadians, there’s nothing disingenuous about calling for more fiscal discipline from Ottawa.
As the experience of our other allies clearly shows, governments can reform the dairy industry to the benefit of both consumers and farmers.
Its monopoly status prohibits potential service providers from entering the letter-delivery market, depriving Canadians of choice, and reducing the incentive for Canada Post to improve its service.
Scrapping supply management would allow Trump to deliver more access to the Canadian market for the farmers that overwhelmingly supported him.
Now more than ever, the federal government and the provinces and territories should work together to remove interprovincial trade barriers.
Despite the prime minister’s claim that Canada has the ‘strongest fiscal position’ in the world, Fraser Institute evidence shows it’s actually among the most indebted advanced economies.
By lowering tax rates for many Canadians, the government would improve our tax competitiveness, and better incentivize entrepreneurship, investment, and other activities that promote economic growth and generate tax revenue.
Governments have other options, like scrapping interprovincial trade barriers and allowing allowing foreign competition.
The government will likely need to borrow to finance any new spending and add more debt, which will result in higher taxes in the future. And yet, pharmacare is being presented to Canadians as if there’s no direct cost to them.
There are few signs the Liberals will transform into responsible stewards of public finances and take meaningful steps to control debt and debt interest costs.
Instead of introducing a new national program as a blunt instrument, the Trudeau government could specifically target the Canadians who struggle to pay for their medications.