The head of the Business Council of Canada, which represents some of the country’s largest businesses, sent a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday urging his government to provide direct aid to distressed sectors including airlines, while establishing a clear “fiscal anchor” to impose discipline on budgetary decisions and help maintain credibility with credit-rating agencies.
At the same time, the council is calling for more coordination among governments to contain the spread of COVID-19, and urging Ottawa to create an economic recovery plan that encourages investment and includes jobs that pay well.
“Leading economies are acting fast to position themselves for success in the post-pandemic world. We must do the same,” said Goldy Hyder, chief executive of the business council.
“We need a plan that builds on the country’s strengths, squarely addresses our weaknesses, and reduces the risks from future disruptions.”
In the letter to Trudeau, which was also sent to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, Hyder urged the government to act on its Sept. 19 Throne Speech pledge to bring direct support to Canada’s airlines, hotels, restaurants and tourism operators that have been devastated by the pandemic and the business lockdowns and travel restrictions aimed at containing its spread.
“Canada is the only member of the Group of Seven leading industrialized countries that has not provided major financial aid for the air transport sector,” he wrote, noting that the government should be following the lead of others around the world that have acted to protect industries that are central to the economic competitiveness.
In the letter, Hyder was critical of the “piecemeal” response to the virus among various levels of government, saying this is keeping Canadians from returning to anything resembling normal life.
“We are now well into the second wave and there is still far too little co-ordination,” he wrote, adding that the respiratory virus is likely to remain a factor well into next year and possibly beyond that.
“(Canadians) and their governments can continue to react day-by-day and in piecemeal fashion to the evolving threat, or we can step back, regroup and resolve to do better.”
Hyder urged Ottawa to launch an immediate independent review of Canada’s response to the pandemic, focusing on bringing successes and failures to the forefront and identifying what can be learned from the experiences of other countries.
“As business leaders who care deeply about the country and the communities within which we operate, we recognize that the government’s top economic priority is to do what it takes to keep the virus under control and Canadians safe,” Hyder wrote. “That said, all of us have a responsibility now to plan for the post-COVID-19 world, to articulate a vision, and to set out the guideposts by which we will measure success.”
The business council, whose members include BCE Inc., Manulife Financial Corp. and Cenovus Energy Inc., released a report Wednesday laying out what the association views as the most pressing economic challenges and initial suggestions for how Canada could overcome them. More specific and detailed recommendations are expected following consultations with policy experts and others in the coming months.
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