Serge Dupont and Heather Scoffield explain why Canada's premiers are in the perfect position to do something about the country's dismal productivity growth in a Globe and Mail op-ed.
The premiers are meeting in Halifax this week for their annual Council of the Federation talks.
Serge and Heather lay out specific steps that provinces can take to increase productivity, right now and on their own:
- Internal trade: Premiers could agree to a default elimination of the barriers within a period of three to five years unless there is discrete, targeted and justified intervention.
- Labour and skills: Selecting and training skilled workers through provincial immigration policy and post-secondary education.
- Infrastructure: Provinces hold most of the cards for infrastructure investment, policy and regulation. There are many needs—and nothing stands out more than the requirement for an efficient, reliable and competitive clean electricity grid.
- Better provincial coordination in the energy transition: This could knit together a smooth, connected system to price industrial carbon while incentivizing investment.
From its inception in 2003, the stated goal of the Council of the Federation was "to make Canada work better for Canadians." Serge and Heather say this speaks, "to a need for premiers to work – individually, collectively, and with the federal government – to advance a priority goal for Canada: to stimulate investment and build a more productive economy."
Heather Scoffield is Senior Vice President, Strategy at the Business Council of Canada.
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