Joe Oliver: A primal policy battle is coming and Canada's future is at stake

The hike in the carbon tax and the raise in MPs' salaries the Liberal minority government let sail through, even as it was shuttering the economy, demonstrate both its mindset and tin ear. David Kawai/Bloomberg

Government policies need to encourage capital investment, aim for fiscal balance and liberate the private sector from uncompetitive taxes and red tape

At this moment of national peril, those with an ideological agenda are plotting the permanent expansion of government at the expense of personal freedom and economic opportunity. Some are questioning the value of globalization. The usual suspects are advocating the demise of the energy industry. These dystopian ideas are likely to be the followup to the government’s colossal stimulus and aid program.

We are experiencing the Mother of All Crises because the combination of momentous events has no historical parallel — the global scope and impact of the pandemic, the shuttering of economies by government edict, an oil price collapse and unprecedented fiscal and monetary intervention. Maybe that is why conventional wisdom’s conclusion seems to be that everything will change forever. If we are not careful, that could become a self-fulfilling prophesy. Some things must change, including our lack of national self-sufficiency of essential goods and services in an emergency, our vulnerability to China, organized hostility to our vital natural resource industry, and our fiscal extravagance. But other things should not change, most notably the market economy, which has dramatically raised the standard of living for billions of people around the world.

There is inherent tension between safety and the standard of living. In an emergency, countries will protect their citizens first, so trade must be evaluated through the lens of national security. Say goodbye to Justin Trudeau’s bizarre characterization of Canada as the first “post-national state.” The WHO’s corrupt failure to fulfill its overarching mission of providing informed and objective advice fatally undermined its own credibility, as well as the credibility of those who defend it.

But despite all that, trade represents nearly 60 per cent of global gross domestic product, enriching most national economies. With Canada’s exports and imports together adding up to 64 per cent of our GDP, we benefit enormously from being a trading nation. Only fabulists can believe the pandemic has sounded globalization’s death knell.

It is important to distinguish between commercial relations with China and with other countries. Canadians can no longer harbour delusions about the communist regime after its harsh imprisonment of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor in obvious retaliation for the house arrest of Meng Wanzhou. Its deadly delay in disclosing the COVID-19 contagion has only deepened skepticism about its integrity and transparency. We must resist becoming dependent on China, especially for strategic goods and technology, such as 5G telecom, which would expose our wireless network to foreign surveillance and cyberattacks. Beijing’s Belt and Road “debt trap diplomacy” in Third-World countries reveals how it is acquiring critical infrastructure to further its geopolitical influence.

Continue reading…

Source: Joe Oliver | Financial Post