DOUG ETTINGER CANADA POST’S NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE

The federal government has named Doug Ettinger as the new president and chief executive of Canada Post Corp. The appointment is effective Monday. Ettinger has been chief commercial officer for Canada Post since 2016. He has led the company’s parcel business and as well as a range of the company’s commercial functions, including sales, marketing, retail, digital, business development and customer service. Deepak Chopra stepped down as chief executive of Canada Post last year. Jessica McDonald, Canada Post’s chairwoman, has been serving as interim president and chief executive since April 2018. dustry association called on the government to do something about competitiveness. The uncertain future of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the country’s inability to build pipelines was hurting business sentiment, and U.S. tax cuts had erased an advantage that Canada had enjoyed for years. The Bank of Canada acknowledged this by cutting its outlook to reflect the likelihood that business investment would be diverted to North America’s largest economy.

Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau did nothing. The 2018 budget had little to say about competitiveness. They made up for it in the fall economic statement, cutting taxes on investment and promising to cut regulation. But the damage was done: Investment in machinery and equipment dropped almost five per cent in the fourth quarter, the second consecutive quarterly decline.

Monetary policy needed more help from fiscal policy at the start of last year, but the government didn’t provide any. The Opposition might seek to exploit that failure, but if it does, it would have to explain how its constant nagging about budget deficits is helping matters: The latest GDP figures show that austerity would only hurt the economy now.

The recovery from the Great Recession, and then the recovery from the oil shock, were fuelled by household debt. During that time, neither the Conservatives nor the Liberals did enough to nurture an economy that would be capable of powering through turbulence. Now, as the stimulants wear off, we are getting a look at the true state of Canada’s economy. It’s no world beater, that’s for sure.

JUSTIN TANG / BLOOMBERG FILES Some are saying Stephen Poloz, Bank of Canada governor, erred in orchestrating five interest rate increases between July 2017 and October 2018, write Kevin Carmichael.