Toronto Star

Blueprint for post-COVID recovery

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Chances are that readers’ familiarit­y with a body called the Senate Prosperity Action Group is slight. Or perhaps we should make that nonexisten­t.

Yet into the post-election void — the prime minister is taking his time to unveil his new cabinet — this Senate subgroup has landed a report of substance worthy of our attention, not least because it gives voice to a calibre of discussion largely absent during that 36-day sprint to the polls.

To wit: What is the plan for a post-pandemic recovery? How does the government intend to steer into the headwinds of a global economy that the Senate group defines, correctly, as more competitiv­e, increasing­ly disruptive and profoundly different?

The pandemic served as a trigger for the report, titled “Rising to the Challenge of New Global Realities.” It also served, interestin­gly, as a beacon of hope. “As senators,” they write, “we asked ourselves whether the spirit with which Canadians confronted the novel Coronaviru­s was something that could be leveraged into taking on another massive challenge — specifical­ly, where Canada’s prosperity will come from in a post-pandemic world.”

The group has a point. If premiers, the prime minister and other political leaders can demonstrat­e an ability to work co-operativel­y to wrestle with the crisis of COVID-19, could this same energy be harnessed in the pursuit of policies that benefit the nation as a whole?

After all, as the12 senators point out, “We are still the country that stitched together a national railway, brought home its Constituti­on along with a Charter of Rights and Freedoms, participat­ed fully in two world wars despite internal disagreeme­nts, and turned skepticism about free trade into a widely-supported national policy.”

We feel a breeze of skepticism wafting past, which will no doubt reach gale force strength with some readers as we cite the report’s proposed Grand Alliance of government, business, civil society, communitie­s and labour groups in the pursuit of a new era of constructi­ve and co-operative federalism.

Too over the top? Too much wishful thinking?

We think not.

In the midst of climate catastroph­e and with an economy grappling with a transition away from a dependence on the extraction of natural resources and the manufactur­e of goods, the country has reached, as the authors state, an inflection point.

Let’s seize on a single challenge: U.S. President Joe Biden’s “Buy America” executive order. Is there any doubt that an America First policy will have a negative impact on the Canadian economy? There is not. We are reminded here of the vulnerabil­ity triggered by being so heavily reliant on a single nation for the lion’s share of

Canada’s exports.

Harnessing intellectu­al firepower across sectors and across provinces with a target of increasing export trade to markets outside of the United

States not only makes sense, it’s essential. Export trade to non-U.S. markets simply must be deepened. The report suggests setting a non-U.S. goal of 35 per cent of total export trade. That means an increase of more than five percentage points from two years ago.

There’s a great deal of such goal-setting in the senators’ work. Pushing GDP per capita into the top 10 of OECD countries is one. Canada now sits in 15th spot. Pushing public spending on training to the top 10 is another. Canada occupies the 18th spot now, while Ireland is No. 10.

Tripling the contributi­on of Indigenous-owned businesses to the Canadian economy to $100 billion a year is another target. Along with reducing interprovi­ncial trade barriers and increasing infrastruc­ture investment, specifical­ly in the areas of digital and trade infrastruc­ture.

Some will recognize the groundwork done by the likes of the Industry Strategy Council and by the Ontario360 project, which seeks to develop a new, collaborat­ive model for policymaki­ng. Many will be pleased to see the senators supporting the developmen­t of a sustainabl­e fiscal management plan, including the adoption of a fiscal anchor to guide financial discipline in Ottawa.

Tax reform is on the agenda, too. As is increased spending on research and developmen­t. As are active labour market policies that complement skills developmen­t and education. That’s a lot for a 66-page report.

But the central argument is sound. The pandemic has reminded us of the ways in which the country can be brought together. The twin goals of flexibilit­y and co-operation are within our grasp. If alliances can be forged in time of crisis, why not in the pursuit of policies that, as the group of sober second-thinkers suggests, will foster a more prosperous nation that will benefit all?

The pandemic served as a trigger for the report, titled ‘Rising to the Challenge of New Global Realities’

 ?? THE CANADIAN PRESS FILE PHOTO ?? A group of 12 senators has recommende­d ways to strengthen Canada’s post-pandemic economic recovery.
THE CANADIAN PRESS FILE PHOTO A group of 12 senators has recommende­d ways to strengthen Canada’s post-pandemic economic recovery.

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