One of my perpetual hobbyhorses is government gouging of small businesses, the seemingly endless fees that we have to pay (to all levels of government) to get into and stay in business. Two of the major parties are proposing to do something about the reams of forms and fees we currently have to deal with.

The Progressive Conservative Full Policy states that the PCs will “work toward the elimination of excessive regulation, duplication and waste in responsibilities between the federal and provincial governments” (p. 5). They will also implement an annual “Red Tape Budget”, which will detail the cost of each new proposed government regulation, “including the enforcement costs to the government and the compliance costs to individual citizens and businesses” (Progressive Conservative Policy Summary).

The Canadian Alliance also intends to tackle the thorny problem of excessive red tape. Point 2 of their Economic Policy states that they will eliminate “unnecessary regulations” and minimize government interference in the labour market. Unfortunately, they don't present any details about how they will do this, or which regulations they consider to be unnecessary.

Free Trade

Another of my favourite hobbyhorses is the irony of having supposed free trade with the U.S. when trade among the provinces isn’t. Free trade must be interprovincial as well as global, if businesses are going to fully develop their markets.

The Progressive Conservatives promise to “take a leading role in eliminating inter-provincial trade barriers” (PC Full Policy, p. 5). Point 3 of the Canadian Alliance’s Economic Policy promises that if elected, the party will pursue “free and open trade at home and abroad, including the elimination of inter-provincial trade barriers.”

Neither the Liberals or the NDP mention interprovincial trade barriers in their platforms.

On the subject of free trade in general, however, most of the parties have something to say. The Liberals point out that they have “worked alongside Canadian businesses to ensure that they gain fair access to world markets,” (Liberal Platform, p. 29), promise to continue to “advocate fair trading rules”, and pledge to continue to open new export markets and press for a Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (p. 30).

The Progressive Conservative promise is much the same; their Policy Summary says that they will “actively expand global trading partnerships with other nations.” The Canadian Alliance also promises to do this, adding that they will “vigorously pursue reduction of international trade barriers, tariffs and subsidies” ( Economic Policy). All of the parties concerned claim they will do these things while protecting Canada’s culture and environment. The NDP, once again, has nothing about free trade in its platform.

Have a Comment or Question? If you have a question you would like to ask, a topic you would like to see discussed, a favorite resource you want to share, or a comment you want to make, I'd like to hear from you. Email me at sbinfocanada.guide@about.com.