Opinion
Federal policy will need to pivot from support to recovery
By Ian Russell May 6, 2020
As the federal government’s capacity to provide direct relief measures diminishes with the ballooning deficit weighing on the treasury, federal policy needs to quickly shift to indirect policies to promote confidence and investment to help speed economic recovery.
The coronavirus pandemic has brought economic shock faster and more severely than the 2008 global financial crisis. In contrast to the financial sector factors that led to the events of 2008, the shock of COVID-19 has stemmed from the government’s necessary and humanitarian response to impose stay-in-place orders and business shutdowns to fight COVID-19. The result is a steep decline in demand, spilling into reduced employment and incomes of individual Canadians and businesses. The bulk of economic activity has shut down, something not seen even during the Great Depression or the Second World War.
Related Stories
Politics This Morning
Your email has been added. An email has been sent to your address, please click the link inside of it to confirm your subscription.
‘Words alone will not be enough’: Black caucus, community cautiously optimistic about feds’ Throne Speech pledges
Senator Wanda Thomas Bernard says she had hoped the speech would have made specific references to the development of a Black-Canadian justice strategy.‘It’s much lonelier’: MPs talk about doing politics in the age of the pandemic
MPs from all parties are also watching the provincial election in British Columbia carefully to learn how to run a campaign in the midst of a pandemic.Lapse in early pandemic warning system ‘a colossal failure,’ says former federal Liberal health minister Dosanjh
'We would have been far better prepared, we would have had far more robust tools at our disposal, had we not put GPHIN to sleep,' said former federal health minister Ujjal Dosanjh. Committee should study proposed changes to election rules to prepare for future vote, say MPs
'What better time to innovate your election system than during a pandemic? Because you're going to have to start thinking outside of the regular way,' says Stéphanie Plante, who has worked with Elections Canada.Liberal fall agenda takes shape: what’s new, and what has to go through the House
The Throne Speech included a long list of promises. Most were old, some were new. At least 20 will likely require the approval of the opposition-majority House of Commons. ‘We have to put the safety of Canadians first,’ says NDP MP Jenny Kwan, as Parliamentarians return to work in person and virtually
Some Parliamentarians returned to the House on Sept. 23 for its first sitting following the prorogation of Parliament on Aug. 18.Conservative riding presidents, 2019 candidates want O’Toole to deliver on promise to return election rebates
Erin O’Toole told riding association presidents last week that the party will return election rebates to them. Some of the presidents want to know when the money will arrive.Conservative Party finalize nomination rules for its 217 unheld ridings
Conservative Party members will be able to vote on the phone, online, mail-in ballots, or by drive-through, in ridings where in-person voting is not possible because of the pandemic, say Conservative sources.Trudeau says some promises ‘clearly’ touch provincial jurisdiction after premiers slam Throne Speech, but calls for unified approach
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says the Liberals' Throne Speech committed to 'more policies that would invade provincial jurisdiction than I could count.'Trending Stories
