Monday October 26th 2008, the 2nd Agenda Meeting in regards to the fiscal crisis became a rather heated debate. Both Manitoba and Ontario advocated for the need to develop better infrastructure within their provinces. This in turn requires a substantial amount of money from the federal government. The positive impact from having a better-developed infrastructure is undeniable, however is this really the priority we should advocate during a financial crisis?
Consumers are panicking and loosing trust in banks. Under a situation like the financial crisis, resolutions need to be immediate. Most gains from infrastructures are long-term gains, thus we may benefit from it in the future, but something needs to be done in the meantime. A popular topic during the discussion on Monday afternoon was internal trade. Many delegations have brought up the Alberta-BC trade as a good model and example for internal trading. Taken directly from Government of BC homepage,
“The purpose of the Agreement will be to:
ESTABLISH an open, efficient and stable domestic market in Alberta and British Columbia
ENHANCE competitiveness, economic growth and stability
INCREASE opportunities and choice for workers, consumers and business;
REDUCE costs of consumers, business and governments;
PROMOTE sustainable and environmentally sound development, high levels of consumer protection, and health and labor standards; and
SUPPORT ongoing trade and investment liberalization both nationally and internationally”
Most of the goals that a better-developed infrastructure intended to achieve are similar to the ones in the agreement. Therefore it shows that trade is an important component for Canada in terms of lessening hte impact of the financial crisis.
In a recent interview with the Ontario delegation, they have clearly indicated that trading with EU and internal trading would greatly influence Canada’s economy. Ontario representatives argue that since trading with EU is a national matter, the federal government should deal with most of the matters, however it should not fail to consult the provinces when making decisions.
While both the Manitoba and Ontario delegations have acknowledged the importance of trade, it was not the crucial topic they were advocating for. Are we underestimating the impact of trade?
Joyce Chan, The Seditious Times
Reference:
http://www.gov.bc.ca/ecdev/down/framework_agreement.pdf
