I thought that a good way to start off writing in the new year was to spell out what I think will be the greatest issues challenges facing Canada in this year.
First, without any doubt, is the question of relations with the U.S. Donald TrumpB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ· understanding of international finance and trade is, at best, dismal and the statements about U.S.-Canada trade are more often than not just plain wrong. Canada needs to focus attention on this issue.
It needs to present a unified position including all provinces and based upon fact not fiction. If Trump has his way the exorbitant tariffs levied upon Canadian exports to the U.S. will cause high costs to both business and consumers alike.
The second challenge is reform of the Canadian tax system, both Federal and provincial. It has been more than 50 years since the system was examined in depth and things have changed. In particular the demands on provincial governments for health, education, urban growth and transportation have greatly increased relative to the federal government.
A Royal Commission is what we need.
The third challenge is the defence of our borders in the Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic oceans. We need to focus on what we consider the major risks we could face in each region (they are not the same), what kind of resources do we need for each of these regions and realistic cost estimates and time required to make them effective by the end of the decade or sooner. In particular, we need to realize that technologies used in the last century are mainly outmoded and we need to have 21st technology for our armed services.
The fourth and complex challenge is the public health system. For too long it has been run more as a monopoly rather than a public operation fundamental for the prosperity of Canada. Form outdated restraints on who can practice and where to limited ability to make tough consumer voices of alternative ways of providing health services to all residents in Canada.
This will not be an easy task. Various groups have inordinate power and will be loathe to reduce it in any fashion.
And because itB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ· central to our welfare, and a major consumer of economic resources, the public at large has little understanding of how the system works and what are the greatest barriers to more effective and efficient health care. That is why a large Royal Commission from all governments, various components of the population nd of various age groups needs to be represented on the Commission.
Fifth, is the need to evaluate post secondary education on a national basis. Many institutions have exhibited poor management particularly in both financial terms and in meeting existing and potential demands in the future.
And provincial governments who provide a large portion of their financing themselves exercise power, more often than not, in a haphazard way.
Does every department in every post secondary institution need a graduate program?
How do governments effectively evaluate their activities?
Again it requires a knowledge of what are the demands of students and their likely employers, how must these needs be addressed and how to evaluate the output.
These five challenges will task the governments , both federal and provincial and voters should closely follow what their governments are doing.
David Bond is a retired bank economist
who resides in B´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·.
