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The former Minister of Finance made a series of criticisms of the economic policies of his former government in his first public speech since leaving office in 2020
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June 1, 2022 • 2 hours ago • 4 minutes of reading • 77 comments Bill Morneau speaks in the House of Commons near the end of his career as Minister of Finance for the Federal Liberals on July 8, 2020. Morneau now he says he was surprised by the level of opposition he faced in politics, both from opposition parties and within his own party. Photo by Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press / File
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Former Liberal Finance Minister Bill Morneau says he is “much more concerned” about the country’s economic outlook now than when Justin Trudeau came to power, and criticized the government for focusing on ways to redistribute wealth in instead of increasing “collective prosperity.”
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At a dinner hosted by CD Howe Institute’s policy think tank on Wednesday evening, Morneau voiced a series of criticisms of his former government’s economic policies in his first public speech since leaving office in 2020.
“When I look at politics in Canada today, from the perspective of a former privileged person, I must confess that I am much more concerned about our economic prospects today, in 2022, than seven years ago,” he said in reference. when Justin Trudeau was elected Prime Minister and became Minister of Finance.
“And we have to repeat: we are facing even stronger headwinds in the coming decades.”
Morneau said his biggest concern throughout his career, including when he entered politics with the Liberals in 2015, has been the “pace of economic growth in this country.”
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Businessman and former president of human resources giant Morneau Shepell (now called LifeWorks) said the federal government is not concerned enough about the country’s lack of competitiveness and productivity growth. He said they are a “fundamental problem” facing the Canadian economy, which lives “from our past success.”
“So much time and energy was spent finding ways to redistribute Canada’s wealth that little attention was paid to the importance of increasing our collective prosperity, let alone developing a disciplined way of thinking and acting on it. the problem, “Morneau told the audience.
“Even though there has been a glance from time to time, there is no real sense of urgency in Ottawa about our lack of competitiveness. It’s like we’re the proverbial pot frog, without realizing it. what happens to us as the heat increases, ”he added.
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Morneau seems to accuse Poilievre of “sympathizing with conspiracy theorists” about BoC
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John Ivison: Morneau can fix Canada’s “impious” debt mess
To illustrate his point, the former minister said that Canada’s real GDP only increased by an average of 1.3% between 1982 and 2019, an issue he said is “directly” related to growth in downward productivity.
“Between 2000 and 2019, Canada ranked 25th out of 36 OECD countries in terms of productivity growth,” he said.
“Let me put it another way. If we had kept up our productivity growth rate since 2000, the average annual income of a Canadian worker would have been about $ 13,500 higher in 2019. “.
“Anemic” capital investment and poor investment in research and development are key to why the OECD predicts that Canada’s GDP growth projections will be one of the worst in most member countries over the next 40 years. , added.
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Throughout his five-year term, Morneau says he tried to keep his government focused on working toward “sustained economic growth,” but his efforts were constantly overshadowed by other issues that seemed politically more urgent, yet that they really weren’t that important. ” . ”
On a more personal note, Morneau said the five years he spent as finance minister were both the “best” and “most challenging” moments of his career.
“It simply came to our notice then. Staying too long can erode your ability to look at problems in a dispassionate way. It can harden you, make you less confident and make it harder to solve the big problems we face as a country and as a planet, ”he said.
“I have a lot more five- or six-year scar tissue in politics than 25 years in business.”
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He said some of his most proud professional achievements were during his time in politics, but he was also surprised by the level of opposition he faced, both from the opposition parties and from his own party.
“Sometimes other MPs think they can do a better job than you. Sometimes it’s the staff of other offices or the (prime minister’s office) who also think they can do a better job than you, ”he told the audience.
It’s like the proverbial frog in the pot, not realizing what happens to us as the heat gradually increases
Morneau also listed some of his favorite life-changing political achievements during his tenure in federal politics: the creation of Canada’s child benefit that helped “halve child poverty by half,” as well as increase the amount paid by the Canada Pension Plan from one-fourth to one-third of the final pay of the beneficiaries at the time of retirement.
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He was also proud of his government’s imposition of a carbon tax, its “major advances” in immigration, as well as “rapid and significant” decisions, such as the renegotiation of the free trade agreement with United States and the purchase of the Trans Mountain Pipeline.
Although he left politics more than a year ago, Morneau still managed to delve deeper into his former Conservative opponents, Andrew Scheer’s dual U.S. and Canadian citizenship while he was the leader of the opposition.
“It was May 2019. At the time, the words ‘global pandemic’ were largely limited to history books or speculative fiction. Donald Trump was still president. Not to mention, Canada also had a North- as the leader of a federal party, “Morneau joked at the beginning of his speech.
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Although he did not nominate him directly, the former finance minister also had words chosen for his Conservative leadership candidate and then-financial opposition critic Pierre Poilievre.
“There are politicians, who know better, who not only take these institutions for granted, but are willing to actively undermine them if that gives them the slightest political advantage,” he said.
“It can help you sell a few more members. It can even help you win an election. conspiracy theorists, you are doing incalculable harm to the country you claim to love and to the people you seek to lead. “
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