Improving the Canadian economy’s productivity should be a priority as Canada heads “into a tough decade”, says MLI Senior Fellow
What one policy could the next government implement to improve the economy?
That was the question the Globe and Mail asked of 10 influential Canadians in an item looking at the importance of the economy in ongoing federal election.
To Linda Nazareth, a senior fellow with the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, the answer is clear: Improve productivity.
She’s not particularly optimistic that it will be priority though.
“It would have the biggest impact in the long run – but it would mean doing some things that might not be politically expedient”, she told the Globe.
One way to improve on productivity would be adopting policies that encourage more foreign direct investment, she says.
This, however, would mean changing regulations that restrict how much foreign direct investment in fields such as telecom, broadcasting and airlines.
Janice MacKinnon, the author of several reports for MLI on reforming Canadian health care, weighed in with her recommendation that the government should expand both external and internal trade.
