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Established groups such as the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business tend to prioritize tax cuts and balanced budgets, which haven’t figured that much in the current government’s economic agenda. Tension was expected.
CCI, on the other hand, often pushes a more interventionist agenda that sometimes clashes with the free-market orthodoxy favoured by most business associations, but figures prominently in the Trudeau government’s approach to economic policy.
For example, CCI argues that procurement should favour homegrown firms, even though Canada for years has complained about “Buy America” policies in the United States. CCI’s argument is that the boy-scout approach to trade is making the country less competitive by denying innovative entrepreneurs a chance to secure an anchor client that could provide a steady source of revenue.
We need something to change. We need to reinvigorate the focus here
Carol Leaman, Axonify
“The intention is to build the anchors, to inspire this next generation of companies,” said Malpass, who employs about 800 people and is planning to double the size of his company over the next 18 months so that he’s ready for a post-pandemic rebound in demand. “I’m building excess capacity. We want to build up the talent ahead of time.”
The tech CEOs didn’t offer specific policy proposals, with the letter stating the government should consider strategic investments in “market-proven” businesses, back the commercialization of Canadian discoveries, and staff the government with officials who better understand the demands of the digital economy.
Those are standing requests from CCI, some of which Trudeau indicated he would be happy to fulfil. The country’s next corporate champions are still waiting.
“We need something to change,” Leaman said. “We need to reinvigorate the focus here.”
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