Canadian Finishing & Coatings Manufacturing - July/August '24 - 21

PAINT AND COATINGS MANUFACTURING: PUBLIC POLICY TIPPING POINT
More Competition in Canada
Requires Focus on Productivity
and Fair Regulations
BY GARY LEROUX, PRESIDENT AND CEO, CANADIAN PAINT AND COATINGS ASSOCIATION
O
ur industry and other sectors continue to grapple
with the flood of new regulations in Canada
while at the same time working to ensure critical
chemicals remain in commerce with good-paying
jobs for all. As such, it would be prudent for the Government
to take the sage advice provided by a senior official in the
federal Government, the Commissioner of Competition in the
Competition Bureau of Canada, Matthew Boswell. The advice
recently appeared in Canada's national paper, the Globe &
Mail. As noted in this space several times, as well as by the
media regularly, Canada is now at a serious tipping point
in public policy when it comes to the economy. In fact, the
Competition Commissioner puts it succinctly when he says
in his recent article, " The alarm bells are ringing. " By that, he
means Canada's economy continues its downward trend and
is now less productive than at any time in its history. He goes
on to say, " That means Canadians are missing out on higher
wages and an overall better standard of living. " Again, that is
from a senior Government of Canada official! The politicians
running the Government must not agree for some reason
given the fact that Canada's productivity is half that of the
United States and has been made worse over the past 10 years.
Another official, the senior deputy Governor of the Bank of
Canada, also recently noted the urgency of the situation when
she said, " it's an emergency-it's time to break the glass. " The
Competition Commissioner's recommendation to address
this dire economic situation is to ensure more competition,
not less, as competition will increase productivity and grow
the economy at the same time.
The Commissioner also noted, " The evidence is clear:
Competition is the key to unlocking our productivity
and growing our economy. It is borne out in study after
study that the impact of increased competition can lead
to better economic performance. Without meaningful
competition, companies grow complacent. For consumers,
that complacency means higher prices and poorer service. "
Canadians have seen this in growing and persistent inflation.
More importantly, the Commissioner notes exactly what
industry has been saying to the Government over the past
few years that Canada's laws, policies, and regulations are:
" outdated and no longer serve the public interest, and the
uncomfortable truth is that Canada imposes far more public
restraints on competition than most other countries. In
fact, Canada ranks near the bottom in OECD indicators that
measure regulatory barriers to competition. "
The Commissioner says the Government must start by
reviewing existing regulations through a competition lens
and noted that Australia did this in the 1990s and " it led to
the most significant and successful economic reforms in its
history, amounting to a permanent increase of at least 2.5 per
cent in Australia's GDP, or around $5,000 Australian dollars
per household per year. " Recent studies in Canada reveal that
its lagging productivity as measured in dollars, per household,
per year has decreased by $4,200 since 2014.
July/August 2024
21
Canadian Finishing & Coatings Manufacturing - July/August '24

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Canadian Finishing & Coatings Manufacturing - July/August '24
