FFWD Weekly
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Viewpoint by Hamish MacAulay The Klein government in Alberta, the Harris government in Ontario and the Chretien government in Ottawa – which one of these is not like the other? These days, it’s a trick question. These three governments are so similar in style and substance that anyone who has trouble telling old white guys apart should stay away from putting big money on any social studies tests. Arrogant in their approach to governance and disdainful of groups that do not share their perspective, these governments use the anti-democratic elements inherent in Canada’s parliamentary system to the fullest. Chretien in Ottawa and Klein in Alberta have set new standards for using closure and other means to limit the opposition’s already restricted ability to play any role in governance. Mike Harris barely bothers to attend sittings of the Ontario Legislature, only showing up once in a while to trade a few insults. The similarities between these three headline-grabbing governments is remarkable, but, with the exception of the political black hole known as British Columbia, there is growing homogeneity in how governments across Canada approach the critical job of managing economic and fiscal policy. At the heart of this homogeneity is an approach to government that emphasizes deficit elimination, debt reduction, user fee systems, tax reduction, and a reduction in the scope and level of government services. This agenda certainly did not rise out of grassroots or voter activism. Widespread tax rage or screaming throngs of debt-fighting voters remain a wet dream of neo-conservative policy and media organs. Various political organizations in Canada want you to believe they led the way in making this fiscal agenda the heart of Canadian politics, but, like all the other politicians, Reform, Alliance and Klein government types are simply unimaginative followers. All Canadian governments or parties are following a blueprint for Canada’s fiscal policies established by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) through its review of the country’s economic and fiscal policies. Almost every issue related to jobs and the economy that the Chretien Liberals have brought forward in their seven-year reign comes from the OECD’s annual reviews. The provincial governments are not far behind in their slavish adherence to the OECD’s dictums on how to run your government. The provincial powers do have different priorities and issues, but these differences stem from the geographical or social peculiarities of a region, not any substantive variation in political thought or approach. There are premiers from across Canada’s political spectrum in power, but recent premiers’ conferences have produced more unanimity on issues than ever before. Federally, attempts to harmonize the GST with provincial sales tax, employment insurance reforms, debt reduction, resistance to spending more on social programs, re-indexing income taxes, the Agreement on Internal Trade, and the Social Union Framework Agreement all started as recommendations from the OECD. Canadian governments have not always managed to live up to the OECD’s ideal (the U.S. economy), but we usually receive nice pats on the head for our efforts. What is this organization that is leading Canadian government policy? The OECD consists of 29 countries that control over two-thirds of the world’s wealth. Lying somewhere in the web of international organizations that include the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the G-7 and the World Trade Organization, the OECD is the think-tank for the international community that believes free markets and democracy are the only acceptable forms of human organization. The Harris government is breaking the mould a little. It will not receive any pats for its shortsighted and anti-debt-fighting tax rebate initiative. The entire balancing act that Alberta, Ontario and the feds are doing by splitting budget surpluses between debt reduction, tax relief and new spending is what the OECD calls, "A coherent prospective plan for programme spending, tax changes and debt reduction – so as to anchor both public and financial market expectations." Based on the OECD’s blueprint, you can expect new and old initiatives from your governments in the next few years. Bank mergers will be back – the OECD feels they are a good thing, along with letting the banks into the insurance industry. Other initiatives you can look forward to are harmonizing financial rules across Canada, reducing internal trade barriers and corporate taxes, and increasing the thresholds for tax brackets. If it makes you angry that Canada’s economic policies have more to do with a Paris-based think-tank than with voters’ priorities, find solace in the fact that our politicians are not trying to think for themselves. For a summary of the last OECD survey on Canada check out www.oecd.org//eco/surv/esu-can.htm.

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