Authors: Dr. Roger Gibbins & Jacques Marcil & Robert Roach
In early December, the Canada West Foundation canvassed 25 western Canadian economic analysts about what the Government of Canada should do to address the current economic slowdown. Taking Action on the Economy is designed to ensure that western perspectives on how to address Canada’s economic challenge are an integral part of the national policy dialogue. It provides a summary of the feedback we received; the full submissions can be found in the appendix and contain a great deal of additional information and insight.
The participants in the Taking Action canvass recognized that there are limits to what the Government of Canada can do to pull the country out of the current recession, particularly when one of the drivers of that recession is a decline in both world commodity markets and American demand for Canadian exports. Nonetheless, they accepted the need for quick action on a national stimulus package. Although such action will result in a short-term deficit, the participants stress the need to ensure that such stimulus does not lead to structural deficits in the years to come.