Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): Actually, another former Bank of Canada governor, Stephen Poloz, last month pointed to the fact that Canada was second to last for productivity performance among the OECD — the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development — countries. He said that government red tape and overregulation are impairing Canada’s economic productivity and have created too much uncertainty for businesses.

He said:

I do think that there is a stronger incentive to clean up some of the regulatory issues, the red tapey type of issues that are slowing us down.

Senator Gold, do you agree that we must reduce the government’s red tape? What is the Trudeau government’s plan to reduce red tape and regulatory burden?

Senator Martin: When this bill was studied at committee in the House of Commons, an amendment was put forward to reserve a seat on the council for a national organization that has experience with and is focused upon economic reconciliation, as was suggested by several witnesses during the study. Some witnesses called for this amendment specifically, while others spoke of its importance. For example, Karen Restoule, CEO of Shared Value Solutions and a member of Dokis First Nation, stated that:

Economic reconciliation is the vehicle forward in terms of setting our peoples or communities back on a path to prosperity . . .

Given the importance of economic reconciliation, do you know why this was not included in the bill and why it was rejected by Liberal and NDP MPs in the House of Commons committee?

This is a very important phrase that we have heard at committee: the “. . . path forward for economic reconciliation.”

Senator Audette: To be honest with you, Senator Martin, I didn’t ask that specific question but I did ask a member of the committee why and who decided and what the process was.

Right now, what I understand — and what is reassuring me — is that the board is something but the activity, the chantier — I do not know how to say that in English — the justice reconciliation, the human rights reconciliation and the economic reconciliation are all important.

I was told that it will be very animated or involved if the council is officially adopted and put in place.

Senator Martin: Senator Gold, it seems like your government thinks that the fix-all solution to this problem is to simply throw money at issues as they arise rather than to address the root cause.

Former minister Perrin Beatty has said that your government has tended to measure infrastructure spending in terms of job creation, as opposed to what the “problem in need of a solution” is and what the economic returns are. This short-sighted approach is evidence of a lack of long-term planning by your government on this issue.

Senator Gold, when will your government start to get serious about the development of a long-term national plan to strengthen and secure Canada’s infrastructure and supply chains?