Liberal leader Mark Carney wants Canadians to believe he’s bringing the Grits back to the centre after a decade of the party running to the left. That’s why he’s talking about income tax cuts, ending the consumer carbon tax, and taking the federal sales tax off new builds under $1 million for first-time home buyers.
However, if Carney really wants to be seen as moving to the centre from a consumer perspective, he needs to go further.
While there’s a whole laundry list of consumer choice priorities Carney could act on, three key moves Carney could make include ending Canada’s regional telecom duopolies, axing the alcohol escalator tax, and enforcing domestic free trade.
First, regional telecom duopolies.
In most areas of the country, consumers have only two major internet providers to choose from. The Competition Bureau and Canada’s telecommunications regulator, the CRTC, have argued that it would be in the best interest of consumers to allow for cross-regional competition.
This would mean requiring big internet companies to share their fibre networks with others, so that more than two big players could operate in regional markets. This would facilitate more competition and ultimately drive down prices of consumers.
The CRTC has ruled in favour of requiring network sharing, but the Trudeau government agreed last fall to have Cabinet reconsider the CRTC’s directive.
If Carney wants to differentiate himself from former prime minister Justin Trudeau, he should commit to enforcing the CRTC’s ruling and require big market players to share their fibre networks. This would promote competition and help drive down prices, something Canadian consumers desperately need.
Second, axing the alcohol escalator tax.
Back in 2017, the Trudeau government passed its undemocratic alcohol escalator tax, which increases taxes on booze every year in line with inflation. This tax increase happens automatically, without a vote in Parliament. Canadians already pay a ridiculous amount of tax on alcohol. Taxes make up roughly half of the price of beer, two-thirds of the price of wine, and three-quarters of the price of spirits. Forcing these taxes even higher without politicians being required to vote on tax increases is both undemocratic and unfair to Canadian consumers.
Carney should commit to scrapping the alcohol escalator tax if he leads the Liberal Party to a win on April 28. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has already committed to doing just that.
Third, provide for real domestic free trade.
Right before calling the election, Carney said Canada’s premiers had agreed to a July 1 deadline to have genuine free trade within Canada. While Canada presently has a domestic free trade agreement, there are roughly 400 carve-outs that make domestic trade in Canada neither free nor fair.
Provinces will always face pressure from industries within their province to throw up protectionist barriers, which is why the 400 or so free trade carve-outs exist in the first place.
The federal government needs to act in the best interest of consumers nationwide and make domestic free trade a reality.
The Trudeau government had an opportunity to intervene in an important interprovincial free trade case back in 2018 but refused to do so.
Now is the time for the federal government to take a more active approach. The federal government should use every tool in its toolkit to force provinces to remove barriers to domestic free trade and ensure that the July 1 deadline for truly free and fair interprovincial free trade is met.
It makes zero sense that it is easier for Canada’s provinces to trade with more than a dozen other countries than it is for them to trade with each other. It’s time to finally tear down Canada’s domestic trade walls.
Carney is still introducing himself to Canadians. He has a golden opportunity to show Canadian consumers that he will move the Liberal Party back to the centre.
That all starts with breaking with the Trudeau government’s anti-consumer agenda and allowing for more internet competition, ending the alcohol escalator tax, and enforcing domestic free trade.
Originally published here
