Ottawa, ON-A report released by the Competition Policy Review Panel has earned the strong endorsement of FPAC, the …
Ottawa, ON-A report released by the Competition Policy Review Panel has earned the strong endorsement of FPAC, the Forest Products Association of Canada. Entitled, ‘Compete to Win,’ the report makes recommendations to the Government of Canada on how to effectively position Canadian business in a challenging economic environment.
“The recommendations of the…Panel would create a business climate that would enable Canadian companies to better compete in this challenging environment,” said Avrim Lazar, president and CEO of FPAC. “Canadian governments cannot be complacent. With the dollar at parity and intense competition from other countries, governments need to act much more quickly to improve the business climate in Canada.” Lazar cites the rapidly shifting dynamics of the Canadian economy, which have not been met with timely government action. “Industry is adjusting, but governments have been slow to recognize the scope of the challenge.”
While the report details a number of recommendations, FPAC is particularly supportive of suggestions to revamp the tax system in order to make it more competitive, to focus on the enforcement of anti-competitive behaviour as opposed to industry concentration, to address Canada-U.S. border “thickening” as the top trade priority, and to keep governments focused on national competitiveness.
“The Canadian forest products industry operates in a competitive global marketplace with no trade barriers in Canada,” Lazar highlighted. “We therefore applaud the Panel’s recognition that in the case of competitive industries such as ours, competition policy should be less concerned with mergers and more with competitive behaviour and outcomes.”
The Compete to Win report is the output of a year of research and consultation. The process was undertaken with a view to raising Canadians’ standard of living by improving the country’s economic performance.
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