60
61
CANADIAN INDUSTRY ONLINE - AUGUST 2014
restrict trade and prioritize areas for
further reform.
How can provinces and munici-
palities work together to break down
obstacles (high taxes etc.) that burden
small and burgeoning businesses?
Redo answer and discuss the Minis-
ter’s efforts to bring provinces to the
table on AIT.
Currently, municipal, provincial
and federal governments work to-
gether on a number of initiatives that
will reduce the burdens of SMEs. One
example is BizPaL. This is a free online
service that helps businesses quickly
and efficiently create a tailored list of
permits and licences that are required
from all levels of government – includ-
ing municipalities -- to operate their
specific business. This significantly
reduces the red tape burden for en-
trepreneurs and small businesses. To
date, over 700 municipalities are par-
ticipating. BizPaL is complemented by
the Canada Business Network, a col-
laborative arrangement among federal
departments and agencies, provincial
and territorial governments and not-
for-profit entities, that provides busi-
nesses with the resources they need to
grow and prosper - including a wide
range of information on government
services, programs and regulations.
These examples illustrate the abil-
ity of governments to collaborate to
support Canadian businesses.
However, more must be done by
leaders at the provincial, territorial and
federal levels to come together to ad-
dress barriers to trade within Canada.
Over the summer I met with my coun-
terparts, as well as businesses across
the country, to build support for the
government’s ambitious agenda to
modernize the Agreement on Inter-
nal Trade (AIT). The Government of
Canada is committed to working with
the provinces and territories to break
down internal trade barriers. This is
a unique opportunity to improve our
national economy for the sake of con-
sumers, workers and businesses. The
time for action is now.
What can Canadian businesses
learn from international enterprises
about becoming more productive in
order to meet the needs of interna-
tional markets?
Canada’s manufacturing sector
grew to $50.9 billion in the month of
March, the highest level since 2008.
Canada has the best job creation re-
cord among all G7 countries, and we
are going to continue down that path.
This shows that companies are on the
right track and our Government’s poli-
cies are supporting increased growth
and production. In fact, we have pro-
vided $1.4 billion dollars in tax relief to
manufacturing companies investing in
modern machinery and equipment.
Where are Canada’s biggest op-
portunities for international busi-
ness? What sectors?
Canada is open to foreign invest-
ment in all sectors of the economy and
the Government’s record demonstrates
this. In fact since 2006, foreign direct
investment is up 57% across all indus-
tries.
What key opportunities lie in
the knowledge-based sectors for Ca-
nadian businesses?
Economic growth is becoming in-
creasingly linked to a country’s capac-
ity to harness its scientific and techno-
logical knowledge and to translate this
knowledge to the marketplace. Cana-
da’s future job creation and prosperity
will depend on the success of our inno-
vation-based and knowledge-intensive
MINISTER OF INDUSTRY
