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Like many other Canadian politicians, Progressive Conservative MP Scott Brison has had leadership on his mind this summer, and has made a concerted effort to get his name in print. But as he considers whether to seek the PC leadership once Joe Clark steps down, Mr. Brison has set himself apart from his Parliamentary colleagues. Rather than simply pandering to special interest groups by promising lots of new spending on cities, highways or fishermen, he's actually putting forward intelligent new ideas. What a novel concept.
In an op-ed piece published in last Saturday's Post, Mr. Brison proposed scrapping the $447-million Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA). He would use the savings to eliminate federal business taxes in the Atlantic region, which total $380-million annually. The remaining $67-million would be used for infrastructure and innovation. Citing a similar policy shift in Ireland that helped promote solid growth, Mr. Brison suggested that "this bold move would send the message that Atlantic Canada is a good place to do business, make money and create jobs."
He's right. The ACOA has long been manipulated by the federal Liberals to garner political support in contested ridings. (In the month before the 2000 federal election was called, for instance, the agency made 10 high-profile grant announcements.) In the process, it has helped reinforce the culture of dependency that is strangling Atlantic Canada and weighing down the whole country. Yet it remains popular in the region for the same reason handout programs are always popular: They appeal to local voters' sense of short-term greed, even as they sap their ability to compete with the rest of the world. In recent years, the ACOA has become a sacred cow, and most of the region's MPs have either bought into it or are afraid to say otherwise. Mr. Brison stands out as a notable exception.
Canada is starved for new policy ideas. Earlier this year, both the Ontario PC Party and the Canadian Alliance held leadership contests in which the candidates' main preoccupation was to remain as inoffensive as possible (provincial Tory Jim Flaherty excepted). Paul Martin succeeded in forcing Jean Chretien to announce his retirement without even discussing most policy issues. (It is rather telling that on the same weekend Mr. Brison unveiled his proposal, Mr. Martin was on a vacuous tour of ethnic ribbon-cutting and baby-kissing events.) As for the PM, all he has offered Canadians of late are brain-dead spending initiatives designed solely to win votes or cement his legacy. We applaud Mr. Brison for daring to stray from this populist herd.