Amid a national economic crisis, Justin Trudeau hosts another pointless round table

Enough of the Summits. Let's Build!

As I stood on the “Media” side of the stanchion yesterday at Toronto’s Evergreen Brickworks, my mind turned back to March Break of 1981 - that was the first time I photographed a Prime Minister by the name of Trudeau. CP’s Ottawa Bureau got 15 year-old me temporary accreditation as a member of the Parliamentary Press Galley, which kicked off the first phase of what’s become a far-friggin’-longer-than-expected professional association with the (largely still skeptical) media corps.

A few of my friends and compadres were invited to the PM’s Canada-U.S. Economic Summit, and I thought it would be interesting to be a true observer (courtesy of The Toronto Star) at the very type of idea exchange that I used to energetically attend on behalf of the CVCA. President Donald Trump’s daily barrage makes this a consequential time in our history, and when you wrap-in the pending rare handover (Ed. note: “relinquishing,” no?) of a Prime Ministerial throne, there’s nothing quite like assessing these moments for yourself.

As this Star column is off-cycle, I’m posting the entire piece. If you want to see the rest of the growing collection, you can subscribe to the Star online via my special discount code: www.thestar.com/informed.

It was just 9:15 am, and one of the most senior CEOs attending Friday’s Canada-U.S. Economic Summit was already heading for the exit.

You don’t compile this fellow’s successful track record without learning to quickly size-up a situation, and while he missed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s excellent welcoming speech, I assume that he figured there were better ways to add value to our country than contribute to some unstructured round table discussion.

Having participated in plenty of similar confabs with politicians and public servants over the years, I sympathize. But it’s never a bad time for business leaders to spread the gospel about how to grow our economy, provided that the post-event followup supersedes the intensity of the glorious photo ops.

Would it be a day of bold new ideas at Toronto’s Evergreen Brickworks, or a rehash of all the best suggestions from the last time these same people had the chance to bend the ear of a senior Liberal minister?

Early indications were positive when the prime minister asked the media to leave for his “Participant” Q&A. One sure way to limit constructive dialogue is to turn on the television lights just as Corporate Canada is about to share their innermost fears. The reality is, once the note takers compile and rank all of the proposed cures to whatever ills Canada, it’s unclear who is going to implement them.

In a month’s time, Trudeau and his inner circle lose the tiller of power. Several of the Liberal cabinet ministers in attendance have either announced plans to retire or remain non-committal about their intentions to run again. This presents the Privy Council Office with a dilemma: who has time to chase down an economic impact analysis regarding policies that may not find favour with either Mark Carney or Chrystia Freeland?

Perhaps it dawned on that CEO that none of the people currently leading the discussions will be able to implement his recommendations, however worthy they might be.

Or, worse, he may have recalled the 2016 Infrastructure Summit, where Trudeau invited representatives of sovereign wealth funds, insurers and global pension plans to Toronto in the hopes of attracting some of their $21 trillion of investment capital. Media reports at the time cited “infrastructure projects (as a) key to the Liberal government’s long-term strategy to boost Canada’s sluggish economic growth.”

Over eight years have passed, and the Liberals are hoping the optics of yet another cattle call in Canada’s financial centre will soothe anxious voters. If only someone had capitalized on the promise of that 2016 Summit, perhaps Canada would be negotiating with U.S. President Donald Trump from a position of economic strength.

Rather than wait for someone else to take the lead on restarting Canada’s economic engine, Dan Debow recently quit his executive role at Shopify (SHOP:TSX) to corral dozens of private sector players from across Canada under the appropriately named Build Canada moniker. One of the hallmarks of an entrepreneur is the “self-starter” component of the “startup” lifestyle. Builders wake-up each morning looking to develop an actionable, focused, non-partisan idea that — when it works — solves a problem, creates jobs, generates wealth and makes a difference.

Debow says Build Canada’s mission is to “help Canadian entrepreneurs share their ideas for a bolder, richer, freer country.” These aren’t “Tech Bros,” however. They’re people who are in the problem-solving business, with experience in health care, technology, telecom, transportation, Indigenous resources and clean tech to name a few.

Over the coming weeks, the group will showcase dozens of data driven, research-oriented, break-the-glass type ideas that are designed to unleash growth. The policies will cover selling more Canadian products and resources around the world. Changes to boost productivity and competitiveness. Developing a culture that celebrates freedom and ambition. New ways to deliver better services at lower costs, and tax reforms that drive innovation and investment.

If Ottawa ever needed an excuse to ditch all of its bad habits, the bucket of ice water that Trump is pouring all over us right now provides that impetus.

MRM

(note: this is an Opinion Piece)

(upper photo credit: MRM)