A great quote from the CFIB’s Shannon Martin in his commentary today about Manitoba’s competitiveness (or lack thereof) with Saskatchewan:
The government frequently compares 1999 tax levels with 2007 tax levels. Such a comparison is invalid for two main reasons: First, Manitoba businesses are not competing with a version of themselves from eight years ago and second, all provinces have been reducing taxes, making comparisons set in the present day more reasonable.
Today’s NDP: Always looking for the Flux Capacitor.
Filed under: Manitoba NDP | Tagged: canadian federation of independent business, gary doer, Manitoba NDP, shannon martin
I don’t find falling behind Saskatchewan as troubling as our governments blinders in recognizing why and what can and should be done about it.
Big oil is the major impetus in Saskatchewan’s reversal of fortune. Manitoba’s “oil”, hydro electricity, will not do for Manitoba what oil is doing for Alberta, Saskatchewan or the Maritimes. At least in my lifetime.
The NDP proudly point to our economy conveniently ignoring the fact it is mostly driven by Federal, Provincial and Municiple money. If we had even a fifty/fifty split then perhaps that would be positive.
We got what we wanted in the last election. God help us if that does not change in the next one.
- grumpy
There’s the uncompetitive tax thing, then there’s the interference in private business thing a la forced unionization of construction workers, and luring Olywest here only to pull the carpet out from under them, and so on. If I were a private business, I look real hard at my options before setting up shop here no doubt.