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IB NEWS POLITICAL OPPOSITES DISCUSS ECONOMIC GROWTH DAVID LEA dlea@metroland.com They might have been political rivals at one time, but now they've come to- gether calling on Canada to create a long-term plan for economic growth that is inclusive and sustain- able. Former Milton Conser- McLellan spoke at an Oak- ville Chamber of Com the route they want to see this nation take toward a orignen bara chairs: oft the Coalition! fora Better Future, a diverse group of Canadian leaders and organizations working together with the goal of achieving higher prosperi- ty for all Canadians as the country emerges from the pandemic. “A lot of the reason we landed on the position of having economic srowth that is long-term, sustai able and inclusive is be. cause that is something we weren't seeing,” said Raitt. "We went through five elections from 2006 to 2019, we had three minority gov- ernments — that's a long time — and not once were we talking about lo one -term economic growth. It was the economy versus the en- vironment ani r things. really did fight out elections on things that are so small when you con- sider ihe bigger picture." aid the coalition has ou “i together a score- card that features 21 per- formance indicators, which the coalition will measure each year until 2030 to get an idea of Cana- David Lea/Metroland Former Milton Conservative MP Lisa Raitt and former Liberal deputy prime minister Anne McLellan spoke at an Oakville Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Wednesday, May 31 about the need for a long-term economic growth plan in Canada that is inclusive and sustainable. da's trajectory. jome of the indicators the coalition will monitor and advocate for change on include the number of youth notin ‘education, om ployment o. vestment in tangible aesets per worker; clean-tech con- tributions to GDP; income parity across | genders, rac- ness investme search and development. McLellan noted Canada lags behind the bulk of the globe in many of these ar- eas. “Business comes back make all those invest- ments.' So, what does that tell us asked McLellan. lis us that the de- ree te collaboration and partnership — if we are go ing to succeed t« tween ee arate, of a leve ivate sector an vel * society will be “When asked why plan- ning for this long-term eco- nomic growth has not been apriority, Raitt blamed the nature of politics. "I think politicians, and I was one, do the minimal, least risky thing in order to o 9 ensure their future elec- 5 tion,” sh Fd nSonetines you have to ? pull off the Band-Aid and § get to the nut of the prob- = Jem. Raitt noted the power to 3 bring about inge is & with the people since gov- & ernments will make bold @ economic decisions if it is ° clear they will be rewarded 8 with election or re-elec- “ She also said Canada needs to start thinking about its economic future now given that the key drivers of Canada's econo- my and GDP are realestate and oil and gas, neither of which, she argues, are sus- cause us to not beas b cial of those two drivers of GDP and we will feel it," said Raitt. For more information about the coalition, visit https://www.canadacoali- tion.ca/scorecard. *TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLY 7100 IN REBATES* Turn to the experts HEATING & COOLING www.aireonewest.ca Peter Watson. MBA, CFP, CIM, RFP, FCSI MBA, CFP, CIM Watson Investments m info@watsoninvestments.com BOOK A MEETING Watson Investments can help you. to learn more about how (905) 842-2100 woo-uoyeyepIsu!