How about Carney as Minister of Economic Transformation?

Dateline: Ottawa

If the Minister of Finance is right, and the chances of the Opposition parties bringing about a federal election are 50/50, then it is time to consider a “big idea”. Not that there’s anything wrong with prudent management serving as your key election platform. It is, in most situations, a definite winner. Hands down. But if polls are right, a Spring election would likely mean the status quo will prevail in the House of Commons.

That outcome — if it comes to that — seems like a missed opportunity for a government that is being lauded throughout the world for its management of the economy. That backdrop makes it tough for an Opposition leader to campaign on “Jobs, Jobs, Jobs” and “It’s time for a change”. Although one has yet to win a ballot on such inside baseball topics as “transparency” or “access to information”, that doesn’t mean the Opposition won’t try.

Which brings me to the big idea. It isn’t as tangible as a National Railway, nor as immediate as national daycare or a Guaranteed Annual Income policy, but it should ultimately be as important as anything churning away within the bureaucracy right now: Canada needs to transform its economy. This is not in dispute. We prop ourselves up on the crutch of natural resources, and their growing global importance has made the Canadian dollar strong for the past couple or three years.

Ironically, it is that very strength that means Canadian software firms and industrial product manufacturers are finding the U.S. market harder to sell into than in recent memory. Exacerbating the country’s reliance on resources, at the expense of other parts of the economy.

A small nation like ours can’t do much to fight global forces of currency and capital. But, as Sir Terry Matthews said last Tuesday in Montreal, we can adapt — as Darwin would advise.

There’s no team that doesn’t benefit from added strength and gravitas. Prime Minister Harper sent that message when he recruited Julian Fantino to run in a tough Toronto-area riding. Which brings me to Canada’s “Minister of Economic Transformation” in-waiting. This isn’t the first time I’ve promoted the idea of Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney getting into the political ring (see prior post “Governor Carney’s future political career looking good” Sept 10-10). But, as my friend Bill Liaskas would say, “I don’t go where I’m not invited.”

It’s time for the Governor to be invited to cross the chasm.

As hard as our Ministers of Finance, Industry, Infrastructure, Labour, Natural Resources, Science & Technology, Agriculture, etc. work on their own important initiatives, it is difficult in a Minority Parliament to bring all of those efforts together to form an effective national economic strategy — or, at least, get credit for the one you have. And given the government’s full plate, the “Innovation Economy” and all that this entails, remains deep on the list of priorities (see prior post “HoC Finance Committee appearance: good news/bad news” Oct 12-10).

By appointing Governor Carney to the Senate, and swearing him into Cabinet in this new role, the message to voters would be crystal clear: we aren’t resting on our laurels. The government has reached out and added a recognized lover of policy with acknowledged international economic qualifications. By accepting such an offer, if he were to do so, Governor Carney telegraphs to Canadians that he’s prepared to put his money where his mouth is, so to speak, and that the Harper team is the right group to transform Canada’s economy for the needs of the 21st century.

When he runs, and wins, in a riding like Edmonton-Strathcona, Kingston or the Northwest Territories, Governor Carney will confirm the PM’s wisdom of the choice; with the added virtue of pushing the government one seat closer to a majority.

Although the Economic Transformation Ministry could reside within the Finance building, chairing a new cabinet committee would give Mr. Carney the luxury of pulling resources from every department with a stake in the economy: just as the Americans did to centralize their disparate Intelligence gathering efforts following September 11th. The Right Hon. Joe Clark played as similar Fed/Prov role for then Prime Minister Brian Mulroney following the defeat of the Meech Lake Accord. The systemic challenges our economy faces are no less critical than the success of the Charlottetown Accord.

Given the positive and highly effective working relationship between Minister Flaherty and Governor Carney, they’d be a formidable one-two punch.

MRM