Transforming Ottawa

• Encourage innovation at the provincial level to reduce lengthy wait times.
• Liberate space for provinces to pursue co-payments, alternative service delivery and other reforms within a framework that guarantees universal access to high quality care.

• Repeal and replace the Indian Act with devolved governance that places reserve land and resources with First Nations.
• Depoliticize service delivery on reserves and individualize treaty payments out of budgets.
• Incentivize bands to grant individual property rights to members.

• Build a new national vision based on provincial autonomy and strength.
• Strong provinces make a strong federation. Replace equalization payments by transferring GST revenue to the provinces and making other adjustments.

• Implement the 3 principles of high performance government in the civil service: transparency, neutrality and separation.
• Introduce a capital charge on all federal assets.
• Implement a fiscal statute that limits federal spending increases to population plus economic growth.

• Lower income tax rates by moving to a single rate.
• Eliminate boutique tax credits.
• Lower the GST rate on a revenue neutral basis by broadening the base, i.e. remove the GST exemption from municipal services
• Swap GST to provinces for substantial phase out of transfer programs.

• Embrace the concept of competitive neutrality: public enterprise, particularly crown corporations, should receive the same treatment as private enterprise.
• Crowns should pay private sector equivalent taxes and cost of capital.
• Devolve airports, Canada Post and Via Rail.

• Focus on real environmental challenges, protecting the environment without unnecessarily restricting economic growth.
• Avoid “command and control” style regulations - instead use markets and clearly defined property rights to create incentives for conservation.

• Eliminate differential EI benefits to encourage labour mobility.
• Separate EI from general revenue and make it a stand-alone, true insurance program with benefits and costs related to usage patterns.
• Allow employer refunds on overpayments.

• Criminal law policy should be pragmatic, evidence-based and effective.
• The scope of criminal law and penalties shouldn’t exceed what is necessary to address serious harm to others.
• Excessive measures can damage civil liberties and prove counterproductive.
• Victims should be supported.

• Set policy to accept enough immigrants to replenish our ageing workforce, while working to internalize the costs of immigration and settlement.
• Improve credential recognition and open up a greater role for the provinces in immigration.

• Create a policy and regulatory environment that promotes competition and customer choice in telecom, IT and cultural industries.
• Stage the removal of the remaining protectionist and restrictive policies to build competitive markets.

• Eliminate all inter-provincial trade barriers in goods, services and labour over two years.
• Focus border systems on security, not revenue collection, and eliminate all border duties.

• Capitalize on burgeoning Asian demand for Canadian farm products by joining the Trans Pacific Partnership.
• This requires Canada to phase out supply management in dairy and poultry.