On common interests

While yesterday's Burning Question was largely snark-based, there's a serious issue underlying it: namely, is there any chance of getting any of the Cons' gratuitous additions removed from the budget to be properly dealt with as separate legislation? And there might be an interesting possibility for cooperation between the NDP and corporate leaders who are thoroughly unimpressed with Deficit Jim's changes to competition and investment rules:

Embedded in a document that has principally drawn attention for its pledge to spend $30 billion to kick-start the sputtering domestic economy are sweeping changes to the fundamental business framework of the country. The abrupt overhaul of both the Competition Act and the Investment Canada Act without warning or consultation has the corporate community howling with outrage and opening their wallets for top legal counsel.

The approach used to introduce the changes reflects that for all the talk of collaboration in tough times, the gap between the government and the business community is as wide as it has ever been...

Their primary concerns are new measures that would exponentially increase the fines charged for anti-competitive behaviour and would freeze assets while a Competition Bureau investigation is under way. Accusations of conspiracy would lose the current "undue effect on competition" test, and leave it to the discretion of the bureau.

For large corporations which typically have hundreds of deals with other companies, it would require a massive and expensive audit and analysis of each one of those transactions...

Those who will be most affected by the changes argue that such important steps should be reviewed carefully and on a standalone basis, rather than being pushed through with the haste of emergency stimulus packages. But the political nuance behind the new rules makes any attempts at concerted objection particularly tricky.

Many of the key elements of the changes this time around first surfaced in Bill C-19 in 2005, which died with Paul Martin's Liberal government. Ironically, several of the Conservatives who were instrumental in fighting Bill C-19 at that time are now involved in pushing it through.

In November 2005, James Rajotte was the Conservative industry critic and he argued passionately against the passage Bill C-19 at industry committee hearings. Specifically, he is on record urging more thorough consultation before the measures (which are largely intact this time around) proceed any further.

Mr. Rajotte is now head of the parliamentary finance committee, which is attempting to push through the budget legislation as quickly as possible.

Of course, it could be that the competition and investment measures themselves are ones which the NDP would ultimately support in substance. But it shouldn't be that difficult to send a public message that even ideas worth pursuing shouldn't be suddenly imposed without consultation. And that goes doubly when the measures would cause uncertainty and instability in the corporate community just as an ineffective government is counting far too much on the private sector to pull Canada out of a recession.

From there, if a combined effort from the NDP and business leaders can pressure the Cons into pulling a couple of the elements of the budget out for further consultation, then it's hard to see how they'd justify doing otherwise when it comes to the parts of the budget bill dealing with pay equity and other issues. Which means that a temporary joint effort with corporate Canada may be the best way for the NDP to ultimately influence what does and doesn't get passed in the budget.