While resisting Trump, Carney is giving corporations a free-hand |
As Canadian fury grows against Donald Trump with each new outrage, Mark Carney has found a sweet-spot.
As long as Carney keeps his elbows up, signalling his defiance of the menacing U.S. president, Canadians have mostly given the prime minister a free hand in running the country.
And Carney has used this considerable leeway to quietly consolidate corporate power in Canada — with dangerous consequences that are receiving insufficient media attention.
Corporations have long had a dominant hand in shaping Canadian economic policies.
But Carney, with connections deep inside Canada’s corporate establishment, is making government even more acquiescent to business demands.
This rightward drift is most noticeable in Carney’s redirection of public funds from social programs towards military contracts, and his welcoming approach to Big Oil.
But it’s also evident in an extraordinary measure that Carney seems to be trying to sneak into law. The measure — hidden deep inside the mammoth omnibus Bill C-15 currently before Parliament — would give cabinet ministers sweeping powers to allow corporations to escape government regulations.
The measure would enable ministers to exempt an individual or........