27 November 2017

Better ideas they could have used earlier

My earlier post on how governments should not consult may have been somewhat wordy, but it's time to revisit the subject now that some more sober thought is starting to be published.

The Fall Economic Statement expanded on the subject, specifically at pp. 46-56:



And last week the Parliamentary Budget Officer weighed in with its analysis of the issue:



The concern I have is that both of these documents carry useful data that should have been included in the original consultation paper. Analysis of how many Canadian-controlled private corporations (CCPCs) would not have to worry about the changes would have forestalled many emotional outbursts that were sure to have been included in the 21,000 submissions that were received. Consultations only truly work when the big picture is given a chance to be presented—theoretical examples such as the ones originally given don't properly give the target audience a chance to discuss the issues in a thoughtful and logical way.

I suspect I'll be coming back to this matter from time to time, in order to keep everyone up to date.

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