Approach

“Future stimulus should focus on smarter government — both better infrastructure and improved education and health-care capacities.”

- Dr. Jack Mintz

Months of social distancing will disrupt capital formation and, ultimately, labour participation and productivity growth upturning established industry structures and fundamentally resetting competitive positions. However, a two-pronged approach of early and effective public health measures and policy intervention can help mitigate damage to our economy’s supply side, particularly capital formation.

The Government of Alberta has already taken immediate and appropriate containment measures to ensure rapid and effective control of the spread of the virus. The approach below is focused on implementing a strong policy response to prevent structural damage and create resiliency in our economy to withstand the severity and duration of the economic shock posed by both the COVID-19 pandemic and the collapse of oil prices.

Policy measures should use the following principles as guidance:

Speed & agility of government bodies - if there ever were a time that government needs to move at the speed of business, it’s now

Scope and scale of stimulus measures need to be sufficient to have the desired impact

Harness entrepreneurial capital for Made-in-Alberta solutions

Foster and invest in private sector innovation and productivity

Support existing businesses who can help lead the economic recovery

Make strategic investments to increase our competitiveness for the recovery period

Monitor leading indicators of how and where the pandemic is evolving and conduct scenario planning on that basis.