Carney's plan for digital government could find savings, but just as many headaches
Mike Leahy, a director general in the department's commercial and trade branch, said the new system is more efficient because, among other things, it allows import taxes to be calculated electronically and immediately, creates an ongoing file for more than 157,000 Canadian businesses, and can more easily be amended to deal with errors or policy changes.
Article content
Article content
CARM replaced a 35-year-old, mostly paper-based system just in time to deal with Donald Trump's erratic trade policies. 'The clock was ticking,' said Leahy of the old system.
Article content
Corinne Pohlmann, executive vice-president for advocacy for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), says governments should take advantage of AI and other digital tools to do things better but should also try to do more with less.
Article content
Article content
Pohlmann said the new online import system may not be a step forward for small business owners. The new online system requires importers to put up bonds or use their credit cards if they want immediate release of their goods, unlike the old system, while the forms are now longer and more onerous, she added.
Article content
Many small businesses, such as restaurants, manufacturers or flower farms, don't have more time or money for paperwork, whether it's electronic or not. 'Just because something is digitized doesn't mean that it's less onerous,' Pohlmann said.
Article content
So where to from here?
Article content
For Solomon, the new AI minister, and Mélanie Joly, the new industry minister, and others involved in setting up Canada's plan for AI, e-government and other digital change, the destination may appear clearer than the path forward.
Article content
And with change comes challenges. Governments will also need to deal with a host of tricky matters, such as security and privacy concerns, online hate and apps and other services affiliated with state-owned enterprises based in China and elsewhere.
Article content
Article content
The potential benefits of more e-government and AI services are tempting, but it's unclear how tolerant Canadians will be if the negatives from digital change start to pile up. The main negative will likely include job losses as some coders, factory workers, call centre workers and others could be replaced.
Article content
In the case of Sikma and many small business owners, the gains will need to clearly outweigh the costs.
Article content
'It's just kind of a headache,' the frustrated Ontario flower farmer said of CBSA's new importing system. 'It's just another thing.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Details emerge of Air Canada's tentative deal with flight attendants
Details emerge of Air Canada's tentative deal with flight attendants The new tentative agreement, which runs for roughly four years, includes 50 per cent salary as 'ground pay' and a 5 per cent yearly wage increase.
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Labour lawyer explains key issues as Canada Post, union resume contract talks
Watch Labour lawyer Sundeep Gokhale breaks down key issues in Canada Post talks and how Air Canada's dispute could impact negotiations.
Calgary Herald
an hour ago
- Calgary Herald
Calgary home prices may dip $100,000 in two years, study predicts
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. A home for sale and sold sign are seen in this file photo. Gavin Young/Postmedia file Home prices in Calgary could plummet over $100,000 in the coming years, suggests a new study. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Calgary Herald ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Calgary Herald ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Over the next two years, the decline will largely be due to increased supply and lower immigration, among other factors, according to the study, which used artificial intelligence to project prices in four major Canadian cities. However, housing experts, including the study's author Erkan Yonder, believe the steep decline in median prices to be an improbable outcome. 'It's less likely to see the worst-case scenario for Calgary. Is there a risk? Yes, there's a risk,' said Yonder, an associate professor of real estate and finance at Montreal's Concordia University. Your weekday lunchtime roundup of curated links, news highlights, analysis and features. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again He noted that tariffs and other economic factors create more uncertainty, but in terms of immigration, developers are aware of government projections for the years to come. 'I don't expect a sharp decline in the supply for Calgary, but recovery will be slower,' said Yonder. The benchmark price of a detached home in Calgary was around $760,000 in July, down just 0.8 per cent from the year prior, according to the Calgary Real Estate Board. The study predicts median prices sliding to $690,000 by the end of this year, declining even further — near $600,000 — under the most 'aggressive' housing completion scenario by 2026 and into 2027. Still, the study noted that prices will recover after the turn of the decade, stabilizing between $650,000 and $730,000 by 2032, depending on how much supply comes online. An expert from the University of Calgary called the study 'quite comprehensive.' 'The housing market is so complex, and they try to really model the intervention of those shocks and the ultimate risks that they bring along,' said Sasha Tsenkova, a professor at the University of Calgary's School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape. However, even with the best of models, she notes that the housing market is very difficult to predict. 'We need to take these findings with a grain of salt,' Tsenkova said. Upon seeing the study, John Hripko, a realtor with Royal LePage Benchmark in Calgary, called the slide in prices predicted in the study 'totally fictitious.' 'There's no substance to their logic, because they're looking at it very microscopically,' Hripko said, noting the study's connection of housing demand to international migration, but less-so inter-provincial migration. This advertisement has not loaded yet. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In terms of housing crises, the projections would be 'the worst ever experienced,' according to Hripko. The 2008 financial crisis was an example raised by both Hripko and Tsenkova. 'Canada was safeguarded against major shifts in housing finance and housing markets. But that started in the mortgage markets in the US, and because of global exposure, it really skyrocketed impacts through many markets,' Tsenkova said. As prices fell by as much as 30 per cent in some U.S. cities, brand new neighbourhoods and developments were demolished, effectively 'shrinking to survive', said Tsenkova. In Canada, with mortgage debts among the highest in the world, even a five or 10 per cent decline in prices would have a 'major impact,' she added. 'I'm not in the doom camp . . . it's really difficult to predict at this point anything of that magnitude happening in the next five to 10 years,' Tsenkova said. A surge in immigration to Calgary and other communities across Alberta in the past several years has driven up demand for housing, a demand that builders have been striving to meet. More than double the number of new homes came online in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the first quarter of last year. Hripko noted that developers in Calgary are most likely to keep pace with demand, rather than build more than required. 'They don't randomly keep building because there's no demand. Why would they? They don't want to be stuck with the product,' he said, adding that larger developers can build elsewhere, in municipalities where demand is higher. Yonder said, in the long run, to have a healthy housing market in Canada, more housing is needed. He noted that supply is a problem across Canada, which needs to be addressed. The broader aim of the study was to find cheaper ways to build more housing. 'In the end, we want to see the potential trends and then we can react to them . . . that's what we (are trying) to do here,' Yonder said.
