OTTAWA — Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says Canada has an advantage over the U.S. in dealing with the economy — it has a system of government that can make decisions.
The finance minister extolled the virtues of a parliamentary system to reporters in New York on Tuesday after participating at George W. Bush Institute tax conference.
Asked if his model for reducing corporate taxes could be extended to the United States, Flaherty told reporters a majority government made that easier but he acknowledged that he was able to get important policies passed even while the Conservatives had a minority mandate.
In language that might surprise Canadians, Flaherty said the minority Conservatives were able to work with the opposition and implement fundamental policies, including tax reductions.
That’s a different view the government took while in minority — at least publicly — when it often complained about obstructionism from Liberals and the NDP.
Prime Minister Harper dropped the writ in 2008, breaking the spirit of his four-year election law, because he said Parliament had become dysfunctional.