You had the feeling the CFIB was moving into the big leagues when an invitation arrived from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to attend the September 1980 Federal-Provincial Conference in Ottawa as an observer. In the photo, I can be seen with Prime Minister Trudeau and Premier Davis of Ontario.
It had been ten years since I lead a national protest against the Trudeau government's plan to change the tax system, and it was a fight we won. To my surprise, I gained a lot of respect from the Liberal government. We proved that their plans were poorly conceived and would do great damage to the small business sector.
The hidden agenda was using tax reform as a way to raise revenues to fund the so-called “Just Society”, which was a code word for an increase in social spending. So the government just went ahead with its spending plans and borrowed the money. That is why we have our present massive public debt.
And over the decade of the 70s after several private meetings with the PM, I came to the realization that he had very little understanding of taxation or business. It was scary to realize that when highly technical matters are brought to parliament, few have any real knowledge of what they are doing.
But at the Federal-Provincial Conference of 1980, I was listening to a Prime Minister who not only knew what he was talking about, but was clearly passionate. The subject was constitutional change. I was amazed how many Premiers were lawyers and talked with confidence and expertise about something I really knew nothing about. It was a tremendous learning experience.
The Prime Minister obviously wanted to patriate the Constitution from the UK, and introduce a new Charter of Rights. I was deeply moved by the whole experience.
One of the benefits of these conferences is meeting all the players behind the scene that make governments work. I remember sitting next to the Clerk of the Privy Council, the super bureaucrat who appoints all the Deputy Ministers.
It was no surprise that Quebec was the only province to oppose Trudeau, but the surprise was hearing Trudeau state he would patriate the Constitution without the unanimous consent of the provinces.
If there was anything I learned over my years as an activist and advocate it's that it is easier for the federal government to reach an international agreement than reach a federal-provincial agreement. And continuously over the years, governments of all stripes would reach out to CFIB to help build a domestic political consensus. Moreover, in all cases when governments were acting in the interests of the nation and not for their political agenda, small firms provided their support.