“Mr. Bulloch. My name is Paul Martin and I am a recently elected MP from the constituency of La Salle Emerd in Quebec. I just wanted to introduce myself and tell you how much I admire your work on behalf of small business.”
This early introduction by the former Finance Minister and Prime Minister took place on budget night 1989. It was the beginning of a productive working relationship that went on for over 25 years during my leadership period and the period of my successor, Catherine Swift.
Our budget submission team which, besides myself, included Pierre Clement from Quebec and Garth Whyte, our Director of National Affairs, was not eventful. But Paul Martin as the new Finance Minister planning his first budget in 1994 told us explicitly that he planned to put the nation's finances in order.
The budget was a blockbuster with a clear plan to get rid of the $40 billion deficit during the next four years and start generating surpluses. The spending cuts were everywhere including transfers to the provinces. It would be the first balanced budget in 25 years. In the CBC interview with Wendy Mesley, I gave the budget our full support.
Big deficits to business just mean future taxes, so bringing the nation's finances under control was a huge confidence builder amongst the business community, large and small. Paul Martin became a celebrity overnight, but full credit is due to the support of the Prime Minister, Jean Chretien. There are only four people on the inside during the planning of a budget: The Minister of Finance and his Deputy, and the Prime Minister and his super Deputy, the Clerk of the Privy Council.
I met with Finance Minister Martin again in 1995 in advance of his second budget, and we pledged our support for a further set of initiatives to reduce the size of the federal government.
And we got further aggressive policy initiatives with plans to reduce the size of the civil service by 45,000 and make another $25 billion in spending cuts.
Years later in 2009, when Paul Martin had retired, we met in Maui where I used to holiday each January. He said his three sons wanted him to buy a place in Maui. We sat for half an hour and discussed the solid relationship we had enjoyed together over the years and then he told me a most remarkable story.
When Prime Minister in 2005, he had a meeting with President George W Bush who expressed concern that the US might be moving into a recession. Paul Martin then showed him the survey of the anticipated performance of the Canadian economy prepared by CFIB based on input from the members. It showed the members' anticipated solid growth going into the next quarter. Paul Martin told the US President that our surveys were the most accurate sources of advice on the economy that he received.
My successor Catherine Swift had initially been hired as a Director of Research, but I never realized just how good our research function had become under her leadership until I learned that the Prime Minister of Canada took our research material with him on a visit to the President of the United States.