At a time when Canadian auto and auto parts manufacturing is in jeopardy, the C.D. Howe Institute issued a series of recommendations prepared by its associate, Carleton University Trade Professor Michael Hart.

The point of departure for the C.D. Howe paper is that the Canadian auto sector is on shaky ground because regulatory, transportation, and communications developments in Canada and the U.S. have not kept up with the reality of integrated production. “When combined with the thickening of the border after 9/11,” observes the C.D. Howe paper, “the result has been to reintroduce barriers to full Canadian participation in the industry, resulting in an unsustainable situation for the Canadian auto industry.” The C.D. Howe paper proceeds to make a series of recommendations.

All of the paper’s major points of analysis and recommendations are embraced by nearly unanimous majorities of CEOs and business leaders on the COMPAS panel. Such strong support for a series of recommendations has been rare in the nearly 8 year history of weekly business polls.

These are the key findings from this past week’s Internet survey of CEOs and business leaders on the COMPAS panel. The weekly business survey is undertaken for Canadian Business magazine under sponsorship of BDO Dunwoody LLP.

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