As pressure mounts to boost productivity, attract investment, and support long-term economic growth, Canada faces a core challenge: how to build a tax and regulatory system that is fair, transparent, and competitive—without undermining public confidence or fiscal sustainability.
Canada’s prosperity depends on an environment where innovation can thrive and businesses can scale with confidence. Yet complex tax structures, regulatory uncertainty, and compliance costs continue to weigh on investment and growth. Are taxes the real barrier—or do red tape and regulatory complexity matter more? What reforms would actually strengthen Canada’s competitiveness in today’s economy?
As part of the Canada’s Next Move series, Canadian Club Toronto invites you on February 24 for a timely discussion on the real impact of tax policy and regulation on business investment and economic growth. Drawing on insights from business, professional services, and tax policy research, our speakers will examine the trade-offs between fairness and growth—and what smarter, modern reform could realistically look like. Moderated by Patrick Brethour, Editorials Editor, The Globe and Mail, the discussion will feature insights from:
Together, they will weigh in on whether Canada needs bold reform or smarter reform and chart a path forward for a tax system that works for businesses, governments, and Canadians alike.
*For virtual attendees, please note that the live stream will begin at approximately 12:40 pm ET & the link will be provided closer to the event date*
Fatima Laher
Deputy Chair & Board Director, Deloitte Canada
Fatima Laher is the Deputy Chair & Board Director of Deloitte Canada and Chile. She is widely recognized as a trusted advisor to multinational corporations navigating complex business challenges, with a particular focus on corporate governance and the modernization of boards. Fatima, on behalf of the Board, will be responsible for the Succession of the CEO and Chair, Deloitte Canada and Chile in 2026.
With a career spanning multiple continents, Fatima has advised clients across Canada, the U.S., Europe, India, Asia, South America, and South Africa. Her global perspective and deep expertise allow her to bring practical, future-focused insights to both boardrooms and executive teams.
Over the span of her career, Fatima has authored and published numerous articles and has been recognized with multiple client service awards, reflecting both her thought leadership and her unwavering commitment to excellence.
At Deloitte, she has held a wide range of senior leadership roles, including National Tax Clients and Industry Leader, Global Tax Innovation Leader, National Tax Strategy Leader, South African Practice Leader, Global Employer Services and Immigration Leader, Audit Practice Leader, and DE&I Growth Leader for Deloitte Canada. Each role has showcased her ability to drive transformation, foster innovation, and strengthen client relationships.
Away from the boardroom, Fatima was once a provincial gymnast in South Africa and is also a trained pastry chef—a balance of discipline and creativity that continues to shape her approach to leadership today.
Dr. Jack Mintz
Economist & President’s Fellow, University of Calgary
Dr. Jack M. Mintz is the President’s Fellow of the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary after serving as the Palmer Chair and founding Director from January 1, 2008, to June 30, 2015. He is a board member of Mackenzie Health, York Region, Ontario, Canada West Foundation and the Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy.
Dr. Mintz is also a Distinguished Senior Fellow, MacDonald-Laurier Institute, Senior Fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute, and research fellow at International Tax and Investment Centre in Washington D.C., CESIfo Germany and Oxford’s Centre of Business Taxation. He is weekly contributor to the Financial Post of Canada.
Dr. Mintz became a member of the Order of Canada in 2015 as well as receiving the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 for service to the Canadian tax policy community and Queen Elizabeth Platinum Medal in 2023 for serving as chair of the Alberta Premier’s Economic Recovery Council from 2020 to 2022.
Heather Scoffield
CEO, Canadian Tax Observatory
Heather Scoffield is the first CEO of the Canadian Tax Observatory. She has devoted her career to writing and public engagement around economic policy. Over the course of her 30-year career in journalism, she covered monetary and fiscal policy, economics, trade, environment and energy. She was the Ottawa bureau chief and economics columnist for the Toronto Star, where her writing focused on political economy and its effect on people. Heather was also the Ottawa bureau chief for The Canadian Press, leading an award-winning team of political journalists. Before joining CP in 2009, she spent 12 years at the Globe and Mail covering policy and economics. More recently, she was senior vice-president of strategy at the Business Council of Canada, collaborating with business leaders and policymakers to find practical solutions to the economic challenges of our time. Heather has a master’s degree in journalism from Western University and a BA in international relations from York University. She is a senior fellow at the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs and a frequent contributor to the Toronto Star’s business section, among other media.
Patrick Brethour
Editorials Editor, The Globe and Mail
Patrick Brethour has written on economics, business and politics and business across the country for nearly three decades, including, most recently, his award-winning coverage of tax and fiscal policy.
Patrick has covered the rise and fall of the dot-coms, Alberta’s oil boom and the spectacle of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. He was deputy editor of Report on Business, and then senior news editor, before heading to New Brunswick in 2014.
There, as editor in chief of Brunswick News, he led the organization to multiple national and regional journalism awards, including a Michener nomination for coverage of the deficiencies of New Brunswick’s child-care system.
He returned to The Globe in 2017 as a senior news editor, moving to the tax and fiscal policy beat in 2019. As editorials editor, he is responsible for The Globe’s daily editorials – a key voice in the national debate.
