Rapid and uncomfortable change is our theme on BNN today as Canada tries to boost productivity in a ruthlessly competitive world in which this country can’t rely on its cozy trade relationship with a giant neighbour to the south.

At 8:30 a.m. ET we got reaction from former Conservative finance minister Joe Oliver to a recommendation that Ottawa hike the eligibility age for Old Age Security and the Canada Pension Plan. The idea, put forward by the Trudeau government's economic advisory council, is to encourage (well, also strong-arm) older Canadians to remain in the workforce.

That raises questions over the wisdom of a decision made by the current Liberal government: It reversed a controversial move by the former Conservative government and returned old age security eligibility to 65 from 67.

Oliver told us the current government, faced with a touch choice, took the politically expedient route.

'IT WILL HAMMER US'

Meanwhile, council Chair Dominic Barton told BNN yesterday that Canada is “actually the fastest-aging OECD country. Japan and Korea have kind of gone off the cliff on that front. We’re next up the pipe - and it will hammer us. Over 50 years we’re going to see - if we don’t do anything - a GDP per capita halved."

The idea of making people wait longer for benefits and CPP income is to “help Canada expand its workforce, level of expertise and competitiveness while also saving costs on a system put in place years ago when retirement represented a few years of our life,” CTV chief financial commentator Pattie Lovett-Reid says. “Government programs were never intended to fund 20 to 30 years of our life.”

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TRADE SURPLUS

Canada posted a larger-than-expected $923 million trade surplus in December on the strength of crude oil exports.

The surplus marks the second straight monthly positive for Canada, marking the first time in two years.

RESOURCE RISKS

On Commodities, starting at 11 a.m. ET, we will assess the threat posed by a newly protectionist United States to this country’s natural resource-based exports.

Lumber prices in U.S. dollars have climbed to their highest since 2014. At 11 a.m. ET, we’ll hear from Kevin Mason, managing director of ERA Forest Products Research, who says “producers seem to be dialing back supply - possibly in anticipation of 90 days of retroactive countervailing duties” that may be applied on imports from the United States.

AGRICULTURE AND TRADE

We heard a warning yesterday from the Claire Citeau, executive director of Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance, that Canada needs to reach trade deals with vital markets for agriculture products as rival exporters steal this country’s market share.

The government’s Advisory Council says this country does a lamentable job of adding value to its farm output. “Canada processes only 50 per cent of its own agricultural output. Moreover, the country has a US$3.2 billion trade deficit for agfood products, partly because our food-processing sector is underdeveloped.”

It says obstacles include supply-management boards aimed at protecting the incomes of farmers, warning that “rigid provincial quotas” stifle investment in productivity.

At 11:30 a.m. ET, we’ll explore those challenges with Jonathon Driedger, senior market analyst at FarmLink Marketing Solutions, which specializes in helping farmers sell their grain profitably.