Don Mercer is active serving people both at home in Ladysmith and on a national level with Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's External Advisory Committee on Regulatory Competitiveness, among other organizations. (Gerry Beltgens photo)

Don Mercer is active serving people both at home in Ladysmith and on a national level with Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's External Advisory Committee on Regulatory Competitiveness, among other organizations. (Gerry Beltgens photo)

Ladysmith’s Mercer standing on guard for thee

Business regulatory watchdog named to national competitiveness board

Gerry Beltgens Special to the Chronicle

A Ladysmith man is playing a key role in keeping Canada competitive and Canadian consumers safe.

Consumers Council of Canada President Don Mercer has been named to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s External Advisory Committee on Regulatory Competitiveness.

The committee brings together business leaders, academics and consumer representatives from across Canada. Its role is to advise the government on regulatory competitiveness and innovation, while ensuring Canadians’ health, security and safety and protecting the environment.

In addition to serving as the council’s president, Mercer has served it in a variety of ways since he retired after a long career in Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver with Competition Bureau Canada. The bureau administers the Competition Act, the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act, the Textiles Labelling Act and the Precious Metals Marking Act, which promote market competition and fair trading practices by regulating anti-competitive conduct, setting product and quality standards, and prohibiting fraud and misrepresentation

He is an active member of the Payments Canada Stakeholder Advisory Council, an advisory council for Payments Canada, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada Consumer Protection Advisory Committee and has been recently appointed to Finance Canada’s Payments Consultative Committee (FinPay).

Mercer is also a member of the Rotary Club of Ladysmith and is active in his community.

Ladysmith Chronicle