http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/canada-must-do-more-to-fight-bribery/article4537675/

I have to agree with the author of the article, Janet Keeping, on the issue of corruption. There are many countries competing in global markets that have public offices riddled with corruption. This drastically reduces the amount of money that goes toward health care, education, and other social services. In turn, the quality of life within the country is greatly diminished. While Canada is nowhere near this level of corruption, we always have room for improvement. Our upgrade to the “moderate enforcement” category shows that we are making progress.

While I don’t condone corruption in any form, I think that we have to be careful around this issue. Overzealous policing and bureaucracy can have as large of a negative impact as corruption does. This is because the “red tape” (eg. permits and licensing) generated by the government in order to curb corruption can seriously delay the time it takes to start a business, which can deter future investments into the industry. Too much bureaucracy can bring growth to a screeching halt, and a stagnant economy is just as bad as a corrupt one.

Image Source: http://gettingevenfaster.blogspot.ca/2012/02/bribery-works.html