The Financial Post reports in its Thursday, Feb. 27, edition that Ottawa should appoint a "non-partisan head of deregulation" to eliminate red tape and enhance Canada's productivity amid U.S. tariffs, says National Bank of Canada chief executive officer Laurent Ferreira. The Post's Naimul Karim writes that Mr. Ferreira also advocates for reduced business taxes, faster permits, removal of interprovincial trade barriers, a Buy Canada Act and better utilization of natural resources to strengthen the economy. He said on Wednesday: "There has been a considerable decline in our productivity and GDP per capita. Canadian companies are facing excessive regulation and oversight. Added to the mix, we face a U.S. administration with a pro-business and protectionist agenda." National Bank's provisions for credit losses (PCLS) jumped to $254-million in the first quarter from $120-million in the same quarter a year ago and was higher than analysts' expectation of $193-million. The bank did consider the impact of President Donald Trump's tariffs while assessing its PCLS, but it did not incorporate any "material impact." The bank, however, beat analysts' expectations otherwise on higher revenue growth in all business segments.