Emulating Nero ...

Canada is a wealthy country, but it is increasingly reliant on US trade & investment for its wealth. Of course this is not a revelation of great discovery, for we all know this to be a fact of our contemporary life. Of course, it was my reservations about increasing free-trade that led me to leave active political life in 1993-4, and since then I have watched Canada become more comfortable - and less sovereign - before my eyes. People like John Manley could not talk about things like "deep integration" back in 1980.

I got to thinking about this the other week when it came to light that Jerry Zucker had purchased the Hudson's Bay Company. I was a loyal Bay shopper in the same way that I always supported Eaton's - and in fact, I was probably more loyal to the Bay, as at least they kept quality goods on the shelf, for the most part.

Consider this:

"After 15 years of free-trade with the United States, fewer than a dozen major, widely held Canadian companies are left listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. More than 10,000 Canadian companies have been taken over by U.S. owners."

from: http://www.bilaterals.org/article.php3?id_article=779

You read that right - 10,000 Canadian Companies.

Perhaps some benefits are not worth the cost.