Mulroney's Legacy ...
The eradication of the manufacturing sector in Canada continues with nary anyone outside of Ontario giving a damn. If this were happening in Alberta or BC, the whackos would be out stumping for separation.
In June 1983, then-PC Leadership Candidate Brian Mulroney was interviewed by John Gray of the Toronto Star - and this is what he said about the idea of free-trade with the United States:
The eradication of the manufacturing sector in Canada continues with nary anyone outside of Ontario giving a damn. If this were happening in Alberta or BC, the whackos would be out stumping for separation.
In June 1983, then-PC Leadership Candidate Brian Mulroney was interviewed by John Gray of the Toronto Star - and this is what he said about the idea of free-trade with the United States:
"This country could never survive with the policy of unfettered free trade. I'm all in favour of eliminating unfair protectionism where it exists. This is a separate country. We'd be swamped. We have in many ways a branch plant economy in certain important sectors. All that would happen with that kind of concept would be the boys cranking up their plants throughout the US in bad times and shutting their branch plants in Canada. It's bad enough as it is.
And further as the PC Convention neared:
" ... it affects Canadian sovereignty and we will have none of it."
And further as the PC Convention neared:
" ... it affects Canadian sovereignty and we will have none of it."
The future Minister of Finance, Michael Wilson, would then also chime in:
"Bilateral free trade with the United States is simplistic and naive. It would only serve to further diminish our ability to compete internationally."
Does anyone remember why - in addition to these very good reasons - they opposed the idea of an FTA?
Because Tariff Reciprocity was always a Liberal policy and these men (then) considered themselves Conservatives.
By 1984 the transformation of the Conservative party into a neo-liberal party was complete.
... and so it goes. And so it has gone.
posted by Aeneas the Younger @ 7:31 am
6 Comments
6 Comments:
I think you will boggle the minds of some "conservatives" with stuff like this.
I'd be interested to know what your thoughts are on the upcoming objective of the Harper government to eliminate domestic trade barriers between provinces.
RT:
It proves my point. With Harper, ideology will always trimuph over practical sense. He is a BELIEVER.
It is pretty hard to reason with a zealot.
Eradicating inter-provincial trade regimes assumes that there are equal levels of effective comparative advantage in play - which there are not.
Canada is pretty much a nation of "managed markets" and always has been, at the very least since the days of Imperial preference.
Turning us into a nation of "free-markets" goes against the empirical record and facts of Canada.
Watch out, as the rich get richer. But what about the people? Do we condemn them simply because they live in smaller places?
Is Manitoba to become the next Alabama, or Mississipi? Is Windsor the new Flint?
Who wants that?
Compete or die, the "new" Canada.
Nice "catch" !
"Free trade" is a fantasy--it assumes equality where none can exist ( except perhaps where one child swaps an "aggie" for a needed PG-Tips card to complete a collection----I'm sure you know what I'm talking about--and the two parties both walk away content).
BTW thanks for dropping by and poking a charp finger at my rhetoric yesterday.
Part of me wishes you'd post more often on your own blog--but then if you did some of us might be deprived of the benefit of your comments on our own blogs because you'd be that busy.
BTW here's a charming something that might amuse you:
http://tinyurl.com/24n8mf
It's always an education and a pleasure to hear from you.
Brit — A delightful skewering of "The Dean" I must say. Why anyone listens to that silly man is unfathomable. I wish Russert would stop trotting him out as the supposed token "liberal" on his yak-show because he's just atrocious. He never has anything useful or in the least bit insightful to say... ever. Maybe he was relevant at one time, but it must have been before I was born.
"Is Manitoba to become the next Alabama, or Mississipi [sic]?"
Manitoba should be so lucky.
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