Canada, not a “giant national park” for U.S.
but a “giant resource base”
Niagara Falls, Ontario
Thursday, January 19, 2012
by: Joe Hueglin
Prime Minister Harper's analogy is of Canada not being a " 'giant national' park for the U.S." and that the "Pipeline debate should be left to Canadians" More valid is this: Canada is a giant resource base.
He would have American environmentalists excluded from pipeline debate. For consistency so too ought all foreign owned companies (and their lobbyists in Ottawa) for Canada is not paramount in their arguments and interests.
Security of supply for central or eastern Canada to Harper is of no concern. To him "there's nothing the government can do about it. . . . it is fundamentally a market-based decision. We don't dictate pipelines go here or there." so reliance of these parts of Canada on sources that could be cut off in wartime is accepted.
Unfortunately the result for Canadians of his philosophy that economics is "market-based" and "there's nothing the government can do about it." is foreign ownership of resources and manufacturing (Stelco, Inco, Nortel) and increasingly reductions in workers' wages and benefits.(Vale, Stelco, Caterpillar)
While in Stephen Harper's view "I think [being market-driven has] served the country well." it can be argued government doing nothing serves not Canadians or Canada. We become more and more producers and exporters of raw materials rather than products made from them, not a "giant national parka for the US" but rather a giant resource base for China and other countries as well as the U.S.
Reference:CBC News, Harper says pipeline debate should be left to Canadians, January 16, 2012, CBC News Peter Mansbridge interview