Tag Archives: trade

Getting Political

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My background: As an educator I mostly kept my political views private/non-partisan, and would often share the importance of voting in a democracy. I say mostly because if I saw something egregious, I have felt obligated to speak up.

I’m retired now and feel like it’s time to share more about me and my personal perspective.

I am a left of center centrist. I have never voted Conservative. I have voted Liberal, but before Mark Carney, every time I voted Liberal it was a strategic vote to ensure the Conservative in our constituency did not get in. Mark Carney as leader of the Liberal party was the first time I voted Liberal, by choice, not as a strategic vote. (For my American friends, we don’t vote for our Prime Minister unless we live in his/her political riding.)

Also note: Carney is not liberal. If you look at his political strategies and approach he is conservative, and the most conservative politician I’ve ever supported. As a centrist, it was bound to happen at some time, but I’m happy to see a conservative ruler like him in power.

The world today: The American empire is falling. For my entire life I have seen the President of the United States as the ruler of the free/Western world. He has been a representative of what it means to live in a democracy with the promise of liberty, the opportunity for equality, and the potential for upward mobility… In a free world. This might never have been true, it might only ever have been a facade, but it is glaringly not the case today. You cannot be a Superpower when you punish your allies, and spew propaganda and lies, while stifling the once free media. You can note divide your population in hard times when unity is needed.

Meanwhile in Canada: With the exception of some Alberta conservatives, who have been influenced by American politics (and propaganda), Canada has never been more united. Make no mistake, times are going to get tough after the failure of US trade talks, and painful tariffs are imposed, but real Canadians understand that a trade deal can not include allowing foreign control over our sovereignty. So people of every political party and stance have united in agreement with Carney walking away from the negotiations.

The new leader: I did not think of this myself, I’ve heard it framed a few different ways in the last couple days… Mark Carney is now the leader of the free/Western world. He took his first step down this path when he spoke at Davos. I shared back then,

“Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speechat The World Economic Summit in Davos was a call to action, an invite for a band of brothers to take action.”

His idea of the ‘middle powers’ uniting to carve a future out that benefited everyone was the first step. But until Canada stepped away from the trade negotiations this weekend, no middle power truly defied the unrealistic demands of the US. Now Mark Carney and Canada has shown that it is possible to stand up to the bully. And before doing so Carney not only set up some significant bilateral trade agreements with other middle powers, he has also paved the way to develop far more agreements.

Make no mistake, if you want to know who is ensuring the continuation of the values of a free/Western world, look no further than Mark Carney.

All that said: I’d still love to see a workable agreement between Canada and the US. The world is a better place if the US is part of the agreements going forward. And this would benefit both countries greatly. I believe the USA is a country in crisis… and I would like nothing better than to see the people of America, especially the ones most in need, get more support. This won’t happen with an unreliable leader who can’t be trusted to keep agreements, and who egregiously alters the truth to meet his delusional world view… while calling every other perspective ‘fake news’.

The way forward: Despite calling Mark Carney ‘the leader of the free/Western world’, the way forward now is not for him to wield power, but to wield influence. Other countries must now stand up against US bullying behaviour, and show a united front of leadership through open alliances. Canada has led the way. The question now is if other countries will follow?

New era

What’s happening now might be the biggest change in global politics that has ever happened outside of weapons of war being used. The shift in finance, the collapse of friendly trade, the forming of new trade alliances, and the political and economic alliances that are currently in the works could not have happened in the last 100 years without missiles or guns being fired.

Yet here we are. Empires fall. New superpowers emerge.

The question now is, can this happen while remaining a political and economic battle, and not one that requires force, might, death, and destruction?

I hope so. I want to believe so.

Ever since I read ‘The World is Flat’ about 20 years ago, I could see that the path forward was going to be about economic strength being based on countries focussing on their competitive advantages. I could see that protectionist policies, tariffs, and isolation would be the demise of even the greatest economies. And that the future powerhouses would be those that have natural resources that the entire world would need.

We are approaching a new era, and the countries that will prosper are the ones who recognize their strengths and are ready to negotiate the way they share those strengths with the rest of the world. Let’s hope we can have peace to go along with our prosperity. The looming question is, can we enter this new era without violence? Can we be a civilized race? Or are we just warring monkeys who happen to wear clothing and buy expensive accessories?

Trade Neighbours

As we watch a trade war unfold with the USA imposing tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico, and China, the people that will struggle the most are those that can least afford it. But make no mistake, the cost of living is going up for everyone. This will anger people, and it’s already showing up.

One of my favourite sports stories comes from a Toronto Maple Leaf versus the Nashville Predators hockey game back in November 2014. During the American National Anthem the sound system faltered and the Canadian fans finished singing the US anthem. Slightly over a decade later, I just saw a video clip from tonight’s game, where the Vancouver Canucks fans boo’d during the US anthem (they did cheer for the singer when the anthem was done).

I’m not an economist, and while I know we are going to see a hike in prices, I really don’t know what these US tariffs are going to mean long term? I don’t know how countries will retaliate? I don’t know what can get us back to trade normalcy?

But I want to live in a country where we have mutual respect for our (cooperative) neighbours. I want to be in a country where we finish an anthem of our neighbours rather than boo it. And I want to believe that we can find a way back there. I’m just not convinced the politicians in power will get us there any time soon.

For now the metaphorical gloves have come off, and petty fights have begun. Sure it’s just the booing of a national anthem right now, but that’s likely just the start of the anger, hate, and even vitriol to come. I just hope that the leaders taking us down this route will remember what it means to be good neighbours, and some time soon we’ll get back to being fans of each other… Neighbours in geography, geopolitics, friendly sports competition, and yes, even trade.