Paul Martin’s stated plan to ice the americans out as our chief trading partner and replacing them with the Chinese is an indication of just how ill-informed and cynical the Liberal cabal in Ottawa has grown to be. They are prepared to risk the economic well being of our nation in an effort to capture the anti-american vote in the upcoming elections. Before committing us to certain doom, here are a few items that deserve thought.
It is said that if you choose to have sex with an 800 lb. gorilla, you can’t stop when you’re satisfied; you stop when the gorilla is satisfied. So it is with the idea of taking on a major trading partner that has a human rights record so far out of line with those "Canadian Values" the Liberals love to crow about, as to be right off the scale. Did Mr. Martin ever hear the words "Tiananmen Square"? One clue: it’s not where the Chinese go to celebrate New Year’s Eve.
Yes, there are issues that need to be resolved between the two northern NaFTa partners, but let’s face it, the americans have a point in their objection to the importation of Canadian softwood lumber as well as allowing the importation of beef that could be infected with Bovine Spongiform Encephalitis (BSE) or ‘mad-cow disease.
as far as the softwood lumber dispute goes, the stumpage fees that lumber companies pay to the B.C. government are so low that they amount to a government subsidy, pure and simple. as such, lumber that finds its way into the U.S. market is artificially under priced and competes unfairly with american lumber, as stumpage fees there are significantly higher. Of course now that the mad cow scare appears to have been dealt with, it is no longer an issue, but I believe it’s hard to blame the americans for not wanting to accept Canadian beef, given that an infected steer was found to have originated in this country.
Dealing with China, on the other hand, will present some interesting challenges, not the least of which is that the government of China is not squeamish about abusing its own people, nor is it a reliable place to enter into a contractual agreement. In addition, if Martin believes that Canada will be the net beneficiary from trade with China, he is delusional. For openers, the average income of a Chinese family is about one-tenth that of the average Canadian family income. What this will translate into in practical terms is a loss of Canadian jobs, as Chinese products will cost a lot less here than Canadian products will cost there.
While Martin specifically talked about the sale of resources to China, such as oil and lumber, neither of which the Chinese have in great abundance, it doesn’t make sense to incur added cost of transportation by shipping these commodities to the Orient, when they can be disposed of at a significantly lower cost by sending them south.
But that’s not the kicker. The Chinese government has proven time and again that it does not respect proprietary trading rules, given the amount of intellectual property that is stolen in China and then resold. Videotapes, DVDs, music CDs, designer labels and computer software have long been pirated by Chinese firms, mass-produced and sold at a discount to unsuspecting or unscrupulous buyers around the world. If Martin thinks that the softwood lumber dispute with the U.S. is a major headache, wait until he finds himself embroiled in patent disputes with the Chinese government which does not believe in patents, unless, of course, they are the ones holding them.
It’s a cheap, cynical attempt at appealing to the voters’ baser instincts in order to secure yet another stint in power. Cheap and cynical it may be, but it will likely do the job. Only problem is, once we’ve decided to dance with the Devil, will we ever be able to stop?