when the United States and their evil business culture decide that Canada and its resources are needed and needed without any trade barriers, you can bet your last US dollar that the Americans will figure out a way to exploit it for themselves.
We have huge gas reserves, over 30 percent of the worlds fresh water supply, gold, diamonds, forestry. So what does the US policy makers do? They impose hefty tariffs on wheat and lumber to protect their own people and starve out thousands on the coast of British Columbia, including some of my family, so that a US lumber lobby that donated millions to George Bush can collect 10 billion in duties to support their ailing industry. Why is their industry ailing? No real reason other than the high US dollar makes it hard for US manufacturers of lumber to compete so they squeeze Canada out. Instead now, our top forestry companies are on the verge of bankruptcy because the 35 percent duty is payable in cash, no bonds. Brutal.
The reason why this tariff was put in was not because of competition infractions that your country has fabricated. The American companies that have bought out our forestry companies now own all the harvesting rights to Crown land in Canada. That is worth more than the lumber in some instances as cost of production means more capital spending on infrastructure. So what will the American companies do? They will shut down their mills, make their operations more efficient and log those lands regardless.
Brian Mulroney, our former jackass Prime Minister, who happens to be close family friends to the Bush family, sold out Canada through Free Trade. Nothing is for free in this world people. Especially in the eyes of America.
I am not a coward. I do not agree with Saddam Hussein using weapons of mass destruction and oppressing his people. He is a devil that was an American friend and pawn for years until he decided he didn't need the US any longer. But let us go back in history. Who was the first nation to use weapons of mass destruction? Hiroshima? Nagasaki?
Counterpoint.
I will fight for Canada. I love my country. I love that fact that our country has led the way for real economic reforms for Africa and debt relief for third world nations. I am proud of that. I am glad that Canadians still do business with Cuba because if you ask the Cuban people, they love Castro. Just imagine if people like Jesse Helms finally figured out that if you work with Castro to introduce change diplomatically, Cuba would thrive. Because of the trade sanctions, Cuba is being squeezed out by...you guessed it...stupid American foreign policy.
Now, I have named many US politicians, can you name one Canadian politician other than Jean Poutine?
Take a look back at the former USSR. Your country, your media, portrayed Yeltsin as this visionary. As a man for the people. He was a drunk crook. Mikhail Gorbachev was a visionary. He knew that economic reform must take time but your foreign policy makers wanted a quick turn around so they could sell Coca-Cola to every Russian baby.
Speaking of Coca-cola, your country seems to think that a dollar for a litre of coke is okay but a dollar a litre for refined petrol is too much? Oh, I guess developing nations can't make money, can't charge for something that US citizens consume more of, per capita, than any other country in the world. Thanks for tanking Kyoto.
By the way, Canada is very guilty of these same things. Not proud of it, but at least I can admit to our failings. Can you?
TRUTH |
