The subtitle of my book The Vanishing Country, published a year ago by McLelland & Stewart, is Is it too late to save Canada? I personally don’t think it’s too late, but even some great Canadian nationalists such as Peter C. Newman and David Suzuki have said to me that in their opinion it is already too late, that we have already become so integrated into the United States as a result of the FTA and NAFTA that we’ve now passed the point of no return.
International trade and investment, deep integration
U.S. President George W. Bush and the U.S. ambassador to Canada, Paul Cellucci, were “disappointed” that Canada didn’t join in the American-led invasion of Iraq. Their predecessors in the 1960s and ‘70s
were also disappointed that we didn’t join them in their catastrophic Vietnam quagmire. Too bad. Back then, we were right and they were dead wrong. Today we are right again, and they are dead wrong again.
The noted Canadian economist Pierre Fortin tells us that,
“during the 1990s, Canada’s aggregate economic performance has been the worst since the great depression, and very nearly the worst among all industrial countries.”
For those of you who might think that Canada has improved substantially in the new millennium, you should know that this country still ranks only 65th in GDP growth rate.
OTTAWA--A study released today concludes that the New Brunswick government should have proceeded with public auto insurance, despite threats from the foreign insurance industry to sue under international trade treaties to thwart the policy.
Ottawa -- Trade treaty rules and proliferating health care privatization are a dangerous mixture that threatens Medicare and health care reform in Canada, warns a new study published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.