Free Trade! An Impression?

 

Jeff McKeil

Ronaldo Horvat

 

Mr. Mathews freely admitted
that he did not want to come to
Douglas College and it was not
because of a fear of concrete. He
came to speak on Free Trade on
November 5, because he felt that it
was so important and so critical to
the future existence of Canada,
that he is speaking out as much as
he can. Canadians who enjoy a
valued social system, an economy
that is rated first amongst the
O.A.C., and a cultural assumption
of the common good,which is
reflected in gun’ control, medicare
and a high level of sophisticated
tolerance, have much to lose in in-
tegration with the United States.
Comparatively the “Society south of
the border is burdened with a self-
indulgent egotism, that propels
their cowboy myth to the point of
fanaticism, which sanctions any
behavior in the acquisition of
capitol. As well, the U.S. has the
worst social system of any in-
dustrialized country and are now
an empire in decline. Do we, as
Canadians wish to find ourselves
even closer to such a regime?

Our political sovereignty is even
now constrained, Mr. Mathews
cited the example of the struggling
Canadian publishing industry. It
has been proposed in the past, that
Canadian schools and

Universities, in agreement with
provincial educational authori-
ties, puchase Canadian made
texts. Today, a run of 60 thousand
books, is considered quite large in
Canada. In the aforementioned
system, Canadian publishing runs
of 100, 200, even 500 thousand
books would be possible. How-
ever, whenever this has been con-
sidered, the American pressure
came down hard, and the issue
was dropped. The Americans did
not want to lose their profits, and
this can also be seen in many other
areas of our economy.

As well, U.I. and medicare pay-
ments for example, will be
attacked by our own businesses as
handicaps in the face of intence
U.S. competition. Therefore, even
though the trade deal may not
attack the social system directly,
but they will be threatened never-
theless.

Correspondingly, American
corporations, who now need to
keep some prescence in Canada,
usually in the form of assembling
products that were researched and
produced in the U. S., will be left
with no reason to remain in
Canada.

Centralization, a proven  busi-
ness technique, will be seen as a
logical step, and many plants in
Canada would close.

There are major concerns which
the Mulroney government is
ignoring. They have set up a
commitee to study Free Trade, but
the final text has not been released
yet. It does not seem very realistic
to discuss the implications of
something, when one does_ not
even know what the system will
entail.

Probably the most telling part of
this is, that Mulroneey and Raegan
were elected on completely
opposite opinions regarding Free

Trade. Raegan wanted a continen-
tal trade agreement, while
Mulroney categorically = claimed
Free Trade infringed too heavily

upon Canadian sovereignty.

Of course Mulroney’s change of
heart is probably due to Reagan’s
intellectual strength.

ye

Mr. R. Mathews in his speach on
Free Trade provided his listeners
with nothing new except that he
blatantly insulted the intelligence
levels of Canadians. What is all the
hooplah concerning this issue? It
provides Canada with capitol, real
capitol so that it can finally free
itself from industrial oppression
and start producing goods that will
give our brothers to the south a run
for their money. Possibly other
Countries will view Canada as not
just another developing nation,
which is its present state but rather
Canada will be viewed as a Major
World Power. Mr. Vanderzalm hit
the nail on the head when he sta-
ted that Canadians do not have
culture anyway. Canadians do not
have culture so therefore we must
become culturalized in a different
manner. We must have a broader
base of industrialization; Canada
has so many natural resources that
it can afford to sell them to the U.S.
for a profit and with that profit ex-
pand its economy into something
that will be respected by all coun-
tries of the world.

Mr. Mathews seriously lacked
any insight or vision in_ his
presentation. How could an Engl-
ish Professor possibly know any-
thing about economics never mind
predicting that the United States is
on its way to a depression. Just for
instance; if the U.S. were on its
way to’ a depression, Canada,
being the follower that it is, will
most likely jump right on the band
wagon and plunge into its own
depression almost like a form of
sympathy strike.

Canada should not follow the
U.S. but in order for it not to it
must broaden its economic base
which. will be fascillitated by Free
Trade.

Mr. Mathews, in his closing
statement quoted P.T. Barnum
when he said that there is a sucker
born every minute, which
suggests _ that Mr. Mathews
regards Canadians and the Free
Trade issue as a type of Circus Act.

INSIDE

 

 

BOX

 

Mra

The Other Press

Volume XxXill

THER

Douglas College

 

Dean MacPherson

 

On Thursday October 29, the
New Westminster/Coquitlam __rid-
ing of the federal Liberal party
held a public forum concerning the

Meech Lake Accord in_ the
Performance Theatre of Douglas
College. For those not familiar
with the Accord, it involves
further amendments to the 1982
Canadian Constitution which,
among other things, gives Quebec
recognition as a distinct society

within Canada.

The first speaker was Richard
Johnston, an associate professor of
political science at U.B.C. and a
cosignatory of a brief supporting
amendments to the constitution.

 
 
 

 

Issue VIII

Page 3 November 10, 1987

November 10, 1987

i

He pointed out that the Accord
is basically a “deal”, and as such,

some risks are inherent; but the
risks involved in rejecting the
amendments far outweigh the

risks of accepting them. He con-

cluded by saying he was surprised °

that Quebec settled for so little.

Next was Elizabeth Ettinger, an
associate professor of law at
U.B.C., who discussed the legal
aspects .of the amendments to the
constitution. She cited the U.S.
constitution as a ‘fundamental
document, drafted with care, to
last for generations”; as opposed
to the Canadian Constitution

which was produced quickly, with

 

s Autonomous Student

pe
Nt
“7

Newspaper

a
—~
f “an

hearings, and went
seven different drafts.
Prof. Ettinger described ~_ the
proposed amendments as a
“make-work project for lawyers”.
The final speaker was the Hon.
Donald Johnston, former Liberal
caucus external affairs critic who is
opposed to the Accord.
In a witty speech, he refuted prac-
tically every point brought up in

 

no public
through

favour of the amendments, caus-
ing Richard Johnston to cower
nervously in his seat. He also

pointed out that in his primarily
francophone Montreal-area __rid-
ing, he did not receive a single call
concerning the 1982 constitutional
amendments from their inception.

Brian and Ronnie are young America set to music. They met, they danced

and fell in love, with the spotlight of the dance craze

full upon them. On the day they discovered the world was
bigger than a dance floor, everything changed,

and that’s their story