Buzz speaks out
Canada’s lumber next hostage the U.S. must free
Dear John Manley, Minister of Foreign Affairs:
I hope you are the right guy for this letter. This Chretien government is so full of foreign ministers and secretaries of state, I didn’t know who needed to hear what I have to say. If it’s another Liberal ploy to keep us regular folks from tracking down the people responsible, I can tell you it's working.
Whether it's you or, my favourite, Maria Minna, Minister for International Co-operation, the bottom line is that the stage is set for Canada to plant new seeds in its relationship with our mighty southern neighbour. The recent events in the softwood lumber industry and Chinese-U.S. relations are signs of a changing world order. They may appear to have nothing in common, but they are part of a parade Canada can either join or sit on the sidewalk watching.
My involvement with the Elks Lodge here in Red Deer makes me particularly fond of being a part of the parade. Let an old warhorse who for decades has given his best advice to world leaders explain how we can have our lumber and free trade, too.
I never thought I would see the day when Canadians became angry over the U.S. self-limiting its access to our natural resources. As part of a fine Western tradition that has railed against the economic colonialism of Central Canada for a hundred years, it’s taking me a little time to get used to the idea that U.S. exploitation is a good thing. I realize, however, that globalization and free trade are the latest government fads, and the job of the Canadian government today is to make certain our natural resources are exported to the U.S. markets as quickly as possible.
I would like to claim my business and political savvy solved the problem of convincing Americans to accept our lumber at ridiculously low prices, but the wisdom of the East delivered the answer right to my television.
Now, we Canadians can’t run an Air Canada jet into a U.S. spy plane to gain a bargaining chip, but there are lessons we can learn from the attitude of the Chinese government. The Chinese are asking questions about the American world view that the Bush gang is having a hard time answering.
Georgie Porgie puddin’ and pie is discovering that diplomacy is a far cry from intimidating teachers and prison guard unions. Foreign affairs isn’t anything like U.S. politics, either. You can’t simply stand up and say something is so, such as massive tax cuts spur economic growth, and it becomes so. Realizing there are other valid perspectives that you can’t dismiss because you won the election is always a tough transition for a good old boy, and Canada can take advantage of it.
Those Chinese leaders may be undemocratic and unaccountable, but they have responded to the indignation their people feel when Americans claim they have a right to fly spy planes over China. There are few Canadians who don’t feel the flush of indignation when reminded that the U.S. sees our country as nothing more than a big pile of desirable oil and undesirable lumber and beef. Claiming us emotional yokels simply didn’t understand the big picture, Canada’s leaders in the last 20 years have consistently failed to respond to that indignation.
Well, the big picture has a big pile of American sawdust all over it right now, but there is a way to respond to this indignation without taking the blunt Chinese approach.
On the Prairies it's called going home and taking your puck with you. In this case, I think it’s a matter of hanging on to all that fine Canadian softwood lumber for a little while. Just like the Chinese, we can assure the Americans that we are taking good care of their lumber so that it can be released when they figure out they are not living in a uni-lumber world.
Sure, it might look like the great Canadian free-traders are finally backing down, but sometimes children and politicians only understand the importance of something when they no longer have it. Canadians have to convince the already tired and frightened Bush gang that our lumber is more important than all the votes and political donations that the U.S. lumber industry can bring to the table.
It won’t be long before the American construction industry starts screaming that it can’t survive without 30 per cent of its lumber supplies. With a recession looming, the Bush gang will see the light and put an end to this little dispute in a hurry.
Yours in indignation,
Buzz Angus
Minister of Common Sense
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