Remember the fuss that was kicked up when CPC Leader Harper said that Canada needs to be tougher on NAFTA with the Americans? Remember how the media reported this as "withdrawing" from NAFTA, even though how no such thing was said? Remember how people called Harper to task for suggesting that we should decrease our dependence on American trade by increasing trade in China and India?
Would it surprise you that PM Martin said essentially the same thing in his speech to civil servants today?
...Considerable integration of our economies in North America is a fact -- so we all win when we cooperate. We are all made stronger. That’s why it is so counterproductive when one nation decides to flout the rules. NAFTA is not something to be ignored when it suits narrow domestic interests. Free and fair trade depends on a dispute settlement procedure that is respected by all parties, in letter and in spirit. Unfortunately the reaction of the U.S. in the face of the latest NAFTA panel decision on softwood lumber mocks that basic principle, and in so doing sends the wrong message to the world.
...There are important lessons to be gleaned from our trading relationship with the United States these past couple of years, especially in the context of the growth of China and India, with their huge populations and the equally huge opportunity they present. We all know that the American market is critically important for Canada – and always will be. At the same time, surely we have learned how important it is for Canada to develop other options as well – and with a rising Asia, the opportunity to do just that is greater than it’s been at any time since the end of the Second World War.
...we have a unique opportunity to capitalize on Canada’s energy endowment and the potential of our mining industry. In an insecure world, short on energy, short on commodities and becoming more so as China, India and others multiply global demand, Canada’s energy and mineral endowment is one of our greatest comparative advantages.
Do you expect PM Martin to get attacked in the press over these statements the way the CPC Leader Harper did on his? Me neither.
