The
Vancouver Board of Trade is an embarrassment. It's website
features the
letter its chair sent to US Ambassador Paul Cellucci.
It is one thing for the business organization to talk about
concern for security, and to criticize politicians who have
been less than diplomatic, but the Board's letter said "We
were shocked and embarrassed that our federal government
decided to sit Canada on the sidelines and not support our
historic allies when the war with Iraq began." Apart
from the debate over the attack on Iraq, talks with the
US over trade issues are conducted by the federal government,
and it does nothing but weaken the Canadian position
in any discussions when powerful interest groups choose
to undermine their own government.
It is
one thing to engage in the debate at home, but it is quite
another thing to directly communicate with the US Ambassador
for the purpose of criticizing Canada. In some countries,
including the US, that would be viewed as bordering on treason.
Here it is merely accepted as foolish, and typical.
Ambassador Cellucci has been quoted as moderating his harsh
criticism of Canada's position. According
to the CBC, the US Ambassador spoke in Fort St. John
and said that "… Canada is the biggest source
of energy for the U.S. and without Canadian energy, the
American way of life would die." The Vancouver Board
of Trade might be well advised to build better relations
with the US based on those kinds of mutual interest rather
than on an a disgusting display of subservience.
The
Vancouver Board of Trade's website also contains a "special"
budget
feature where the budget that delivered the biggest
deficit in BC's history was given an "A". Since
the business group is so interested in following the US,
they should note the study released by the nonpartisan Congressional
Budget Office on March 25th which evaluated the economic
impact of President Bush's tax cuts. Like Gary Collins,
right wing "think tanks" in the US have asserted
that tax cuts pay for themselves. The Congressional Budget
Office explored alternative economic models and found little
or no such effect. In an editorial on March 28th, the prestigious
Washington
Post discussed the Budget Office's report and concluded
that "the administration's contention that the country
will magically "grow its way" out of deficits
as it cuts taxes still turns out to be more or less a fairy
tale."
Some
might describe much of the content of the Vancouver Board
of Trade's website as "fairy tales" but others
would describe many of their positions as "embarrassing
nightmares".
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