Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Harper decision hurt us all

Michelle Kraft was once a co-worker of mine at the National Citizens Coalition.

She has the good sense not to work there any more and unlike the NCC, she still retains her conservative principles.

So when the Harper government opted to embrace economic nationalism over free markets when it came to Potash, she sent out a letter to the editor to express her disappointment.

Here's the text:

Dear Sir/Madam:

I have always been an ardent Conservative supporter, which is why I found Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s decision to block the proposed buy out of Potash Corp. (PCS) so profoundly disappointing.

In taking the action he did, Prime Minister Harper betrayed his own conservative principles, let down PCS shareholders and damaged Canada’s reputation as “open for business”.

His betrayal of principle is obvious. Conservatives are supposed to believe in private property rights, meaning citizens are free to sell their property to buyers at a mutually agreed upon price. 

That’s a right which has been denied to PCS shareholders.  In fact, they weren’t even able to negotiate with the potential buyer! 

But it isn’t just investor-types who are hurt by the blocked sale.  If you have a pension fund, chances are you have shares in Potash Corp, shares which will be less valuable now that the fund cannot sell them to international buyers. 

And just consider the message our government just sent out to the world: Canada does not want foreign investment. 

The ramifications of this message could be devastating to our economy.  Who in their right mind would want to invest in Canada now?

Why go to the trouble of investing your money in a country where your proposal could be blocked for a murky “net benefit” calculation. 

Less international investment in Canada means fewer jobs for Canadians.

In short, Prime Minister Harper’s decision hurts us all.

12 comments:

Blame Crash said...

Well cry me a river!

She expects us to offer up our throat to the wolf with the red roses for no other any reason than to be able to say “open for business”?

Why would we willingly plant the seeds of our own destruction by allowing our country to be an open and an undefended target? Why stop there, would you Libertarian “no-rules” types also like to disband our immigration department and let every single person into our country without question?

It amazes me how naïve some people are, or maybe it’s more a case of being completely stuck on their ideology.

I, for one, have no intention of every allowing myself or my country to be shackled to the dungeon walls of any ideology and its bogus narrative.

PS : It wasn’t just Harper that’s responsible for this. Many others also deserve credit for defending Canada rather than their ideology and pocket book.

PS 2 : We are SO “open for business”. Ain’t nothing stopping em from coming in to Canada and starting their own bloody Potash company. Or would that be to much work for these characters?

Anonymous said...

PM Harper may have hurt the feelings of a small interest group, but he saved the livelihoods of a greater many.

bertie said...

Had to dig deep to find some anti Harper crap eh Gerry.The more he does right the more your head aches and the better we all feel.Keep up the good Liberal propaganda machine Gerry you are doing brilliantly.Oh maybe some article on Bob Rae siding with Harper on the Afghan extension would be nice.

DeeDee said...

Mr Harper did not betray his own principles, he made a decision that Michelle Kraft disagreed with.

One of the problems with "Conservatives" is that they are obsessed with measuring each other with their Conservative measuring sticks trying to determine if their fellows are Conservative enough to meet their standards.

Inevitably the person they are assessing will fail to meet their extremely high standards and then the goal turns to doing everything in their power to pull the person down.

Realities of governing, minority governments, public opinion, nothing at all matters except for their rigid adherence to their sacred principles.

This is why Conservatives are so rarely in power, they get pulled down by their own, all the opposition has to do is sit back and wait.

Gerry Nicholls said...

Blame Crash, but you do have an ideology: Holding onto power for the sake of holding onto power.

And Bertie, you miss my point about the Harper govt. --- my problem is they are acting like Liberals!

johndoe124 said...

What people here seem to be defending is being wards of the State. If you don't have basic property rights then what aspect of your life is off limits to government? Pretty discouraging the naive trust Canadians have in big government, the source of more problems than solutions.

By the way, what makes those saved jobs so sacred? How does one measure the sacredness of jobs in one industry against another? Maybe we should just save all jobs for the rest of eternity?

Farmer Joe said...

Party over principle is not a winning combination. It is a lethal brew that will one day blow the conservative party apart.

AToryNoMore said...

Gerry, When you wrote in your letter,

'I have always been an ardent Conservative supporter, which is why I found Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s decision to block the proposed buy out of Potash Corp. (PCS) so profoundly disappointing.'

So Gerry, are you really saying you support conservative fiscal and economic values as opposed to being always a Conservative supporter?

I support conservatism in most aspects. I just don't support Conservatives.

There is a big difference as you may have unknowingly outlined.

AToryNoMore said...

Progressive Conservatives did not agree with the Trudeau government on FIRA(Foreign Investment Review Agency).

Then he PC's years later ran a campaign for FREE TRADE in a
1988, and got a second majority government.

Now the Conservatives have gone socialist and protectionist at the same time, taking equity positions in car companies and blocking the aquisition of some companies and denying airlines acces to our airports.

How can anyone support these guys?

Gerry you say the Conservatives are acting like Liberals.

Could this conflicted conservative thinking have anything to do with Harper once being a young Liberal, then a Progressive Conservative, then Reform, then Alliance and then a Conservative?

Gerry Nicholls said...

Atorynomore -- That's not my letter.

Gerry Nicholls said...

Probably more to do with old fashioned political expediency.

Anonymous said...

I get a laugh out of these brainless PMO palace guards. They aren't just wards of the state-they're wards of Harper!