Boys' Club...
business
A lion of Nova Scotian economic development
I've been visiting a neighbour this summer: Robert Manuge, a name at the centre of a defining epoch in Nova Scotian economic history. At 89 and ailing, he's anxious to make a point about economic development then and now. Manuge was general manager of Industrial Estates Ltd., the economic development agency set up by premier Robert Stanfield in 1957. He invited me to his home at rural Lake Annis, Yarmouth County, to sift through a dozen thick scrapbooks assembled by IEL staff at the time.
Owning the podium, selling the stadium
The Harper government portrays itself as standing up for Canada, but it is preparing a major sell-off of Canadian interests that will compromise our cultural sovereignty, national identity and national security.
In last week's federal budget, the Harper government signalled its intent to throw open the doors of foreign ownership in three strategic, previously protected, sectors: telecommunications, satellites and uranium.
The issue here isn't foreign investment, which is allowed. At issue is a move to allow giant multinational conglomerates to come in and take over Canadian companies in these key sectors.
CEOs as Liberal Party thinkers
Michael Ignatieff did a well publicized tour of Canadian Universities in January. Judging from the list of 40 speakers he invited to address the upcoming Liberal thinkers conference March 26 to 28 in Montreal, he was not impressed: only one student is invited to speak (water activist Ryan Hreljac), and no younger faculty.
The Liberals went for business leaders: 11 CEOs will own the podium (sorry). In 2010, knowledge seemly increases with salary, and brains are best found in the biggest executive suite. Aside from Ryan Hreljac, education is represented by three University and College presidents, two business school heavies, two political scientists, a health scientist and an economist.
Boosting Canadian trade vs. free-trade deals
As soon as it won its coveted majority, the Harper government put the pedal to the metal on the trade front, with a stampede of new free-trade deals. The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade currently lists 18 different deals in play, ranging from puny (Panama and Jordan) to gargantuan (Europe, Japan and India).
Anyone who stands in the way of this juggernaut clearly must oppose trade in general. At least that's how the Conservatives portray the issue, attempting to brand its New Democratic opponents as economically illiterate dinosaurs.
Science for profit: Conservatives target the National Research Council
In 2009, the then-minority Harper government smuggled a seemingly innocuous phrase into the federal budget: "Scholarships granted by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) will be focused on business-related degrees." Yet this humble sentence garnered a 20,000 signature-strong petition presented to Stephen Harper by MP and future NDP leadership candidate Niki Ashton. For graduate students who signed the petition, the one-time funding increase doubled as a barely audible declaration of intent which sought to nudge Canadian arts research towards the interests of capital.
Immigration and the Harper version of multiculturalism
This week Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, the energizer bunny of the Harper cabinet, popped up to put more polish on his argument that immigration needs to be driven by business specs. "People with flexible human capital, high levels of language proficiency and a pre-arranged job," he said, "are set for success, so that will be an important guidepost as we move toward transformational change."