Wise Words ... Pity Our Government Isn't Listening

Allan Gotlieb has some very interesting things to say about what Canada should be doing to ensure its future prosperity.

Guess what - it isn't looking south! Big surprise there.

...Canada’s strategic thinking must go beyond the bounds of North America

Gee...I've been saying that ever since GWB started to call himself a "war president".

But as the economic centre of gravity moves inexorably toward the Far East, particularly China and India, Canada should be laying the groundwork for deepening our trade with these countries, where demand for our resources, unlike in the sclerotic economies of Europe, is likely to grow exponentially.

This is the part that really caught my eye. China and India are certainly rising trade powers. I think where I disagree with Gotlieb on this is that he is over-focused upon the raw resources, and I believe that Canada needs to move its economy beyond the raw resource sectors and become a provider of finished products instead.

While Harper has proposed opening so-called "free trade" negotiations with Europe, I suspect that this is political tokenism on Harper's part - and it has been done at a time when he has already alienated so many of Europe's leaders that he will be largely unsuccessful gaining traction.

However, on the whole, I agree with what Gotlieb suggests and believe that it deserves far more time an energy on the national stage than does the partisan bickering that seems to have taken over in Ottawa.