Via China E-Lobby, who seem to have a better handle on the important developments in this province than the entire editorial staff of the Star Phoenix and Leader Post combined.
Woe Canada! Saskatchewan Premier looking for Communist oil investors: Lorne Calver, Premier of Saskatchewan, has gone to Beijing and opened up his province’s oil and uranium fields to Communist Chinese “investment.” He even gushed that the cadres “floated some ideas for the actual purchase of [oil field] properties that they would develop themselves” (Globe and Mail, Cdn.). One can only imagine what Friendly Blog Small Dead Animals (headquartered in Saskatchewan) thinks of this.
Nobody needs to be told what I think of this.
The unfortunate fact is that I would guess that fully a third of the politically bankrupt residents of this province will react with self-rightous smugness in the belief that the primary benefit of Calvert’s cozy relationship with the world’s largest one-party dictatorship is that it keeps the Americans out.
Of course, the way that the Saskatchewan NDP and the Communist Chinese do “business” makes them birds of a feather. John Derbyshire in NRO in April of 2001;
No large commercial concern in China is simply a commercial concern. To thrive, or even just to survive, an entrepreneur must establish and maintain strong political connections. “Doing business with China” means doing business, though at one remove, with Chinese politicians � the sleeping partners in the ownership of every Chinese company.
It follows that any American doing business on a large scale in China must, if he is going to prosper, at a minimum take pains not to offend the Chinese government. If necessary, he must be willing to make himself a tool of that government. This is a state of affairs quite different from doing business with other countries. If Boeing enters into a plane-making joint venture with British Aerospace, the chairman of Boeing feels no need to button his lip on such matters as Northern Ireland or the proper way to manage foot- and-mouth outbreaks. The chairman of a U.S. company doing business in China who says out loud that he thinks Taiwan ought to be independent can measure the remainder of his chairmanship in nanoseconds.
Just like Saskatchewan (pdf), except 1.3 thousand times bigger!
The same Tommy Douglas who threw the oil industry out of the province in the 1940’s must be spinning in his grave – out of frustration in not being alive today to welcome the Communist Chinese with open arms.
China(and martini) will find transporting enery by ship to China is not quite as efficient or profitable as, say…
Shipping natural gas to California and crude Oil to Illinois, via pipeline.
I say let ’em build. Then when times get a little tight, force a cheap sale. To CNRL.
So Calvert would let a Communist-owned state-owned enterprise (a Chinese Crown Corporation) buy up oil and uranium assets in Saskatchewan, but we don’t allow anyone who is not a Canadian to own farmland in Saskatchewan.
Is it any wonder our farmland is worth half what Alberta’s is?
“No large commercial concern in China is simply a commercial concern. To thrive, or even just to survive, an entrepreneur must establish and maintain strong political connections.”
This completely describes Canada. We will be right at home doing biz with the pismires.
The Strong/Demarais/Martin Plan unfolds! When, Oh When will Canadians wake up to the fact that the power brokers of Liberal Eastern Canada are selling us all out to China? There’s plenty on record about Strong’s China connections; plenty on record about the Demarais/Power Corp/TotalElf/BNP axis; and plenty about the Martin connections to both.
I think the anti-American side of this is overplayed: it’s the money, pure and simple!
We are thinking of putting a statue to Tommy Douglas on
central avenue Calgary.Alberta wants to show appreciation for what Tommoy did for that Province!!
Interesting the man that chased the oil from Saskatchewan spent the last 8 Years of his life on the Board of Husky Oil.
Let’s see. First, the liberals get rid of the Canadian military. Then, they confiscate all the guns in Canada.
Next, start selling parts of Canada to the Chinese. It all begins to make sense to this Yank. Just don’t come screaming to the U.S. for help down the road. We’ll be too busy fighting our own liberals in this country.
Why oh why can’t the people in Saskatchewan see the forest for the tree? Whoring out the province’s resources to foreign interests without seeing that their own government with it’s inflated bureaucracy, laws, taxes and hands in the cookie jar, is the problem?
I’ve lived there, have friends and family there but would never invest a dime in the province because it is not worth it (as it is now). Monopolies are never efficient, especially Crown Corporations but they control most of the resources and government red tape and taxes hold up the rest. Just look at the map of oil production in Western Canada and see it stop at the Alberta-Saskatchewan border. That my friends is not a geoligical fault line but a government one.
Dare I say it? Let Tommy go, please. Join the real world in the 21st century. The potential is there. Use it.
Tommy Douglas … commie.
Commies love statues amd so do Pidgeons. It makes perfect semse.
SENSE that is
The American Navy is redsigning much of their fleet
to accomadate problems (shallow water, rivers) with the Chinese. China could in fact become much like the bear of the Cold War. The Americans at least have the economy and the muscle to play with fire. (China) Canada has none of the above. And to boot to do so we piss off our only real ally is just plain stupid.
The world is not a warm and fuzzy place. It’s a competative, ruthless place.
If a country like China can take it from you they will.
This is a game that will bring dire consequences way beyond what these people have the skill or ability to deal with.
While we’re at it why don’t we suck up to North Korea, Myanmar and Zimbabwe? Oops, they don’t have cash. But either does Cuba. Go figure.
Mark
Ottawa
In case all you psuedo conservatives have forgotten, it was richard nixon who first went to china from north america seeking deals. Oh, and by the way, the gas refining company that was aquired by the chinese a couple of days ago was owned by north americans. Are you gonna call tricky dick a commie?
Stubble
Nixons trip to China had more to do with the balance of power and the uneasy relationship between the Soviets and China than it ever had with trade. Trade was the excuse.
There was a picture on the front page of the National Post the other day showing Dr. Condolezza Rice and our new G.G. Michaelle Jean. I thought it was the perfect dichotomy between our two countries that pictured said it all. The perfect representation of skill intelligance and competance
related to each country.
For my money I will take Dr. Rice any day of the week. As apposed to the skill level represented by Michaelle Jean.
Jeff I won’t take issue where MJ is concerned but I will say that Rice looks a lot like that women in Mars Attacks with the helmet hair and the way that she walks. Just an observation. Speaking of balance, perhaps this trade mission is, as well, about a certain balance–do ya think?
Kate must hate this Douglas “character” as much as I hate Kim Il Sung.
After reviewing the policy(and the maps), I can’t say I blame her…
Hate is a pretty strong word–perhaps Kate laments on what could have been–ie missed opportunities.
Librano McTreague attacked Prof Cohen today on the Taiwan bill: whose side are they on? If China invades Taiwan, God forbid, will the Librano’s assist Taiwan in the least?
Stubble:
Martins statement certainly got Washingtons attention. For better or worse. My point is the Chinese have about 1000 spies in this country according to CSIS. Why would China lavish such attention on us.
To say Ottawa is out of their league in this is I believe the Understatement of the Century. I don’t see anyone in cabinet that is all that much brighter a star than our GG.
Further when you see someone like Dr. Rice and know just how capable their best and brightest are not to mention experienced and have the tools to do what they intend. Pushing this issue to the wall could get this country into one serious pickle.
China is not all sweetness and light.
Rice and company are lame ducks. As the walls cave in on dubyas house of cards, it doesn’t really matter what these people say or do anymore. Oh there are those who will say that we have to ride a pro-bush line if we do not want to get into a serious pickle but I don’t see it that way. The USA has been running huge trade imbalance with China right now ( as a result of the richard nixon visits in the 70s)and if you want , as a country, security in trade you must spread your risk over more than one continent.