What is a writer such as Paul Wells doing at the Toronto Star? Does he provide insight you wonder? Is his writing progressive? Does he know the Ottawa scene as he tries to explain it? We have given him more than enough time to get comfortable. He has been found wanting.
The final straw was the column last week under the title Rising nationalism a test for Liberals. We did our best to understand his argument and after a third reading we were still puzzled. He starts out by saying that the Trudeau government is a government in crisis. He goes on to say that the electoral upsets in other countries such as the U.S. and Great Britain are caused by middle class dissatisfaction with the rising numbers of trade deals. He complains that Justin Trudeau is too busy wooing billionaire elites to notice.
It is not that we disagree with the problems inherent in most of these free trade deals. They tend to be too secretive in the negotiations, too complex, too long and, when published, too deep for the average person to read or understand. It makes these deals too easy a target for demagogues and other political opportunists.
And it has become obvious to Canadians that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) needs serious review. The example of the ongoing soft-wood lumber disputes demonstrates a major problem. If President-elect Donald Trump really thinks he can negotiate a better deal for the Americans, he is in for a surprise. Free trade has to start with fair trade. He might be foolish enough to keep on abusing his Mexican neighbours but his citizens will not understand abuse of their Canadian neighbours.
It is probably just as well that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal will die as Trump moves into the White House
But how Wells annoyed this writer was in his mindless acceptance of Conservative criticisms of Justin Trudeau. When the Conservative’s temporary leader Rona Ambrose says that Trudeau “likes hanging out with billionaires,” it must be because that is where the money is. When Wells repeats it in the largest circulation newspaper in Canada, it is playing to a number of prejudices.
Finally, we need to understand that the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) might not be so comprehensive after the United Kingdom voted on exiting the European Union recently. There is much still to understand about this agreement and no sector of society should be taken for granted. Canada already has minimal tariffs with EU countries and there needs to be some better explanation for Canadians as to whether this agreement is worth the bother.
And Paul Wells needs to do better research on the subjects he is covering.
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Copyright 2016 © Peter Lowry
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