The Myth of Free Trade

This film is making the rounds. I found an invitation to it in my mailbox. I am no fan of free trade, but I was truly shocked by some of the statistics and claims.-CG

From the Hoodwinked website:

All statistics are subject to interpretation, but our dependence on trade with the United States is regularly and deliberately exaggerated. Even an op-ed piece in the Globe and Mail by TVOntario's Dan Dunsky repeated the often-cited false assumption that "trade with the U.S. constitutes 52% of our GDP."

Here's a brief "reality check."

How dependent is Canada on exports to the United States?

Over 80 per cent of the Canadian economy is generated by internal, domestic transactions - Canadians producing, buying and selling among themselves.

Exports to the U.S. represent less than 17 per cent of Canada's economy and over 50 per cent of that is in oil, gas and raw materials.

After hundreds of years of trying to develop value-added industries in this country and get away from the "hewers of wood, drawers of water" dependence on extracting natural resources, NAFTA, through the proportional sharing clause, has encouraged a structural change in our economy, back to the old resource-dependent model.

"In 2005, for the first time in a generation, more than half of our total merchandise exports from Canada once again consisted of raw materials and natural resources." - Jim Stanford, Ph.D. economist.

Hoodwinked: the Myth of Free Trade

A film by Bill Dunn and Linda West

Guest speaker: David Orchard

What About David Orchard?

How many people have followed the activities or know much about Mr. David Orchard? He is an interesting man.

I happened to come into contact with Mr. Orchard about 14 years ago, when I happened across his material, just as the the first real concerns over the WTO/ GATT discussions, were heating up. His book, entitled: The Fight For Canada- four Centuries of resistance to American Expansionism is a fascinating read. In my view it is a MUST read for anyone seriously interested in trying to maintain Canadian Sovereignty.

I believe that the survival of supply management and producer power, is dependant on the survival of Canadian Sovereignty.

From his book flyleaf: David Orchard, a fourth generation Saskatchewan farmer, is National Chairman of Citizens Concerned About Free Trade, a nonpartisan organization that has conducted large public meetings across Canada on the Agreement and that mobilized citizens to convince the Senate to block it in 1988. CCAFT also played a major role in opposing both the Meech Lake and Charlottetown accords.

Over the years this determined man has: set up a website and group called Citizens Concerned About Free Trade; written the above book; fund raised to go on speaking tours; has visited countless small venues all over Canada; been interviewed on television (never really very high profile); enlisted volunteers to call for donations or to hear him speak; been very active and vocal during any free trade(NAFTA) or WTO event threatening Canada and agriculture; came out of nowhere to place second to Joe Clark in the 1998 Progressive Conservative leadership race; had the second highest number of delegates to the 2003 Progressive Conservative leadership convention; was kingmaker at the last Conservative leadership event; was purloined and betrayed by McKay (this was his highest profile activity to date); joined the Liberal party of Canada and now quietly, carefully, delivered for Stephan Dion at the last Liberal leadership convention.

I have always wondered why, supply management isn't working with this man hand and glove. His single minded goal has at its heart, the survival of Canada, her institutions, resources and her food systems, as chosen by her farmers. To me, it is a mind blowing example of what one, very determined person can do.

Of course we are at war, it is just a very different kind of war. Any student of history should be able to give you examples of American Imperialism/Expansionism. The problem is that not many of us value this history and the past for the warnings or lessons it can give us.

While reading some of the available material at Vive le Canada, I came across this article about David Orchard:

The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon), Friday, December 8, 2006

Orchard's strategic influence
by Randy Burton

If delivering support to the winning candidate means anything in politics, then David Orchard's star must surely be on the rise in the Liberal party.

The longtime critic of free trade, two-time candidate for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative party and new Liberal can be credited for playing a significant role in Stephane Dion's rise to the Liberal leadership.

Exact totals are unclear at the moment, but Orchard's organization managed to deliver close to 150 delegate votes at the Montreal convention -- 32 of which came from Saskatchewan.
In fact, every Dion delegate from Saskatchewan but one was part of the Orchard camp.
Some were prior Liberals, but many were personal supporters of Orchard from past campaigns. The Orchard camp helped many of them raise the money to go and most of them stayed together at the same hotel, where they had booked a block of rooms.

If Dion was the outsider from within the Liberal establishment, then it seems somehow fitting he should have the support of a consummate outsider like Orchard.

Their partnership could not have been more successful. As the record shows, Dion garnered 854 votes on the first ballot, beating out rival Gerard Kennedy by just two votes on the first ballot. As a result of their prior agreement, Kennedy wound up throwing his support to Dion, which sealed his win. Had the first ballot gone the other way, Kennedy might be the leader today.
There were many reasons why Dion won, but he obviously would not have had the horses to overtake Kennedy without Orchard's support.

Once again, the man many dismiss as a political gadfly has proven it's a mistake to underestimate his influence.

Through organizations dating back to the mid-1980s, from the free trade wars to two runs for the Progressive Conservative leadership, Orchard has built a huge list of contacts. His chief organizer, Marjaleena Repo, estimates they now have some 39,000 names in their databank.
There may have been other people supporting Dion with this kind of reach, but certainly no one who reaches the variety of people who tend to support Orchard. Some are environmentalists seeking pesticide bans; others want to promote organic farming and the Canadian Wheat Board. Still others believe Canadian foreign policy is tilted too far in favour of Israel.

What they have in common is that they see Orchard as a means of empowering ordinary people. In an era where party affiliation means little, Orchard has managed to construct a portable power base that has now influenced the outcome of three different national leadership campaigns.

This turn of events raises some very interesting questions about Orchard's future. There's no doubt he intends to remain active in Liberal politics, and there are a number of issues he intends to press.

The Canadian Wheat Board issue is one of those, as is tighter controls on pesticides and the ongoing problem of low farm income. At the convention, Orchard was rubbing shoulders with former agriculture minister Eugene Whelan, and he's now in conversation with John Turner's former ag minister, Ralph Ferguson, who wants his help on farm policy issues.

If Dion should eventually become prime minister -- and every elected Liberal leader since 1896 has -- Orchard will be well-positioned to play a role in a Liberal government.

How intoxicating the prospect must seem for him. The perpetual outsider who had so much difficulty gaining the respect of the Progressive Conservative hierarchy now finds his opinion sought out by players in the Liberal party.

Should he decide to run for the Liberals and actually win a seat, he might even have a shot at a cabinet post.

Many will blanch at this prospect, but stranger things have happened.

Orchard is noncommittal at this point, but admits he's considering running.
In an interview this week, he said he has had invitations to run for the Liberals in a variety of ridings across the country.

"I have to take a look at all of them and decide where to go," he said.
However, his farm and his history are in Saskatoon Wanuskewin, where he recently celebrated the 100th anniversary of his family's farm.

Wanuskewin remains firmly in the grip of Conservative MP Maurice Vellacott, but Orchard is clearly tempted by the prospect of running against him.

Whether it's the Conservatives' efforts to undermine the wheat board, or Vellacott's "whole-hearted support for the bombing of Lebanon," Orchard says his current MP leaves plenty to be desired.

As other high-profile candidates such as Chris Axworthy have learned, Vellacott is not easy to beat. But there's a certain symmetry to the idea. Who better to take on the ideologically driven Vellacott than the equally hard-nosed Orchard? It would pit Vellacott's disciplined group of evangelicals and pro-lifers against Orchard's coalition of greens, anti-free traders and social democrats.

In many ways it would be a microcosm of the national campaign, right here on our own doorstep.

You could sell tickets to a contest like that.

2007...?!?

What will it bring? If our climate IS changing , certainly the challenges of the weather will be there to plague us. For farmers, this could be and many times is, a cross to bear. One more thing to make a difficult job, harder. This green Christmas and the warm temperatures, while grudgingly welcomed, is eerie..

What about world agricultural issues? Excluding the WTO and the extraordinary evolution and influence of the 'developing' countries, does agriculture in Canada think about what is happening out there? I sure hope so.

The North American Union (NAU) is set to become an issue for all. The only portion of this discussion I have heard anything about is the SPP ( Security Protection & Prosperity ). Many bureaucrats and business leaders are working on this. Ostensibly begun to improve our security after 911, the big picture is being ignored by Canadian Media.

These include Regulations and Agriculture and Food related issues. The documents are long and many, but several groups in the US and Canada are certainly viewing this agreement and many of it's elements with alarm.

If you examine the list of people who are doing this work and the Manufacturers and businesses involved, I am troubled by the fact that agriculture, more specifically, those affected by any 'harmonizing' discussed (like Supply Management) are not at this particular table.

In September 2006, one enemy who has worked tirelessly to undermine Supply Management was there: Mr. Thomas d’Aquino Canadian Council of Chief Executives . This was an invitation only, event. See: Deep Integration Planned at Secret Conference Ignored by the Media
A Canadian group called : Vive le Canada has a warehouse of information that agriculture should be sifting through. If you are tempted to put this one off, remember the struggles the industry had with NAFTA as it was being developed. Complacency is NOT a tool for survival.

View a complete history and time line.

ROB.TV gets it wrong!!! Are we surprised?

The “Spilled Milk” gang is at it again! Some of the same old partnership from the December MacLeans article. This time, the focus is designed to freak out the Canadian government and the Canadian position at the WTO.

The current flavour of the month is an American Lawyer for Mr. Birch, Mr. Todd Weiler. He obviously doesn't understand the Canadian dairy system and probably doesn’t care. It looks as if, after continuously losing their case in court, they are now taking their view of life to selected media. Of course the media chosen is ROB TV(Report on Business http://www.robtv.com ) Their business reporting, as far as the dairy industry is concerned , is not known for its balance.

This time around it was a one sided view of the Birch case (Squeeze Play-March 2,2006). It is an expanded 20 minuet version of the news report below, all produced without any comment provided from the province of Ontario (who is fighting the current case) or Dairy Farmers of Ontario.

Georgian Bay Milk, U.S. investors plan NAFTA suit vs. Canadian government
Canada Press

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

BARRIE, Ont. (CP) - Georgian Bay Milk Co. and its U.S. investors are threatening to sue the Canadian government over Ontario's dairy quota system.

The claim will be filed under the North American Free Trade Agreement, the Barrie-based company said Wednesday. Georgian Bay Milk sells milk directly to the United States and to Canadian processors who use it to make cheese and other dairy products that are exported to the United States.

The firm said in a release that its business "has been consistently under attack by the Dairy Farmers of Ontario, a producer group that is broadly empowered by the Ontario government to set rules for (who) is allowed to buy and sell milk and milk products in Ontario."

The DFO maintains a supply management system that requires anyone wishing to produce milk for consumption in Ontario to obtain a quota, now selling for more than $25,000 a cow.

Georgian Bay and the farmers who supply it don't take part in DFO's quota system and has exclusively used non-quota milk for its export business.

"With the blessing of the Ontario government, the DFO is now attempting to force Georgian Bay to abandon its existing suppliers and only use milk from quota-holding DFO members," the company said.

Georgian Bay says it can't comply with the DFO rules because exports of DFO quota milk to the United States were ruled illegal in late 2002 by the World Trade Organization.

Todd Weiler, Georgian Bay's NAFTA lawyer, said the Ontario government "has bowed to pressure from the DFO and taken steps to destroy Georgian Bay's business - costing my clients their livelihoods.

"Under the NAFTA, the government of Canada is responsible for all of the actions of its provinces. It will be the one to write the cheque."

© The Canadian Press 2006

A bit of sleuthing finds out who is listed as the NAFTA challengers. (See http://www.naftaclaims.com ) The challengers are listed as GL Farms LLC and Carl Adams. Hmmmmm!??! GL Farms LLC does not appear to be a processor. There is no information out there on the internet about them at all.

A brief look on the internet under LLC, finds out some fascinating information. You can purchase your LLC in Delaware, for instance, for about $1000.00. Not only that, under Delaware law, shareholders can remain anonymous. Foreign companies are welcome!

It doesn’t stretch my imagination much, to speculate that there may not even be any US investors, but a shell company set up by Mr. Birch and his co-horts, to hide who is doing what and to then launch their Chapter 11 challenge from the safety of a Delaware shell company.

Dairy Farmers of Ontario is an Ontario non-profit corporation set up and run by the dairy farmers of that province. Chapter 11 is an American procedure. Chapter 11 is a process Canada has no control over. We have historically lost all of these, as they tend to support American companies. How convenient to have an American LLC , that any foreign company can purchase, to initiate an expensive challenge against the government of Ontario and the dairy farmers of the province.

Add to this mix, the ROB Reporter believes and states, without any proof, consumers in Canada pay more for their dairy products than their American counterparts. There is ample documented proof at the DFC website( http://www.dairygoodness.ca/en/Media/home.htm ) that this is NOT true. This same old lie is trotted out, time and time again, the only reason detractors can think up to support their bid to destroy Supply management.

In Canada, there is no requirement or mechanism for the retailer to pass on ANY decreased prices, to the consumer. And there is overwhelming historical data that shows no matter what is happening to on farm prices, consumers never see the benefits. (See Feb. 20th posting)

A bunch of right wing reporters and an American lawyer!!!! Just what Canadian dairy farmers need! Total objectivity!!