C-FAR #317 November, 1997
Kyoto Agreement Could Cripple Canada's
Economy
Next month, there will be a conference in Kyoto,
Japan to try to hash out some agreement to cut carbon fuel emissions to
forestall the scientifically questionable global warming or greenhouse
effect. Of course, the Third World will be exempt. Canny observers see
the resulting carbon and fuel taxes as a plan to hobble Western economies.
Peter Stockland, writing in the Calgary Herald (October 27, 1997), noted:
" All the gas from last week's political blowout over the upcoming
UN summit on global warming has left me decidedly dizzy. ... My pins went
wobbly from two words: Cairo and Calcutta. ... In recent years, I've had
the chance to spend time in both cities. Their combined populations are
bigger than Canada's. ... I'll bet there isn't so much as a single catalytic
converter or other anti-pollution device anywhere among the 30-million
plus people who inhabit the two places. You don't have to be a media-proclaimed
environmental expert to detect the results. You just have to walk outside
and breathe. In Calcutta, you might as well put your lips on the manifold
of one of the hundreds of thousands of ancient cars, trucks, taxis and
scooters that clog the streets and turn the air into a deadly carbon stew.
At least then you'd only be sucking the poison from one exhaust system
into your lungs. As for Cairo, well, frankly, I'd rather take my chances
in the cab of Robert Latimer's pickup truck before I'd walk more than a
mile through its unbreathable streets. The pollution is so bad the air
is something you wash off your skin at night. These are but two of the
dozens of cities in the developing world where there is simply no thought
given to controlling fossil-fuel emissions. Is there any place in this
country that even faintly approaches the catastrophic level? I don't think
so. I do have the sneaking suspicion the accusations being made against
us are really a feint by UN bureaurcrats who know Canada is a pushover
anyway. I have a hunch their real goal -- in keeping with their exalted
status as planners of the New World Order -- is to seriously hamper the
economies of the industrialized countries. Why? Well, just maybe to force
upon sovereign countries such as Canada certain UN Utopian dreams of redistributing
wealth and power."
Writing in the Globe and Mail (September 19,
1997), Terence Corcoran explained that in Kyoto, "under the glare
of activists and the media, the nations of the world will try to agree
to curb emissions of greenhouse gases back to 1990 levels by the year 2010.
... So far, the options have been kept secret. ... In the name of saving
the planet from a hypothetical increase in global temperatures over the
next 100 years, Ottawa will be looking at soaring energy prices, major
economic disruptions, rising unemployment and staggering lost growth. ...
For a sample of the economic impact of greenhouse gas controls, consider
the findings of the simulation prepared by DRI/McGraw-Hill for Environment
Canada. ... If Canada were to adopt a carbon tax or tradeable emissions
regulation to meet the 2010 targets, energy prices would have to rise by
50 per cent. The impact on growth would lower Canada's GDP by more than
two per cent below forecast potential through most of the decade. The dollar
value of that lost growth ... between now and 2012 would be about $150-billion.
... Indeed, the value of the lost output would be more than double the
losses that occurred during the recent recession. And the impact of the
Big Dipper on employment, living standards and key industries would far
exceed the impact of that recession. Some provinces, notably Alberta, would
be hard hit, with sharp declines in output and population growth rates."
The amazing thing about negotiations thus far
is that the befouling Third World would be exempt. "The Americans
demand participation in the treaty by developing countries, which are expected
to lead the growth in greenhouse-gas emissions." (Calgary Herald,
October 26, 1997) Here is just one example:"People killed or tortured
120 orangutans that were forced out of their habitat by wildfires that
have raged through Borneo island. Willie Smits, chief of the Wanariset
Samboja conservatory for the red-haired apes, said the animals were captured
by villagers who beat or killed them. Some younger ones were sold for up
to $100, he said, without specifying the number killed. Raging forest fires
in Indonesia have smothered vast parts of the country and Southeast Asia
with a smoky haze for months. Authorities ordered villagers not to harm
tigers, monkeys and other rare wildlife forced into populated areas. The
island is home to an estimated 20,000 orangutans. (Toronto Sun, October
27, 1997)
APEC Summit to Cost Canada More
than $50-Million
Canada's googoo-eyed pursuit of a pot of gold
at the end of the Asian rainbow has led us to host a week-long meeting
in Vancouver, November 19-25. It is turning into a high-security and high-cost
affair, generating gripes from the City of Vancouver. Ottawa's cost for
the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation [APEC] forum ... will reach $50-million.
... Security costs alone were originally predicted by the RCMP at $20-million.
... The B.C. government is spending at least $5-million in providing conference
facilities. The federal government also expects the City of Vancouver to
pick up about $1.5-million of costs. The largest unrecoverable cost is
protecting several of the APEC leaders whose authoritarian or unpopular
governments make them a target for protest or attempted assassination.
... Indonesia's President [Suharto] sought special assurances about security
arrangements before announcing last Wednesday that he would attend. ...
The City of Vancouver planned to spend $700,000 as its share of preparations
and security. However, it now expects more than $1.5-million in costs that
include policing, the welding shut of manhole covers, removal of newspaper
boxes or garbage cans, and the checking of trees for snipers or bombs on
streets used by the motorcades.
Assigning a 500-member squad of Vancouver police
officers to APEC for eight days will cost an extra $1-million above normal
policing. ... 'We were led by the federal government to believe our original
$750,000 estimate was reasonable,' Councillor Lynne Kennedy said, 'but
we're horrified with the cost escalation.' ... Officials have banned vehicles
stopping or parking in much of the city core, and will halt traffic, altogether
when whisking the 18 visiting leaders to and from APEC meetings. ... It
is unclear how Vancouverites -- especially commuters from the sprawling
suburbs who are poorly served by mass transit and are starting to experience
road rage incidents during morning and evening congestion will react."
(Globe and Mail, October 13, 1997)
In catering to some of the tinhorn Asian strongmen,
Canada risks putting free speech in danger. John Curtis, a senior policy
advisor in the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, told
a luncheon meeting at the Europe, North America and Asia Pacific: Co-operation
or Conflict? conference in Calgary, October 25 :"Time has been spent
assuring various leaders that they won't be insulted in Vancouver. There
is a fear that the People's Summit nearby might raise other issues"
that would embarrass these leaders. He later mentioned after his talk that
Indonesia's Suharto was one leader seeking such assurances.
Feds to Fund "People's Summit"
As Well
Not only are taxpayers funding the official APEC
conference, but we are on the hook for much of the costs of a left-leaning
counter conference by activists concerned about environmental and human
rights issues in Asia. Commendable or not, their efforts should be funded
out of their own pockets. This being Canada, the taxpayers are on the hook.
Rising in Parliament, Claudette Bradshaw, parliamentary secretary to the
Minister for International Co-operation, stated: "The Government of
Canada has provided $195,000 to the People's Summit: $170,000 to help cover
in-Canada logistical and administrative costs related to the organization
of the event; and $25,00 to assist the People's Summit in developing an
interactive Internet-based electronic conference that will provide a forum
for an exchange of views. The Government of Canada is the People's Summit's
largest contributor." In addition, "CIDA is already supporting
several of the organizations involved in the People's Summit for their
ongoing work in developing countries." (Hansard, October 31, 1997)
Western Businessmen Constantly Misread
Asia, Says Survey
Western multinational companies are in danger
of developing a negative image of Asia's business climate in the wake of
financial turmoil that has ravaged the area's economies, a report says.
The Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (Perc) report
released over the weekend said many Western firms had come to Asia with
overly positive assumptions of the region. Western multinationals have
a history of blithely misreading the Asian business environment and such
ill-conceived perceptions should be quickly recognised, tackled and resolved,
Perc said. The report said it surveyed expatriate businessmen in the region.
It outlined many of the faulty positive assumptions Western firms had made
of Asia in the past. 'The head office forgets how inefficient China is,'
Perc said. In Japan, these companies often overestimate the ability of
an investor to change entrenched traditional ways.
The misconceptions about Southeast Asia, where
the recent financial crisis first erupted with the devaluation of the Thai
baht in early July, were particularly striking, the report said. One example
was Malaysia. 'The most serious misconception about Malaysia held by head
offices until very recently is . . . the idea that Malaysia is a far easier
and safer place to do business than it is in reality,' Perc said. 'Both
the regional financial crisis and [Malaysian Prime Minister] Mahathir's
sharp reaction to it have served as a timely reminder that personalities
rather than formal institutional mechanisms remain the key driving forces
in both economic and political affairs in Malaysia,' it said. Perc said
Indonesia put a premium on personal relationships that were 'far more important'
than head offices realised, resulting in the frequent underestimation of
the length of time it took to get things done. Businesses often mistakenly
viewed Thailand as being rich in skilled labour. 'Indeed, the opposite
is true,' it said. In Singapore, head offices often forgot about the high
cost of doing business in a city-state and how far it was from other countries
like China, Japan, South Korea and India. (South China Morning Post, November
10, 1997)
Liberal Donors Get CIDA Contracts
"The Reform Party says 70 per cent of the
companies that received contracts from the Canadian International Development
Agency {CIDA] last year also donated to the Liberal Party. 'A whole pile
of Liberals are getting a whole pile of contracts after they have given
a whole pile of cash to the Liberal Party, Reform MP Deborah Gray said
[October 21]. Former Liberal cabinet minister Marc Lalonde, she said, is
associated with a Quebec firm that donated $80,000 during the past two
years and received a 'payoff' of $80-million in CIDA contracts." (Globe
and Mail, October 22, 1997)
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