Oil obsession a disaster for Canada

Re The economic conversation we need, Opin

ions Aug. 16 This is another one of an excellent series of articles published in recent days in the Star. It reminds me of my earlier conclusion that the Canadian economy has, for at least the last 60 or 70 years, been based on the principle: Dig it out of the ground and sell it to whoever wants it. Examples are potash, coal, iron ore, uranium ore, and now crude oil from tarsands (recently renamed oilsands).

Instead of using some of these resources within Canada to manufacture goods, their export also involved exporting manufacturing jobs to other countries, including the U.S. Stephen Harper’s promotion of tarsands tied the Canadian dollar to oil price fluctuations.

The great rise in oil prices, and hence in our dollar, decimated Ontario manufacturing, and resulted in Ontario becoming a have-not province due to unemployment and lost revenue.

Now the great fall of the dollar due to the fall in oil price is destroying the economy of the entire country. A resulting fall in the revenues of all govern- ments is causing deficits.

The oil-related policy of Harper is no vision. It has proved to be a disaster for Canada. Our economy should be based on the principle “Make it here.” All governments in Canada should promote manufacturing.

There should be a 50 per cent penalty/ tax on dead money of corporations, to goad them into manufacturing. Is there a Canadian car manufactured here? And I don’t mean Ford, GM, Toyota, etc. which have branch plants here. Anyone remember Studebaker? Avro Arrow? Jaggi Tandan, Hamilton