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Even tough he brought Canada five surplus budgets in a row my father will still roll over in his grave to know I went to a luncheon just before Christmas with the former Prime minister of Canada, the Right Honourable Paul Martin. Although he probably won’t be bothered quite as much as the time my sister tried to pick up Pierre Elliot Trudeau outside the House of Commons. Liberal you say.
Politics has always played a roll around our dinner table and I seem to recall many discussions about free trade with the United States and the possible erosion of the fabric of Canadian sovereignty and what it actually means to Canadians.
Over the holiday season on several occasions I ran into Kiosk operators who chased me down the mall trying to sell some kind of cleansing cream both in Lloydminster and in Cold Lake. Then in Sherwood Park, I was purchasing a good bottle of rum, but it was priced higher than in Lloydminster. I mentioned this and the dickering began and an adjusted price was settled on. Then at New Years in the Cross Iron Mall, again we dickered with a Kiosk girl selling her wares. The common denominator here was the fact that all these operators, when we queried as to their homeland, were from Israel. From here we went on to some good conversations.
Now if I were in Israel I would not think dickering or haggling was unusual as it is very much part of the culture done on the street every day. But in Canadian culture this practice is not really the norm and I am not sure I want it to be. I have become accustomed to traveling and dealing with bartering techniques in various countries or changing money on the black market and this is great when abroad. But at home in my country I am really not sure I could whole heartedly embrace it.
Although this type of entrepreneur may not be directly connected to free trade, it’s just another example of Canada being stomped on as we institute our multie cultural policy freely without rules or consequences.
Twenty odd years ago, when Canadians spoke up about loosing our sovereignty, I was one who said impossible. Today I am not so sure those folks weren’t on the right track and now with the European trade agreement under negotiation what are we to expect for our Canada?
Water is on everyone’s mind in all these trade deals, is Ministikwan Lake on the table????
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