Readers discuss the times the DND 'saved our bacon,' why Canada must fight terrorism, the nation's productivity woes, and more
Re: Canada doesn’t matter to the rest of the world — and it’s our own fault — Michel Maisonneuve, Jan. 6
Michel Maisonneuve’s article regarding the Canadian Armed Forces neatly sums up some of the issues facing this institution. We have read articles on this subject in the National Post before, however. Problems with procurement, recruitment, morale — the list goes on. It would be a refreshing change to read a positive article about the work that the Canadian Armed Forces somehow manage to do in spite of everything.
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How many times, for example, have they saved our bacon in emergencies like floods, fires and the COVID crisis? They seem to get precious little positive publicity for their work in these areas. Senior political leaders should be thanking the soldiers publicly for completing such missions.
They are operating abroad, too, in spite of everything. I believe they are considered anything but irrelevant in Latvia. They have handed over some of their armaments to the Ukraine — and are now, I suppose, prepared to do hand-to-hand combat if the need should arise.
Patrick McKitrick, Burnaby, B.C.
Re: There is no silver bullet to fix Canada’s productivity woes — Jack M. Mintz, Jan. 22; and An outdated myth about business investment is hurting the Canadian economy — Jim Balsillie, Jan. 13
Jack Mintz’s critique of my op-ed is either a misleading interpretation of my arguments or the latest display of his lack of expertise on the structure of the knowledge-based economy.
He makes several straw man arguments such as completely missing the point that it’s not about buying intangibles from others (i.e. Halliburton, Google, etc.) but rather owning enough ideas to sell high-margin intangible-based products/services to the world. He uses Canada’s investment in intangibles as proof of strategies he defends, but I wrote about the failure of ownership of intangibles despite those high investments.
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He also invents another argument I did not make, specifically that the domestic policy community only focuses on “nuts and bolts” machinery to the exclusion of R&D. My core argument, which he does not respond to, is that Canada owns so little of the ensuing ideas it invested into, both public and private, and this predicament in a changed world is why Canada’s productivity eroded over 30 years.
Robert Solow’s acclaimed scholarship predates by decades the contemporary reality of the knowledge-based economy’s IP enclosure and data-driven business models. Contemporary economists know that when the zone of competition and firm structure changes, policy strategies need to change. By applying Solow’s 1950s’ growth theory to the knowledge-based economy of 2024, Mintz’s column merely proves my core thesis: outdated thinking dominates Canada’s economic policy discourse.
Jim Balsillie, Chair of the Council of Canadian Innovators
Re: Canada chooses irrelevance as Houthis attack Red Sea ships — Jamie Sarkonak, Jan. 11
Citizens in prosperous western countries can’t comprehend that there are people who desire conflict and war. Those who desire conflict understand that countries like Canada would tolerate almost any threatening conduct to avoid it, and are asserting themselves in an increasingly co-ordinated manner around the world.
Russia invades Ukraine, North Korea threatens South Korea and launches missiles into the Sea of Japan, Iran uses proxies in Gaza, Lebanon and Yemen to attack Israel and international commerce, while China threatens to invade Taiwan in the near future.
Terrorists from a failed state attacking international commerce shouldn’t be tolerated; all options (including invasion) to eliminate the terrorist threat should be on the table. This should also apply to Iran as its sole international objectives are to spread instability and religious revolution.
Some conflicts can’t be avoided, only postponed; the longer the wait the higher the cost will be.
Gary Krieger, North York, Ont.
Re: An outdated myth about business investment is hurting the Canadian economy — Jim Balsillie, Jan. 13
We have a dearth of technology companies in Canada because our banks do not value and collateralize intangible assets including intellectual property. Companies do not grow into large enterprises in Canada. Instead, they are forced to accept impatient venture capital investment, whose goal is to force an exit of promising companies via acquisition.
This in fact is a stated goal of investor pitches my students make in their biotechnology business course. In preparing for a lecture yesterday, I found only 12 publicly traded biotech companies in Canada: one mid-, three small-, eight micro- and 10 nano-cap. Although the Government of Canada boasts that we have a strong biotech sector, it is full of mom and pop shops, which will never grow. This is why I have to tell my students to pursue their biotech careers in the U.S. Our brain drain will only stop when the Canada Innovation Corporation develops a strategy to value and collateralize intangible assets.
Derrick E. Rancourt, Professor, University of Calgary
Re: Don’t worry Alberta, freezing in the dark will become normal — Jesse Kline, Jan. 18
Industry analysts tell us that the Shell LNG port in B.C. will displace between 70 to 80 megatonnes of greenhouse emissions annually. Coincidently, charts from Environment and Climate Change Canada tell us that passenger cars and light trucks emit about 77 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent annually. So, instead of mandating that all cars sold after 2035 must be zero-emission vehicles, we could simply build another Shell-type LNG port, reduce emissions earlier, make a profit while doing so, and avoid the massively expensive conversion/replacement costs for almost all of the motorists in Canada.
Canada does not have a problem with internal combustion engines — it has a problem using hard science to most effectively and efficiently reduce CO2 emissions.
John Budreski, Whistler, B.C.
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