Canadian Business To Fight BMD Decision

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce plans a big push with all political parties because of the economic fallout, president Nancy Hughes Anthony said Friday. "Some of our members equated it to the Avro Arrow decision, where they could see a brain drain that went south of the border with respect to engineers and people in the aerospace industry," she said. "Certainly many of our members who are in the defence and aerospace industry and high tech . . . are very concerned that even Canadian subsidiaries in American companies will not be eligible to participate." The Avro Arrow was an advanced supersonic jet built in Canada during the Cold War years. Nearly 14,000 people lost jobs at the Avro plant in Malton, Ont., when then-prime minister John Diefenbaker cancelled the program in 1959. Prime Minister Paul Martin announced late last month that Canada wouldn't participate in the multibillion-dollar missile defence plan proposed by President George W. Bush. "It's another irritant that's very hard for the American side to understand," said Hughes Anthony, who met with State Department officials and U.S. business leaders. Another quote from article: Hughes Anthony, who addressed an Energy Council gathering of executives and politicians, told them: "I hope we will be able to work with our government on that decision." She also assured them that Canadian business leaders reject any notion of limiting energy supplies to the United States out of frustration over trade issues. But she acknowledged that many in Canada are particularly upset their victories in softwood legal battles at a NAFTA panel and the World Trade Organization haven't made a dent in U.S. policy on punishing penalties on Canadian products. "There are some in our country who suggest that U.S. interest in our energy resources must be accompanied by a greater U.S. willingness to live up to its trade obligations under NAFTA and the WTO." Also: Mel Knight, a member of the Alberta legislature, said that province will remain a secure energy supplier to the United States, no matter what difficulties exist in the relationship. Read full article: http://www.mytelus.com/news/article.do?pageID=news_home&articleID=1869858 [Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on March 13, 2005]