U.S. To Canada: Who's Your Daddy Now?

Actually, there is a whole lot of crying going on north of the 49th parallel. But most of it is of the blood-curdling, not weeping-wuss, variety. Here's what one charter free trader, Canadian Senator Pat Carney, offers: "I always said they (the U.S.) were jackboot negotiators. . .We will have to see now whether it (NAFTA) unravels totally after this." Adds Derek Burney, one of the architects of the original deal with the States: "This is the tactic of the schoolyard bully, which was exactly what we were trying to prevent when we negotiated the free-trade agreement. . .It's beyond the pale." And, says veteran trade mandarin Gordon Ritchie: "There is a strong case to be made that when you're dealing with a bully, and the bully punches you, you should punch him back." Strangely, that's what I thought we had been doing lo' these past few years to our fat-bellied American cousins every time they squealed when our lumber producers simply showed themselves to be better, more productive and competitive than their own homegrown varieties. Canada has won every challenge at every bi-lateral commission since the dispute blossomed more than three years ago. http://canadaeast.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050826/TTCOLUMNIST81/50826030/-1/MONEY

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