24 — THE CITIZEN, Prince George — Thursday, November 22, 1984 OPPORTUNITY AT WHAT PRICE? 'Free trade a non-starter' n,<> Citizen An analysis by DON McGILLIVRAY Southern News OTTAWA - Canada isn’t going to make a free trade deal with the United States, at least not in this century. It is possible that in some far distant time, when the economic situation and the attitudes in both countries have been transformed, such a deal will be made. But if the Macdonald commission on Canada’s economy is toying with the idea of Canada-U.S. free trade, it should spend its time and our money thinking up recommendations with a better chance of going into effect. In economic terms, free trade isn’t a crazy idea. In emotional terms — the basis of Canadian nationhood — it’s still a non-starter. Free trade with the United States would, of course, open opportunities as well as dangers for Canada. To go into it suddenly would be a terrible shock to the Canadian economy, but if it were phased in gradually, the shock would become a challenge to Canadians to adapt to a more competitive situation and to take advantage of the wider market opened up by the dropping of the devices the United States uses to protect its local market against Canadian competition. The economic arguments for free trade were used last week by Donald Macdonald, chairman of the commission and former Liberal finance minister, when he said he person- PATS DINNERS ally favored a free trade treaty as the main lone-term solution to Canada’s economic problems. Macdonald stressed that the 13 members of the commission haven’t made up their minds about free trade, but there have been reports in Ottawa that the commission may go along with its chairman’s position. Canada is a poorer country than the United States. When a richer area and an a poorer area wipe out barriers between them, the less wealthy area stands to gain more than the more wealthy area. Perhaps that’s why Americans are so cautious about commentin on the free trade trial balloons that are floated from time to time in Canada. There’s no certainty that the U.S. would want free trade with us if we decided we wanted free trade with them. Americans no longer feel invincible economically. At the very least, they’d want to be sure that Canada didn’t become a backdoor through which all kinds of unwanted goods sneaked into the United States. There’s another reason for caution, of course. Canadians are extremely sensitive and Americans have learned to respect that sensitivity. It would take only a few ill-chosen words from an important American to doom any movement toward free trade. That’s because the free trade question won’t be decided on eco- nomic logic but on human emotion. Being a Canadian is largely a negative thing. It means, to many people, not being an American. We still have a strong strain of United Empire Loyalism in our makeup. One strong group among our ancestors were people from south of the border who were on the losing side in the American Revolution. That’s too long ago, of course, to keep this a separate country. But the decision not to join the United States has been confirmed again and again. Supporters of the free trade idea say, of course, that to go into such an arrangement would be far from deciding to join the United States. They cite the European Common Market. But the two situations are much different. There are language barriers in the EEC which don’t exist between Canada and the U.S. And the main partners — Britain, France, West Germany and Italy — are much closer to being the same size. Free trade between two economies, one about 10 times larger than the other, would be much more difficult to manage fairly. Ultimately, Canadians might decide that if their economic destinies were being managed in Washington, they’d need an effective political voice there. But the decision not to enter a free trade deal with the U.S. isn’t going to be taken on logic or any calculus of advantages and difficulties. It will be taken on the deep emotional level. Canadians are simply not prepared to take what Macdonald calls a “leap of faith” into free trade. And it isn’t only the middle aged or older Canadians who resist the idea. I tested Macdonald’s free trade proposition this week on a class at Carleton University with an average of about 22. Eighty per cent of the students voted against it. SATURDAY WEEK 4 WINNER PAIR OF WINTER TIRES YAHOO!! WE’RE SUNLAND SUB - Finally we’re in our new store . . . drop in today and take a look at our new look . . . we’ve got new lines in shoes, clothing, etc. ... Runners World Less protocol, pine centre mall more mingling 562-0120 BETH BRUDER of Prince George Beverly Griffiths, left of Sunland Subaru, presents Beth Bruder with a voucher-for a pair of winter tires to the value of $250.00. All entries received this week will go into our Grand Draw barrel for a trip for 4 to Disneyland. Keep those entries coming. Check Saturday’s Citizen for your entry coupon. The Citizens Now... a part of your Aday, too! STELLARTON, N.S. (CP) - Even dinner guests at 24 Sussex Drive will not be spared federal cost-cutting, says the hostess. Visitors to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney’s official residence are often overfed and in future their portions will be smaller, Mila Mulroney said during a tour of the riding that gave her husband his start in the Commons. The Mulroneys and their children, Caroline, 10, Benedict, 8, and Mark, 5, moved into the 30-room house Sunday and are “camping out, living out of packing boxes.” It will take time to get settled, Mulroney said, but she already has plans for changing some aspects of entertainment at the official residence. Less protocol at dinners and more mingling with guests are the objectives. And when the Mulroneys entertain, their children will be encouraged to join them at dinner so ‘‘they will learn to listen as well as talk.” Mulroney was visiting Central Nova, which her husband won in a byelection in the summer of 1983 after becoming leader of the Conservative party. He ran in Manicougan riding in northern Quebec in the Sept. 4 federal election. Although political success has brought a change in the family’s lifestyle, Mulroney said she wants to maintain her perspective and plans to keep returning to Central Nova “where it all started for us. “Because one day, when it’s all over, I want to know I can still be like everyone else.” The rigors of public life have already taken a toll on the Mulroney children, she said, singling out Mark. “Mark missed us terribly over the summer of election campaigning. He’s had a tendency to revert to being younger.” Caroline cried after a classmate at her private school told her she thought she was special. “It’s hard to watch your daughter cry. I told her all you need is one friend.” For her own part, Mulroney’s favorite pasttime, reading, has got less attention in her new role because “my concentration isn’t as sharp.” MAJOR MOTION Fllitll MKTf IlllWIWIIIWir--——------------------—■ - -------- Nissan has n AMR TVtan &#rp*/ttfnahm fir foJtvrduaU vtHiMnhl JkmdUapt |BADp \x,f^[0C/PMj THE :iVIC CENTRE..! Fft. Not. 2} 1J noon • t pm S*l, Nov. 24 tt (m ••pm Sun, Nov 25 It tm - 5 pm ^ SALE of ARTS CRAFTS # LIVE ENTERTAINMENT CUmjc*i Ouitartttta # CONCESSIONS ik RAFFLE of -HANDCRAFTED PRIZES ☆ DOOR PRIZE To Vineoj!*/" PW» ■Admisvof) i I* Children (l7 and orxJfr) Free PRICED KIND CAB COMPACT _ Truck pi Cmojim SmmmMM THANTOYOTA. And Ford, Chrysler and Mazda DON7EVENHAKEONE. Nissan Standard King Cab value and quality make it a tough act for our competitors to follow. But at $7,994*, it is definitely an easy choice for you to make. See your Nissan dealer today. See why we’ve sold more king-sized cab compacts than anyone else in Canada. 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