It’s good to see leaders acknowledging that Canada must be prepared to pay a cost to speak out against the Communist State.
Speaking to the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole acknowledged that Canada could pay a financial price for speaking out against China.
And we should be willing to pay that price, said O’Toole.
“We have to, as a sort of Five Eyes Alliance, counterbalance some of the bad conduct by the Communist party of China and recognize that there could be some disruption to export to that country. I think we are prepared to weather that storm to do the right thing.”
This is good to hear from O’Toole, as it is a rare example of a politician acknowledging the actual trade-offs that exist, and expressing a willingness to make those trade-offs.
China will try to silence criticism and make countries compromise their values by threatening to cut off access to China’s markets, and by really cutting off that access.
To have any credibility and strength, a country must be willing to pay that price.
That’s why Canada needs more domestic manufacturing, and why – as I wrote earlier – we need ‘climate tariffs’ on China.
Canada will need to be prepared to provide temporary financial support to businesses that are hit by a decoupling from China, and tariffs on products from China would be the perfect way to raise those funds.
Spencer Fernando
Photo – YouTube
