Prime Minister Jean Chretien and other political leaders vying for votes in the coming federal election would be well advised to recognize the growing speed of globalization, says the head of Canada’s Business Council on National Issues (BCNI).
In a speech at the SMART2000 conference being held in Calgary this week, Tom d’Aquino said politicians are quickly learning that moving forward toward tax-friendly policies and a global business strategy by increments isn’t good enough any more.
"Let’s hope all the federal leaders recognize the urgency of what has to be done," during their election campaigning, he told more than 200 delegates Monday at the TELUS Convention Centre.6
"May we be spared the rhetoric of left versus right, of business bashing, and of slamming the rich. That’s old-style class warfare thinly veiled."
He noted that swift corporate re-structuring, the growing availability of venture capital and companies who are increasingly outward looking are issues helping set the new standard of business around the world. His main concern, he added, is that Canadians as a whole are failing to recognize the pace of globalization, and risk falling behind countries with far fewer natural resources like Ireland, Finland, the Netherlands and the U.K.
"Our greatest enemy is complacency," he said.
D’Aquino also warned that while globalization has created more winners than losers, the plight of the disadvantaged and the poor has become more apparent. The anti-WTO protests in Seattle were "a wakeup call to all of us," he said, adding a multiplicity of perceived injustices are now being blamed on business and globalization.
"I was there, amidst the tear gas and the smoke," he said. "Direct action in the streets is a real threat to democratic government."
Leaders of world groups like the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization and the World Bank must join governments and business leaders in explaining the merits of globalization and the benefits of free trade and open economies, which have helped raise the world standard of living and, through the use of the Internet, empowered individuals like never before.
The BCNI is a non-partisan and not-for-profit organization which acts as the voice of Canadian chief executives on public policy issues in Canada and globally. Its members head companies representing every major sector of the Canadian economy and are responsible for a significant majority of Canada’s private sector investment, exports, training and research and development.
