WIUTy FEp=REpSS, WEDNESDAY, AUGUS1T 9,1989, PAGE 7 PAGE S'EYEN-' NATIONALISM AMD PRIVATIZATION A big Ainerican mining company nmade a "friendly" bld for Falconbridge Mines last week. It may not happen because others, notably Noranda, are after the same prize, but once again, It raises the issue of how private compamies relate to the national' interest. The offer was labelled "fiendly" by Falconbridge because the shareholders wilI make a lot of money, but is it in Canada's best interests? Although primarily a nickel company, the jewel in the Falconbridge operation i8 the copper, zinc, and lead operation in Timmins known as the Kidd Creek mine. Originally developed in the late sixties by an American company, Texas Guf Sulphur, it was considered of sufficient strategic impor- tance that it was acquired for the Canadian government by the Canada Development Corporation about ten years ago. It was reprivatized by the Conservatives a few years ago and now is about Wo be bought by Aniericans again. Concern over foreign, primarily American, ownership of our assets is a cydlical affair. In the late sixties, more than 90 per cent of our petroleum indtistry and 50 per cent of mining was under foreign control. The then Liberal goverament was under a lot of pressure Wo do something about it. So, they started FIRA (the foreign investment review agency), NEP (the National Energy Policy), Petro-Canada and the Canada Development Corporation and through a pro-active process brought control of a lot of Canadian businesses back home. Conservatives like Wo think of that period as a "Liberal" period - they would neyer have done anything like that. But politicians are, if nothing else, pragrnatic and if Bob Standfield had been Prime Minister at the time, he too would have taken steps to increase Canadian control of the economy. Because that's what Canadians wanted. But tumes change. The nationalism of the 1970's tread on some well-heeled toes, and as concern about foreign control receded, concern over inefficient government meddling in the economy* increased. That paved the way for a free-marketer. like Mulroney and the graduai dismantling of the policies that were so necessary only ten years earlier. If the Kidd Creek mine goes Anierican, there will corne a time just like the seventies that a government will say it has strategjic importance and will want Wo buy it back again. It is the nature of our continental economy that private enterprise bas little interest in nationalismn. Only by active intervention bas the government maintained a semblance of control over our economy. The issues of nationalism, government ownership and privatization are inextricably entwined. But nationalismn is a two-edged sword. If the Canadian government were to stop the sale of Falconbridge, then Canadian investments in the States would be in jeopardy - and there are plenty of them, from one of the hottest gold properties in the world to the retail empire assembled by Robert Caxnpeau Wo the manimoth real estate holdings of the Reichmans. The U.S. governnient might consider any of these just as strategic as the Kidd Creek mine. Governments get into business for a variety of reasons. One is to exercise direct control over a strategic element of the economy - such as lectricity or communication. Another is Wo keep an industry with lots of jobs afloat until the market improves. The latter requires a heavy investmnent which is justified by the amount that would otherwise be spent on unemployment insurance and lost taxes. But rather than show this as a sauing, the company books are burdened with a growing debt. When finally sold, the company is awash in red ink - but only on paper - the government takes over ail the debt in order to entice a buyer. Such businesses look bad only because governments make them look bad. There is inherently no reason why the government can't do as well in business as private enterprise. With ready access Wo large pools of capital, they should be able to do better. If theéy hire good managers and keep the political fingers busy elsewhere, crown corporations can thrive. The bureacracy and inefficiency that they're noted for is due, not Wo any irîherent weakness as a business, but rather the bad example of a sloppy parent. Public enterprise should be just as efficient and competitive as the private variety, and when itfs sold, the public interest should be the only motivation. Some government enterprises do very well - such as the Saskatchewan Potash Corp. which the Conservatives out there are trying to privatize. The NDP nationalized it about 1.91 l'ni METHODIST TABERNACLE YOUNG PEOPLES' PICNIC AT ONTARIO LADMES' COLLEGE, AUGUST 3, 1914 Monday, Aug. 3, 1914 was a civic holiday in Wihitby. Picnics were held at various locations, including the Ontario Ladies' College and Heydenshore Park. The next day the First World War broke out, greatly affcting the lives of all Whitby citizens. Whitby Archives photo 10 YEARS AGO frn the Wednesday, August 8, 1979 edition of the WHITBY FREE PRESS " A 10-year-old boy, the first fatality in 16 years, was killed at the Farnily Kartways go-kart track on Aug. 4. " Bert Heaver, active in theatre in Whitby for more than 20 years, is the winner of the Peter Perry Award as Whitby's outstanding citizen of 1978. *The Whitby Rotary Club 18 supplying building materials for a school in Jamaica. *St. Marks United Church is sponsoring a family of Vietnamese boat people. 25 YEARS AGO &com the Thursday, August 6, 1964 edition of the WHITBY WEEIKLY NEWS *A ban lire at the Ontario Hospital resulted in $10,000 damage. *The contents of the old fire hall on Brock Street will not be sold, council has decided. *Mr. & Mrs. Frank Roberts of Byron St. N. recently marked their 6th wedding anniversary. 75 YEARS AGO from the Thursday, August 6, 1914 edition of the WHITBY GAZETTE AND CHRONICLE *War broke out in Europe on Aug. 4 as Germany invaded Belgium. À new waterways bylaw for the Town of Wihitby was passed by the Water and Light Commission* on Aug. 4. *The Victorian Order of Nurses is planning a holiday for Whitby's children at the Methodist Fre sh Air Home at the lake. /Iî/i4/f~/ :/4~,ij!~jI/jf t? k~'P 1 _____ _____ r r"" L' aî LLI