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Question 9: Prosperity

Should Canada focus on cultivating new economic partnerships with emerging powers such as China, India, Mexico and Brazil?

 

 
 
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Contributor:1868
Date: 2003-05-01 03:04:16
Answer:
I think we should diversify as much as we can. Having too much trade with any one country, whether the US or China, makes us vulnerable. Also we can help poorer countries by giving them markets for their goods. However, when dealing with countries where human rights abuses are prevalent I think we should limit trade and use it as a lever. The Team Canada missions to China strike me as a shameful abandonment of morals for the sake of making money. Most consumers don't know about the forced labour camps in China that make consumer goods for export. This isn't a practice we want to support. As trade with China has increased, human rights abuses have not decreased but have increased. We will not solve human rights issues by increasing trade (note the study by Ed Broadbent - sorry I can't provide details). So I think we should try a different tack.
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