Canada is a protectionist country. At least in every way that counts. Sure, when it comes to consumer goods and raw materials we believe in "free trade". But when it comes to brick and mortar services and operations, we love to impose foreign ownership rules.
This is ostensibly to protect us against foreign dominance in our economy. But one has to ask, who is this policy really protecting?
I contest that it does almost nothing to protect the average consumer. From our chartered bank system, to foreign ownership rules on telecom companies, media companies, and aerospace companies, the Canadian consumer is often the most disadvantaged consumer in the developed world.
Political parties like the NDP want to solve the problem through more regulation. In the case of banks, they want to legislate away the banks right to nickel-and-dime us with service fees.
You can always count on a lefty for more regulation. But this is really about the fact we have too much regulation as is. In fact, the regulation we have today is the problem. It doesn't need to be fixed with more regulation.
Anyways, I digress.
The whole theory behind the chartered bank system is that it provides "stability". Big nanny protects us consumers from making bad decisions, and depositing our money in all but the largest, most stable institutions.
The result? A handful of financial institutions have a collective monopoly, without any incentive to provide better customer service, and with every incentive to collusively charge monthly fees for chequing accounts and, in some cases, even balance checking transactions. Ridiculous.
Now don't get me wrong, I have nothing wrong with rich people. I'm a capitalist after all. But who's the government really protecting with the chartered bank system? The big rich banks and their massive profits? Or the consumer?
In fact, they shouldn't really be protecting either. They should be allowing more choice and competition, and by extension, giving the consumer more power.
The story is not much different with cellular phones in this country. As most Canadians know by now, we currently have the most expensive cell phone service in the developed world, and one of the most expensive in the entire world.
In fact, Canada is the only major nation in the world, where wireless penetration (the per capita number of people who have cellphones) has declined in the past 5 years, while wireless data rates have skyrocketed. The increase in rates has more than made up for the loss of customers, as an increasing number of Canadians cannot function without their mobile phones in our modern economy.
It might be different. But we have foreign ownership requirements when it comes to telecom companies.
While German mobile carrier T-Mobile operates in most Western European countries (and even the United States), and Vodaphone operates throughout Europe, parts of Asia, and Australia, they would not be allowed to setup a wireless service in Canada, unless they had a majority Canadian stakeholder. Translation: no external competition. Just big Canadian conglomerates.
Almost no other country in developed world stonewalls external entrants into their domestic markets. We do. We hold economic protectionism near and dear to our heart.
Does the average Canadian consumer benefit in any way? Only if you consider higher prices, and less choice beneficial.
It's not going to change anytime soon, either.
The Conservative government wholly supports foreign ownership requirements as demonstrated in blocking of the sale of MDA to a US company. And while they reserved 30% of the new wireless spectrum for new entrants into the wireless market, they precluded foreign companies from participating.
The Liberal's once mocked Stephen Harper for saying that "when he's through with Canada, we won't recognize it". Well the truth is, I still recognize it, and I don't like it.
I am a heavy wireless data user in Canada, and I'm sick of my $500 cellphone bills from Telus, while my American and European counterparts laugh at me with their unlimited $50 data plans. I am stuck with, well... no tenable choice as a consumer.
I am sick of paying $12 for a chequing account, without a minimum balance of $10,000, when I used to have free chequing accounts with my US bank when I lived there.
Canadian banks, cellphone companies and media companies are rackets. And the government is an avid participator in maintaining them.
The rich really are getting richer in Canada, and mainly because your government is giving you no choice but to give a select few more of your money. How is your government standing up for Canadians? I'm sorry, the Conservatives are "standing up for Canada" which is really code-word for "standing up for the status quo".
Don't even get me started on Human Rights Commissions.
