Something
Ventured:
March 21st, 2003
By Brent
Holliday
Greenstone
Venture Partners
"Paranoia
strikes deep,
Into your life it will creep,
It starts when you're always afraid,
You step out of line,
The man come and take you away.
We better stop, hey, what's that sound,
Everybody look what's going down "- Buffalo
Springfield, For What It's Worth
There
have been many editorial cartoons lampooning the US war
in Iraq and Canada's fence-sitting and final refusal to
fight. If I could draw, I would summarize the current
Canadian perspective as a beach scene with a big, beefy
Uncle Sam pummeling a skinny kid, named Hussein, while
looking over his shoulder at an equally skinny Jean
Chretien. The skinny Chretien is taunting the big bully,
calling him "moron" and "bastard".
Of course, the striking thing about the image is that
the skinny Chretien is a siamese twin, attached at the
hip to the big bully.
Pick
up any Canadian paper or watch Belle
Puri's CBC report that interviewed Darcy Rezac of
the Vancouver Board of Trade, Jim Pattison the and
various other BC business luminaries and the rhetoric
about our lack of participation in the war on Iraq is at
a fever pitch. Business is wringing its hands about the
coming economic backlash of our federal government's
apparent disdain for the Bush administration.
I
have been a huge proponent of Canada and the Canadian
technology industry (with particular focus on BC) for
the past few years. My venture firm has staked its core
differentiation on the ability to work cross-border with
American firms, American subsidiaries and American
investors. So I feel particularly exposed to the
argument being made that the US will not cooperate
economically with Canada going forward. I also feel that
I am well-positioned to offer up a completely counter
argument: This Canadian-created worry about a backlash
is all a bunch of crap.
Whatever
you think of the war and Canada's lack of participation
in it, I want to quash this whole concept of it hurting
our economic relations with the US. It just ain't gonna
happen.
There are two reasons:
1) We, as Canadians are hypersensitive to our relations
with the US and are blowing everything out of proportion
2) Americans, first and foremost, are capitalists and
will only carry their principles to a certain extent…
as long as it doesn't hurt their ability to make a
profit
Now,
maybe I didn't get the memo from the right-wing,
capitalist propaganda office that says that I should be
towing the line and making lots of hay out of the threat
of economic disaster from the US. After all, it's a nice
counter argument to the left's principles of staying out
of a war that was going to happen whether we joined or
didn't join. I mean, gosh wouldn't it be nice to know
that we weren't among the "coalition of the
willing" and feel all warm and fuzzy inside as we
stand in the unemployment line because our job just went
to Spain.
Like
most business leaders and pundits, it frustrates me that
we can be as hypocritical as we appear to be in not
joining the mother of our economy and our security in
what would amount to a token gesture. But at the same
time, I cannot subscribe to the "sky is
falling" scenarios that business leaders are
touting in the papers today.
We
are a funny bunch as Canadians. Yes, that is a double
entendre. We can be as witty, sarcastic and
self-deprecating as the best of them (Rick Mercer's rant
that is making the rounds on the Internet is a great
example). And yet, we are fiercely proud in our own way.
We generally think we are smarter than the Americans. We
definitely think we walk a higher moral ground. But,
c'mon, if we weren't the US's largest trading partner,
where would we be? Selling furs to Europe?
Let
me say it again to the Canadian business community...
you are over-reacting. Most Americans are fixing their
current disdain on the French. Canada is not appearing
on the radar. And in a year, all of this will be
forgotten because every nation, under the banner of the
UN, will be instrumental in helping Iraq, Afghanistan
and other failed nations in the Gulf. The only exception
that I can see in the US is Cuba. For some reason, that
will likely disappear with one more generation removed
from the '62 missile crisis, Cuba remains on the s**t
list in the US. Believe it or not, Jean Chretien is not
Fidel Castro.
Sure,
relations have soured with the Bush Administration. But
economics always wins over common sense. Which brings me
to the next point, they need us.
We
are their number one export nation. Twenty-five percent
of what Americans ship out of their country comes here
(mostly in the auto industry). They need our wood,
despite the softwood controversy. They need our oil,
especially after this invasion. And increasingly, they
need our technology. But most importantly, they love our
dollar. In the film, technology and tourism industries,
Americans come here to save big dollars.
Americans
will always put profit ahead of minor scuffles and
spats. As an example, the US home building industry is
our forestry industry's best friend. They are sick of
over-priced, inferior US softwood and are lobbying to
get Canadian wood back. Sure, politics plays a role in
dumb decisions in the US, but dumb decisions to save
American jobs and get votes will not be done to piss
Canada off for not being in a coalition.
Our
border will not be walled off, as a columnist suggested
in the Globe and Mail this morning. Gotta sell
newspapers, I guess. The terrorist attack of 9/11 is the
reason we will always have tight borders, but the US
buyers of the 80% of Canadian exports headed that way
are not going to let their business suffer too long. And
they will certainly rail against any increased border
wait times just to make a point to the sniveling
Canadians. Give me a break.
Here
is what we need to take away from all of this
hullabaloo. We need to start doing business with
Americans the way that they do business and politics
under Bush. We need to be hard-nosed, non-apologetic and
quit being pathetic whiners in the face of controversy.
Fine, Chretien made his decision. Instead of shivering
in fear that the big, bad Americans will crush your
business, wake up, give you head a shake and realize
that a few loud-mouthed news people and some disgruntled
politicians in the US do not make up your customer base.
We need them and they need us. Once the conflict is over
and the businesses have stopped watching CNN, go about
your business.
What Do You Think? Talk
Back To Brent Holliday
Something Ventured is a bi-weekly column designed
to supplement the T-Net British Columbia web site with
some timely, relevant and possibly irreverent insight
into the industry. I hope to share some of the
perspective and trends that I see in my role as a VC.
The column is always followed by feedback (if its
positive or constructive. I'll keep the flames to
myself, thanks).
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