First Minister's Meeting in Ottawa

This past weekend, Gordon Campbell and the rest of the country's premiers and territory leaders went to Ottawa for the First Minister's meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper. While the rest of the country's leaders went with a list of grievances for the Prime Minister, Gordon Campbell arrived with just three demands:

• open trade
• open borders
• open minds

The first of which refers to the Asia Pacific Gateway project the BC Liberals have been working on, which will maximize trade with Asia-Pacific countries such as China and Japan - as Canada's only Pacific province, we are in the perfect location for such a project to work.

Open borders refers to the various tariffs between provinces that tend to slow down trade. To Premier Campbell's credit, TILMA, the Trade Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement between British Columbia and Alberta (to take full effect in 2009), is a huge step in the right direction as it will allow the exchange of goods and workers between the two provinces.

Premier Campbell clarified his final wish, open minds, with this quote:

"I think we have to find new ways of solving the problems that confront us as opposed to being upset that the old answers just don't work."

The problems he listed included competitiveness, productivity, the future of Canada's economy, and how to handle the slowdown of the US economy, which is so very closely tied to our own.

Granted, the meeting is over and most Premiers have only just arrived in their provinces and territories today, but all initial reports suggest the meeting was a huge success. Premier Campbell had this to say:

"There was a broad recognition that Canada has done well, but for us to continue to do well, we have to think in terms of our customers, our trading customers and the people that live here and build a bridge through this rapidly changing, and frankly, shifting economy, to an even better future."

I really couldn't agree more.

-James Plett