Thursday, April 09, 2020

Stepping Up


In our present situation, we need medical equipment -- lots of it. Linda McQuaig suggests that we look to history to see what can be done:

In 1940, when British forces had to make an emergency evacuation by sea from Dunkirk, they left behind virtually the entire British fleet of military vehicles. Almost defenceless, Britain turned to Canada to help it replace the 75,000 military vehicles it had abandoned in France.
In a highly co-ordinated effort, Ottawa created — almost from scratch — a vast industrial base that produced 800,000 military transport vehicles and 50,000 tanks, not to mention tons of other military supplies throughout the war.

What is required is leadership  -- like the leadership of C. D. Howe, the "Minister Of Everything" -- and a government which established 28 Crown Corporations:

Central to Canada’s massive mobilization was the creation of 28 Crown corporations, with a workforce of 229,000, dedicated to manufacturing war products, according to University of Toronto’s Sandford Borins.
Borins notes that many of these Crown corporations were impressive. Victory Aircraft, for instance, proved highly effective at manufacturing complex, British-designed planes and provided the foundation for the postwar creation of the supersonic, state-of-the-art jet known as the Avro Arrow.
Another wartime Crown corporation, Research Enterprises, teamed up with the National Research Council of Canada to design and produce technologically advanced radar equipment, periscopes, rangefinders and radio sets.
After the war, however, Ottawa was quick to transfer all production capacity back to the private sector. It shut down or privatized all 28 wartime Crown corporations, no matter how promising.

In the last fifty years, crown corporations have been seen as backwaters of incompetence. Private enterprize has been touted as our salvation. Now, however, private enterprize gets in the way:

Indeed, we’ve become so locked into this pro-market mindset that, even in the face of today’s deadly pandemic, Ottawa seems paralyzed to take charge in order to ensure adequate supplies of vital materials.
Of course, many companies have signalled a willingness to produce materials for the pandemic. But, without a powerful government agency overseeing production and distribution, we’ve been left scrambling to buy scarce equipment in a chaotic private marketplace, bidding against U.S. states and governments all over the world.

Once again, it's time for government to step up -- and do what has to be done.


Image: The Toronto Star


12 comments:

The Disaffected Lib said...

What you're advocating, Owen, is a rejection of neoliberalism. A return of Crown corporations. A steering of the economy by government.

The argument seems to be made out but I don't sense any appetite for it at the political level or from the corporate sector either. It would mean real sea change in our taxation policies, trade regimes and more. It would require the sort of leadership that could overcome a tsunami of opposition.

In the morning, before getting out of bed, I use my Amazon Echo to access a number of news podcasts - mainly CBC, NPR and BBC. I was a bit surprised to hear that the WTO has launched an advocacy campaign for a restoration of global trade, a "making up for lost time" approach.

Absent from the WTO spiel was any reference to the other dire challenges facing the world that will likely impact global trade every bit as much as Covid-19. Climate breakdown, global food security, the collapse of biodiversity and our staggering loss of resilience in no small part the result of globalization itself.

With that I muttered "fuck," got out of bed and let the dog out for a pee.

Owen Gray said...

It's always hard to displace the conventional wisdom, Mound. And neoliberalism is so deeply entrenched, it may be impossible to displace. Perhaps you could train your dog to pee on the appropriate targets.

The Disaffected Lib said...

It's a beagle, Owen, Beyond chasing rabbits, they're untrainable.

Rural said...

With millions of dollars being provided by governments to out of work individuals and a number of large corporations already crying for their share it will be 'interesting' to see how much support these same governments will get when it come time to refilling the coffers Owen.

Owen Gray said...

I understand, Mound. Over twenty-five years, we had two dogs. Both were lovable mutts -- part hounds. They followed their noses and peed where they wanted to pee.

Owen Gray said...

The people Franklin Roosevelt called "economic royalists" never go away, Rural.

Anonymous said...

The execrable Pierre Polievre was bemoaning the lack of support for business today on some CBC Radio show that was talking about the logistics of opening Parliament to pass the needed spending legislation. He said even the USA which is a divided society managed to do this. If he'd been nearby I'd have used a long stick to crown him. What the hell is the man talking about? This is about people, not the fat cats, but Pierre has the brains of a neutered tadpole like all Cons, and I cannot stand his voice, that a personal thing. You have kenney trying to ruin Alberta for his personal glory by supporting pipelines with "stolen" public servant pension money while axing jobs, and people out-of-touch with reality saying we should get on with completing TMX and CGL, because employment. Cognitive dissonance. The Cons never stop being complete dolts and pushing business interests. Any unifying thoughts for actual people they might have are repressed by ideology and personal wealth-seeking. At least, so it appears to me.

BM

Owen Gray said...

The virus has exposed many weaknesses, BM. But, more than anything else, it has exposed the bankruptcy of modern conservatism -- which has no credible program for dealing with this crisis.

John B. said...

Are we looking for a Minister-of-Everything? Let's be careful. When Jason played at being Harper's Minister-of-Everything-he Wants-to-be Minister-of, all he had to do was to shoot his mouth off the odd time and then go back as it suited him to monkeying with the business of others of Harper's reputed "Ministers". Like a lot other CRAP Party luminaries, this guy's been in a playground with no adult supervision all his life.

Owen Gray said...

That's the difference between Howe and Kenney, John. Howe was an adult. Kenny's just a kid who wants to get his way.

e.a.f. said...

yes t would be nice if we had some one take care of things an organize them. out here in B.c. we are being told there is a shortage of drugs and we will only be permitted to receive a 30 day supply. upp suddenly its a 30 day supply instead of the 90 day supply most of us are used to. now many are upset because they see this as a money grab. with a 30 day refill the dispensing fees go from 4 times a year to 12 times a year. that mounts up especaill if you are on more than one prescription. In my case it would go from $120 a year to $720--doctor ordered more drugs this would be a finacial hardship on seniors and low come earners. It would also create unnecessary anxiety for people with mental health issues and PTSD.

I would be interested in knowing if this is a problem in other parts of the country or just B.C.

we've heard its a government suggestion--not true.
a industry directive to drug stores
drug manufacturers shorting their drug stores.


been absent from the blog for awhile, broke the tibia and am now once again able to get to a comuter. however, the spelling mistakes will be over whelming. apologies.

Owen Gray said...

Stay healthy, e.a.f. I always look forward to your comments.