Security trumps trade - always

Canadians baulking at today's U.S. Court decision to block the border again to Canadian cattle should think hard about this matter - not just because it has such a devastating effect on the Canadian beef industry. They should take note of the truth of Ambassador Cellucci's dictum "security trumps trade", as this will always be the guiding principle of any society. Without security any economy is threatened. We must create an environment of security to enable economic growth and trade. Canadians, heavily dependent on U.S. trade access, should be extremely wary of issues that affect U.S. security interests. Health security cannot be excepted, regardless of the political lobby pushing the U.S. beef industry's case. The best intentions of the Canadian cattle industry to push the trade issues at stake stand little chance against opposing U.S. trade interests that can play the security trump.

The solution for Canada's exporters? Elimination of the bifurcation of security at the 49th parallel. Without the border there is no trump card. The problems of the cattle industry in Alberta are the problems of the cattle industry in Montana. The politics of security cannot cannabalize industry under common jurisdiction. The billions of dollars of lost income that the Canadian cattle indutry has endured is an unfortunate consequence of the Canadian political reality. Our livelihoods need not be so threatened in a world where Canadians and Americans are united in politics and security.