In the debate over whether the partially state-owned energy company, Chinas CNOOC, should be given the go-ahead by Ottawa to take over Calgary-based Nexen, there is the danger that the discussion will be cast in an adversarial east-west context.
trade
September 14, 2011
2:00AM
Despite 22 years of free trade with Americans, consumers in Canada regularly pay more compared to the U.S. price tag on similar items. That fact has finally come to the attention of Ottawa: Canadians are irritated when they see large price discrepancies on the exact same products being sold on different sides of the border, stated Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, this in his recent letter to the Senates Finance Committee.
I share their irritation, wrote Flaherty, as he requested the committee study the matter.
