I came across an interesting article today concerning Canadian management statistics, and the oft-discussed (in Sudbury, and nationally I imagine) debate over foreign ownership. The article is written by economist Stephen Gordon, and is a response to an opinion piece written by Jeffrey Simpson in the Globe and Mail. To summarize the post, let me quote the Stephen’s initial reaction to reading Simpson’s article: “Oh god. Economic nationalism will be an issue. Spare us. #budget2010”

I've been reading Dr. Stephen Gordon's work for many months now, and his blog has always been informative and well-written. Stephen is an economics professor working at Laval University in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. His thinking regarding the failings of economic nationalism would be widely unpopular in a mining town like Sudbury (yes, it is still a mining town, despite claims to the contrary). That being said, his thinking is not wrong on this issue.

In some of my history courses with Dr. Mark Kuhlberg regarding environmental history, and northern Ontario history, I was fortunate enough to learn some of the failings of the xenophobic policy that is economic nationalism. Many a time it was not the foreign companies raping and pillaging the landscape, but our own Canadian companies. It was the foreign companies who often invested capital into repairing damaged eco-systems and re-greening initiatives, especially in the pulp and paper industry. To be certain, Mark is an authority in the field of pulp and paper industry.

All that being said, I do see the local case studies regarding foreign ownership, primarily in the mining industry. Let's take two polarized examples; Xstrata, and Vale. When it came time to negotiate with workers in their Sudbury operations, Xstrata and the CAW agreed upon a new 3-year contract this year without a work stoppage. When it came time for Vale and the USW to negotiate a settlement, there was a long and bitter strike, which ended up lasting about a year. Cries of evil foreign ownership were rampant in the city, and still are, at least among many of the working class individuals in this city I've spoken with [Note: my father is a miner at Xstrata].

It's worth reading Stephen's posting about foreign ownership, for a few reasons. Pay close attention to the opinions of Canadian management regarding education, and their lower education than their American counter-parts. Also, look at the discussion of how foreign-controlled operations are run as compared to domestically-owned operations. There are many arguments on both sides of the coin, so don't just write off foreign-ownership as evil because it's a trendy view in the Nickel City.