Think like Norwegians, Bell Canada stockholders

The world we live in is never entirely predictable. Take last week when small shareholders in Canada's largest telecom company urged the board and management of BCE Inc. to reject proposals that would take it private. The little guys want BCE to remain a Canadian enterprise. They like the idea of the 125-year-old Canadian icon being publicly-held. If the company goes private, then there would be no more shareholder meetings. So, in what could be a final act as shareholders, the investors voted in favour of a motion to change BCE's name back to Bell Canada — the name it went by until 1983.

It is also fascinating to read about what is going on in Norway these days. This socially conscious country has gathered a fortune of over $300 billion in the past decade due to profits from oil exports. Now it is pulling investments out of Wal-Mart and other big companies like Boeing and Lockheed Martin for what it calls ethical failings.

Rather than managing a gigantic nest egg for the best returns, Norwegians have decided use the money to advance an ethical code established in 2004 for their oil reserve, known as the Government Pension Fund. Weapons makers were the first target, and last June Wal-Mart was added to the blacklist of 21 companies.

I have to chuckle when a spokeswoman for Norway's Socialist Left Party describes the United States as “the greatest threat to world peace.” About half of the boycotted firms are American and the Norwegians say that shows how one country dominates the world economy. That is one reason why I'm leery of the Atlantica concept that is being touted later this week in Halifax.

A region of economic cooperation, which includes the Atlantic provinces, the northeastern United States and eastern Quebec, is one thing, but the forces unleashed by NAFTA have not proved particularly beneficial for Canada. I know Bill Denyar, CEO of the Atlantic Provinces Chambers of Commerce, thinks increased trade and commerce within this region is a good thing, but I'm not sure how much more economic collaboration will improve our lives. We already ship all our gypsum off to the U.S. and now they want our Digby Neck basalt.

The NAFTA Superhighway scheme from Mexico to Canada would only add to air pollution, traffic congestion, oil dependence, global warming, and human death. Local economics and quality of life would also suffer. For example, babies born in Windsor, Ontario, already have up to 287 industrial chemicals in their blood, according to a new documentary film. Toxic Trespass, sponsored in part by the National Film Board of Canada, is taking aim at the health impact caused by thousands of diesel trucks rolling daily through Windsor’s streets, plus the huge volumes of industrial pollution produced across the river.

Nova Scotians don’t need to be shipping all their natural gas off to New England, either. This province, according to an energy security report issued recently by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) is particularly

energy insecure. About 90 per cent of the energy consumed here currently is obtained from sources outside the province, with most of that originating outside of Canada.

Shouldn't be we thinking east/west and not just north/south?

I'd say it's time to start thinking like the Norwegians and those Bell Canada shareholders.