There is a saying attributed to former Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker. When asked about polls, he employed the homonym of the word and declared that they were for dogs as they were the only ones who knew how to properly use them. Polls do get a bad name – …
Read More »Lunging toward the finish line
For those who have been pushing for Commonwealth free trade – specifically CANZUK as an initial phase – recent events have given much hope and buoyed spirits. There is an adage in show business that it takes years to become an overnight sensation, and a lot of intrepid souls know …
Read More »A plan to save the liberal global order in 250 characters or less
In this fast-paced world with news happening every minute of every day, it is hard to keep abreast of it all. After all, how does one find the time? The liberal world is seized by some form of ennui. Leaders are unable to articulate a vision of a world that …
Read More »A bigger world
The 14th Anniversary edition of Brent H. Cameron’s book, “The Case for Commonwealth Free Trade: Options for a new globalization is available now on Amazon worldwide. Rarely do we have the ability to gain perspective in the middle of a situation. Human nature dictates that we tend to the here and now, …
Read More »Eyes on the Prize
The second edition of Brent H. Cameron’s book, “The Case for Commonwealth Free Trade: Options for a new globalization is available now on Amazon worldwide. In 1992, I volunteered on the local campaign to seek ratification of the ‘Charlottetown Accord’ – a set of changes to the Canadian Constitution that were backed …
Read More »Griftocracy
The second edition of Brent H. Cameron’s book, “The Case for Commonwealth Free Trade: Options for a new globalization is available now on Amazon worldwide. If you look up the definition of the word ‘grifter’, you will get slightly dissimilar reads. The Oxford Dictionary defines it as “A person who engages in …
Read More »Zugzwang
The second edition of Brent H. Cameron’s book, “The Case for Commonwealth Free Trade: Options for a new globalization is available now on Amazon worldwide. Even those with a passing knowledge of Judeo Christian religious teachings are familiar with the story of Samson – his rise, his downfall, and the circumstances of …
Read More »Statecraft and Lawn Maintenance
The second edition of Brent H. Cameron’s book, “The Case for Commonwealth Free Trade: Options for a new globalization” is available now on Amazon worldwide. Many, many years ago, my father applied for a job at a lumber yard as a day labourer. He had left home under difficult circumstances at age …
Read More »Mind the Gap
The second edition of Brent H. Cameron’s book, “The Case for Commonwealth Free Trade: Options for a new globalization is available now on Amazon worldwide. This time last week, I sat in a pub in Westminster, about 3-4 blocks from Parliament. I was fortunate enough to be there at a significant time …
Read More »A Cringeworthy ‘Hinge’
The second edition of Brent H. Cameron’s book, “The Case for Commonwealth Free Trade: Options for a new globalization is available now on Amazon worldwide. A few years ago, historian and former war correspondent Erik Durschmeid wrote a book called “The Hinge Factor: How Chance and Stupidity Have Changed History”. I bought …
Read More »Time to Choose
The second edition of Brent H. Cameron’s book, “The Case for Commonwealth Free Trade: Options for a new globalization is available now on Amazon worldwide. In 2009, I had the opportunity to have a long and private conversation. My family was on vacation and our excursion took us in proximity to someone …
Read More »History Repeats?
On October 25, 1993 I saw something that I thought I would never see. It was election night in Canada, and I saw a government go down to defeat in, arguably, the most spectacular way that has ever occurred in a western Liberal democracy. The Progressive Conservative Party, which had …
Read More »A better way forward
When the British government handed over Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China, I was a staffer for a member of the Ontario Legislature. In the local constituency office, we had a television in the reception area that was normally tuned to the Ontario Legislative Assembly channel. In advance …
Read More »‘X’ does not mark the spot
The current turmoil over Brexit seems to fit the textbook definition of a pyrrhic victory. No matter what side prevails, for all the gains made, the losses will be heavy. To some extent, all sides will have lost face. The government will have lost face with the majority of voters …
Read More »A moment of decision
The second edition of Brent H. Cameron’s book, “The Case for Commonwealth Free Trade: Options for a new globalization is available now on Amazon worldwide. It is approaching the end of 2018, and the end of our comfortable complacency. Here, in Canada, we are entering a period of great uncertainty as our …
Read More »The 15 Year Road Trip
The second edition of Brent H. Cameron’s book, “The Case for Commonwealth Free Trade: Options for a new globalization is available now on Amazon worldwide. In 2003, I went on a road trip, from our home in rural southeastern Ontario, Canada to southern New Hampshire, about 50 miles north of …
Read More »A Plan for Brexit and Globalisation – in Six Steps
The second edition of Brent H. Cameron’s book, “The Case for Commonwealth Free Trade: Options for a new globalization is available now on Amazon worldwide. We live in a world where those for whom we looked to for answers are silent. Whether it be the chastening of the last two …
Read More »Killing The ‘Friendly Giant’
When I was a student hip deep in the study of third-year politics, I remember attending a class on public administration. I cannot tell you the date and time, but I recall one particular lecture that covered a subject that has stuck with me to this day. It was a …
Read More »Bungling over #Brexit, or Neofunctionalism in Action
We are creatures of habit – every one of us. When given a choice between the predicable and the speculative, we lean toward the familiar. Part of it is ingrained in our nature. Despite our rhetoric where we congratulate the bold and the innovative, the so-called ‘risk takers’, we are …
Read More »Quality over Quantity – How Commonwealth Trade is globalisation’s path forward
Most of what you will see written about trade among Commonwealth member states stresses the advantages, which are numerous – affinities that lower the cost of doing business by up to 19 percent compared to non-member economies. That matters, and could be sufficient in and of itself, but there is …
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