[Canada] Canadian Politics Redux

[Malthus]

Allegedly, oppressing the French has had a very practical upside - it has made Canada's banks institutionally strong! 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/top-business-stories/english-oppression-of-french-at-heart-of-canadas-strong-banks-study/article10967461/

the link does not work.

Globe's website is down. 

[Neil]

He's not really running in the West though.  It's from Ontario to the East that he's interested in.  That's how the Liberal Party operates.

Clearly Alberta won't have him, but would they have anyone running as a Liberal?

Of course not, at least not until they demonstrate that they're not the party of the enemy.  But even then, it'll take time.

[PRC]

Globe's website is down. 

That's bizarre, they've redirected to a Tumblr account.  Quick thinking on their part I guess. 

Are you a regular Globe reader and did you subscribe to their new-ish online service?

[Malthus]

Globe's website is down. 

That's bizarre, they've redirected to a Tumblr account.  Quick thinking on their part I guess. 

Are you a regular Globe reader and did you subscribe to their new-ish online service?

I get the Globe paper edition. I just looked up the story online, when their website was still working.

[crazy canuck]

Globe's website is down. 

That's bizarre, they've redirected to a Tumblr account.  Quick thinking on their part I guess. 

Are you a regular Globe reader and did you subscribe to their new-ish online service?

I am thinking about subscribing to it.

[Malthus]

Website is back up. Story is:

A new academic study says the stability of Canada's banking sector lies in history, specifically English oppression of French Canada.

The study by Professor Charles Calomiris of Columbia University, presented yesterday at a financial conference hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, cites several reasons for Canada's sound banks, which emerged from the recent crisis largely unscathed and are deemed as a model in the wake of the meltdown.

But rather than this being the handiwork of a string of governments, there's "a single, overarching factor" that shaped Canada's political economy, says the university's Henry Kaufman Professor of Financial Institutions in research soon to be part of a book.

"Following the American Revolution, British policy makers were determined to hold onto Canada, but doing so was difficult because the vast majority of the Canadian population in the late 18th century was of French origin," he says.

"Holding Canada in the empire required British policy makers to engage in a series of institutional experiments designed to simultaneously concede increased self-government to their Canadian subjects while limiting the political power of the numerically-large French population," he adds.

"They did not do so simply out of chauvinism; these steps were essential if Canada was to be an economically viable colony. The solution that they eventually hit upon was a federal system that gave the central government control over economic policy making."

Professor Calomaris cites "systematic malapportionment" in Parliament to hold the French down.

"In short, the need to solve a difficult problem of empire - crafting political institutions so that the French population in Quebec could not hold up the economic development of the Canadian interior - gave rise to a political system in which the central government had the exclusive right to charter banks," he says.

"Provincial governments could not create local, territorially-demarcated banks that could serve as the nucleus of an anti-national bank coalition, as happened in the United States."

In the end, he notes, the United States has suffered 12 banking crises since 1840, while Canada has generally sailed along nicely.

How did we accomplish that?

"The short answer is that the Canadian banking system has a very different structure than that of the United States; it has always been composed of very large banks with nationwide branches," writes Professor Calomaris.

"This has not only allowed Canadian banks to diversify their loan portfolios across regions, it has also allowed them to transfer funds in order to shore up banks in regions affected by an adverse economic shock. Nationwide branch banking has also allowed Canada's banks to capture scale economies in administration, while competing among themselves for business in local markets."

[viper37]

Allegedly, oppressing the French has had a very practical upside - it has made Canada's banks institutionally strong! 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/top-business-stories/english-oppression-of-french-at-heart-of-canadas-strong-banks-study/article10967461/

the link does not work.

Globe's website is down. 

Up now.

So, do you agree with the author's theory that French Canadians were oppressed by the British and English Canadian majority?

[viper37]

In other news, Alberta wants its oil industry to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40%:
Alberta's bold plan to cut emissions stuns Ottawa and oil industry

Alberta faces high hurdles with ambitious carbon reduction plan

According to Neil and other Kyoto opponets, we will now see everyone north of Edmonton be unemployed.

So, who's gonna pay Alberta's wellfare now that they are economically doomed?

[Malthus]

Allegedly, oppressing the French has had a very practical upside - it has made Canada's banks institutionally strong! 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/top-business-stories/english-oppression-of-french-at-heart-of-canadas-strong-banks-study/article10967461/

the link does not work.

Globe's website is down. 

Up now.

So, do you agree with the author's theory that French Canadians were oppressed by the British and English Canadian majority?

That isn't what the article says ... 

Oh Vipes, never change. 

Anyway, reason I'm posting it is simply to point out one of the benefits of oppressing the French. 

[Neil]

Actually, it looks like Britain saved English Canada from being oppressed by francophones.

[viper37]

Anyway, reason I'm posting it is simply to point out one of the benefits of oppressing the French. 

Well, French Canadians developped their own bank-like cooperative (Desjardins) to solve the problem.

Of course, the Canadian banking system is very centralized, but also very costly in terms of user fees and interest rates higher than in the US, and most countries. 

Same with cellphone companies, ISPs, cable, etc.

I haven't read the full study yet, don't think I'll have time this week-end either.  But the premise of the study doesn't surprise me.  Access to capitals was very difficult for French canadians, one of the reason why the majority of French Canadians are poorer than their english counterpart.  It brought some nastyness by the side, like over reliance on the Church, at first, and later over reliance to the State.  But it's no secret here that colonialism has never been very profitable for French Canadians.

But it's fun to learn that it was some kind of "intelligent design" from the Motherland

[viper37]

Actually, it looks like Britain saved English Canada from being oppressed by francophones.

Who knows how things would have turned?  60 million people in Canada, a productive indian&metis society, no entanglement in foreign wars (Boers, WWI), the Church's power in Quebec would have been much, much lower than it was, socialisme might never have gained such a foothold, no FLQ, no PQ...  Ah, you're making me dream Neil,  Thanks a lot

[Neil]

Actually, it looks like Britain saved English Canada from being oppressed by francophones.

Who knows how things would have turned?  60 million people in Canada, a productive indian&metis society, no entanglement in foreign wars (Boers, WWI), the Church's power in Quebec would have been much, much lower than it was, socialisme might never have gained such a foothold, no FLQ, no PQ...  Ah, you're making me dream Neil,  Thanks a lot

I'm thinking it would turn into Haiti North.  Civilization and the English language cannot be separated.

[HVC]

Actually, it looks like Britain saved English Canada from being oppressed by francophones.

Who knows how things would have turned?  60 million people in Canada, a productive indian&metis society, no entanglement in foreign wars (Boers, WWI), the Church's power in Quebec would have been much, much lower than it was, socialisme might never have gained such a foothold, no FLQ, no PQ...  Ah, you're making me dream Neil,  Thanks a lot

I'm thinking it would turn into Haiti North.  Civilization and the English language cannot be separated.

ya, without the anglo provinces around to funnel cash to the the franco side hypothetical franco canada would be in a sad state

[viper37]

Actually, it looks like Britain saved English Canada from being oppressed by francophones.

Who knows how things would have turned?  60 million people in Canada, a productive indian&metis society, no entanglement in foreign wars (Boers, WWI), the Church's power in Quebec would have been much, much lower than it was, socialisme might never have gained such a foothold, no FLQ, no PQ...  Ah, you're making me dream Neil,  Thanks a lot

I'm thinking it would turn into Haiti North.  Civilization and the English language cannot be separated.

ya, without the anglo provinces around to funnel cash to the the franco side hypothetical franco canada would be in a sad state

who knows how it would have developped without the British authority and the Federal government to prevent French empowerement?  Much less emigration to the US; New Brunswick, Manitoba,Ontario as French or bilingual provinces at the very least since the late 19th century, access to much needed capital to fund french owned businesses.  Anything is possible in Neil's dreamworld