5. Sell off crown assets as a capital fund for the unemployed

Unpublished
17 November 1992

We all would like to cut the deficit or at least 'grow the economy'. The trouble is, noticing that the November 17th national edition was missing its editorial page, there is more than one deficit.
The Prime Minister recently appearing before a $500 per plate Tory fundraiser insisted on being politically correct for his immediate audience and their boardroom counterparts. Unfortunately, Mr. Mulroney's 'principle' of sustaining the wealth of those propertied persons with jobs and multiple pension plans is harming the rest of us who have yet to gain matching security under a Social Charter.
Acquisitive economies that hide behind the rhetoric of global competition are in for a rough ride. They are courting the very destabilization they profess to fear. While the impact and scale of migration of peoples from former colonized countries to the 'motherlands' has been considerable, in future population migrations it will be seen as a mere scouting mission.
There is a deficit of vision in segregating 'economic' from 'political' refugees. Such status-granting demonstrates not only an ethical deficit but also a badly executed shell game. First world economic protectionism has political consequences at home and abroad. And long-term unemployment is a form of economic persecution and a product of political strategy. There is also a deficit in projecting the consequences of current economic strategies. If the elimination of trade barriers and the free mobility of capital and jobs continues to erode the need for nation states, upon what consistent logic will any immigration policies be made?
Mr. Mulroney is right when he says there's no need to raise taxes or spend our way out of the recession. There is an alternative strategy, compatible with Canadian political tradition, which is to liquidate some of our public holdings and resources.
Now is the time to sell off crown assets - land, equipment, real estate and hand over the proceeds as a form of capital investment to the unemployed. The monetary value of such assets, from the National Capital Commission to the newest frigate, are never factored into the federal balance sheet anyway.
If such a deficit-neutral, doing-more-with-less plan is executed, my own preferred share of this pot would be the deeds to the modest Mackenzie King cottages at Kingsmere. In return I would be willing to tend the grounds, obtain at personal expense the appropriate uniform, and re-train as a cultural tourism guide.