Why Mexicans Don't Drink Molson
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CHAPTER 10: A NEW APPROACH TO PARENTING
125 Don Martin, “Well-meaning Execs Not Wanted in Ottawa,” Calgary Herald, May 18, 2006.
126 The Conference Board of Canada, Death by a Thousand Paper Cuts: The Effect of Barriers to Competition on Canadian Productivity (Ottawa: Conference Board of Canada, May 2006), 17.
127 Roger Martin, The Demand for Innovation in Canada (Toronto: Rotman School of Management, August 12, 2002).
128 Richard Harris, “Canada’s r&d Deficit —And How to Fix It,” C.D. Howe Institute, Commentary, No. 211, May 2005, 4.
129 Roger Martin, The Demand for Innovation in Canada (Toronto: Rotman School of Management, August 12, 2002).
130 Mirko Bibic, “Cable’s ‘False Modesty’ Plan,” National Post, April 22, 2006.
131 Heather Scoffield, “Defer to Market, Bernier Tells crtc,” Globe and Mail, November 16, 2006.
132 Greg Keenan, “ GM Canada CEO Hitching Auto Maker to Knowledge Bandwagon,” Globe and Mail, October 7, 2004.
133 Laura Jones et al., Rated “R”: Prosperity Restricted by Red Tape (Toronto: Canadian Federation of Independent Business, December 2005), 10.
134 Derek Burney, “Foreign Policy: More Cohesion Less Pretence,” for the Simon Reisman Lecture in International Trade Policy (Ottawa: Centre for Trade Policy and Law) March 14, 2005, 6.
135 In a press release by Foreign Affairs and International Trade, “Pettigrew Announces Government’s Response to Export Development Act Review,” No. 107, May 18, 2000.
136 Kenny Zhang, “Recognizing the Canadian Diaspora,” Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, Canada Asia Commentary, No. 41, March 2006, 2.
137 Neil Reynolds, “An Economist Takes the Helm of the Canadian Ship of State,” Globe and Mail, February 8, 2006.
138 Jack Mintz, “The 2006 Tax Competitiveness Report: Proposals for a Pro-Growth Tax Reform,” C.D. Howe Institute, Commentary, No. 239, September 2006.
139 Roger Martin, The Demand for Innovation in Canada (Toronto: Rotman School of Management, August 12, 2002).
140 Ibid.
141 Katherine Harding, “Bold Strokes on Language,” Globe and Mail, May 20, 2006.
142 Sundeep Tucker, Victor Mallet and Kevin Brown, “Howard’s Blend of Tenacity and Pragmatism,” Financial Times, February 28, 2006.
143 Ibid.
144 Caroline Alphonso, “A Great Place To Do Business —Just No Beacon for Culture,” Globe and Mail, August 2, 2005.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
THIS BOOK WAS a three-year project, a passion really, and I have many people to thank in helping me realize it. I couldn’t have done it without the countless Canadian businesspeople, consultants, lawyers, bankers, academics and civil servants who, without knowing me, took a risk and answered my unsolicited call to arms. I thank them for taking a chance on me, opening their minds and offices to me, and inspiring me with their determination and desires for change. While I simply write about the challenges facing Canadian businesspeople to be globally competitive, they live it every day.
There are too many people to thank everyone by name, but I am indebted to a number of individuals who went to extra lengths to support me in this endeavour, either with their time and patient explanations or by providing me with valuable contacts. I am grateful to Pierre Alarie and Ian Mallory for their insights, Boris Rousseff for his unvarnished dedication to Canada, and Roy MacLaren, for restoring my faith in government. I would like to thank Howard Balloch and John Gruetzner for sharing their valuable knowledge of China. Also a thanks to Gary Comerford for taking an unscheduled meeting with me when I showed up on the wrong day, and Rick Waugh, who, true to his Winnipeg roots, agreed to an interview over the initial objections of his minders.
I would also like to acknowledge Roger Martin, whose incisive analysis first planted the seeds for this book in my head, and Glen Hodgson and Jayson Myers, whose grasp of this subject matter provided rich resource material. A warm thank you also goes out to David Fung, Tim Plumptre and Stanley Hartt. I would also like to extend my appreciation to William Polushin for his support. Last but not least, I would like to express my gratitude to those individuals who shall remain nameless, but who agreed to tell their stories despite the risk to their own careers because they believed it was important to share their knowledge.
Of course, none of their stories would have made it to print without the support of my publisher, Scott McIntyre, an ardent booster of the Canadian cause. To my editor, John Eerkes-Medrano, thank you for the thoughtful suggestions. And I must doff my hat to my agent, Rick Broadhead, who, in true entrepreneurial spirit, cold-called me after seeing an article I had written and asked me if I’d like to write a book. It just so happened I had one on the go.
The journey that brought me here actually begins fifteen years ago in Flin Flon, Manitoba. I took my first job out of journalism school at the Flin Flon Daily Reminder and my time there taught me more about Canada than anything before or since. From Flin Flon, I made my way down to Chile, Argentina, and Peru, before settling in Mexico. Latin America taught me that the little stories are usually part of a much bigger one, and I am indebted to the Financial Times for tutoring me on the workings of international markets and helping to hone my analytical skills. This book is an amalgam of those two very different, but essentially intertwined experiences.
Writing this book was a journey in itself and I would like to thank my family and friends for not letting me lose my way. I would like to thank Michele Mani for always looking out for me and Carla Kearns for her thoughtful assistance. I am grateful to Franca Festa for her unwavering support. Scuby, thank you for keeping me company all those years, I only wish we could celebrate together. To my daughter, Isabella, you taught me what’s really important. This book was a family endeavour and, above all, I would like to thank my husband, Andrea, for his unconditional support and faith in me. I couldn’t have done it without you.