Left wing ideology will destroy Canada as we know it

Infectious "feel good" ideas are toxic to economic progress

I listened to Steve Paikin on The Agenda interview Tom d’Aquino, the former chair of the business council on national issues and a one time aide to Pierre Elliot Trudeau, who is one of Canada’s most distinguished business voices. d’Aquino had just published a book entitle “Private Power, Public Purpose”. The interview was troubling in that it evidences a curious mix of sensible views on how Canada has failed in its development of infrastructure and how corporations should be re-imagined to have social purposes rather than simply business objectives.

Neither d’Aquino nor Paikin belabored the point but it was pretty clear they agreed that corporations should carry not only the burden of business advancement but also the obligations to meet social goals. The term “ESG” wasn’t mentioned (or if it was, I missed it) but it was present in spirit. It is a “feel good” idea that is destined to harm our country, perhaps irreversibly.

Educated as a lawyer, D’Acquino has had a remarkable career and continues to act as a policy consultant at the highest level of corporations and governments. He is the founding Chief Executive Officer of the Business Council of Canada (formerly the Business Council on National Issues or BCNI). To the best of my knowledge he has never built a factory, designed a product, overseen the construction of a pipeline or an oil refinery, studies the inner workings of a paper mill or had to meet a payroll for thousands of employees. Beyond consulting and “advising” politicans it is hard to see just what he has done that qualifies him to advise corporations or governments on how they should set their goals. But he does, and his advice is in demand. He has had a storied career and has earned the respect of Canada but has become deluded by his proximity to left wing administrations and no doubt sincerely believes the policies he promotes are beneficial. Some are. Many are not.

The Business Council of Canada is one of the founders of the Coalition for a Better Future, a relatively new Canadian organization that has taken “feel good” ideas to a whole new level and has become the leading Canadian organization of “elites” promoting the ESG fad. I prefer the ideas of actual business icons like Warren Buffett who says he would not waste the time or money needed to embrace ESG reporting.

ESG adds a cost burden to corporations, since costless efforts to meet social goals take place without ESG activism. An ESG cost burden comes at the expense of returns on capital and punishes investors which include RRSP’s, pension funds, and mutual funds in addtion to shares owned by ordinary investors. ESG sets social goals not by elected representatives but by do-gooders who think their views on social goals are shared by all of society. Cleary they are not, particularly “climate goals” which are entirely based on political science and devoid of actual science, contravening the laws of physics when pretending that CO2 causes global warming. Market expert Aswath Damodaran calls ESG a “feel good” scam and I agree with him.

Like “climate change” narratives, ESG is predominantly a left-wing ideology, an attempt to compel corporations to sacrifice the returns economic success depends upon in favor of the flavour-of-the-day social goal - be it “fighting climate change”, “diversity equity and inclusion (DEI)”, LGBTQ+ rights, Trans-rights, “racism”, “environmental activism” or “homelessness”. We elect people to guide our country and set social goals and if we disagree with them, there will be a chance to replace them at the next election. Society’s goals change and democracies change governments to reflect its changing goals. Social justice warriors and non-government organizations (NGO’s) who promote a particular goal they embrace regardless of whether it is generally sought by society are unelected and cannot be replaced. Climate activists, Greenpeace, Sierra Club and LGBTQ+ activist groups are examples.

Left wing ideology has embraced so many “feel good” ideas it is almost impossible to list them all. Some of them make sense but many do not. ESG attacks on energy and pipelines are nonsensical. Developing our energy industry benefits all Canadians, and building pipelines is an essential part of that development.

Corporate profits are the engine of economic growth. Knowledge and competence are the bulwarks of success in high office in corporations or governments. Subordinating these obvious needs to some “feel good” leftist ideology like DEI advances no one but some activist or NGO and does so at the expense of society. Social progress is achieved (and has been since Canada became a country) through free market expansion of the economy and governments who enact tax regimes, public health care and education systems, infrastructure development policies like public transport and railways, housing policies that ensure enough home building takes place to accomodate the welcome immigration we invite into our country, and a system of transfer payments through progressive taxes, welfare and support for the disabled or less fortunate. Those programs cross party lines.

Wrapping itself in the mantle of social justice, left wing ideology seeks to break down the economic core of Canada, build big government in a high taxation state, increase public debt by adding reckless borrowing, compel behaviour, limit freedoms including censorship of free speech and make people dependent on government - a necessary step to advance outright socialism or communism which will be the end of Canada’s democracy.

Don’t fall for it. Infectious “feel good” ideas are toxic to our economic future.