Examining PotashCorp patriotism

I don’t know about you, but I loved Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall’s passionate plea not to sell PotashCorp. It is rare indeed when a Canadian politician, and a premier to boot, can pluck at our somewhat atrophied nationalist heartstrings.

It is a difficult debate, one which pits emotional pull and legitimate fears of lost jobs and revenue against free market ideals and shareholder rights. But no matter which side of the divide you fall, boosters for both are being a bit disingenuous.

Dick Haskayne, the former chair of TransCanada and a leading defender of the Keep Potash Canadian team, argues that Potash has the ability to be a great Canadian champion. I am not so sure. Left to its own devices, nine of the company’s 12 senior executives moved to Chicago. It’s only now that the spotlight is on that the company is promising to repatriate to Saskatoon. By the same token, while everyone is bemoaning the potential loss of Canpotex, Potash’s marketing cartel, should BHP Billiton’s bid succeed, it’s a lazy way of doing business.

The pro-sell side isn’t bullet-proof either. John Manley, the CEO of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives and former federal Industry minister, says blocking this sale will tarnish Canada’s international reputation as a country open for business.

Really? We’re practically the only industrialized country in the world that doesn’t let foreigners own mobile telephony operations, which to me is an even greater stain on our image and a huge competitive disadvantage. Yet we don’t seem to care.  That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t. We should care what happens to Potash. At the very least we can use this as an opportunity to take an honest inventory of what it means to be open for business and what a Canadian company is.