July 03, 2015

The best country in the world …

located:	Canada
editor:	Ama Lorenz

… is Canada - according to Stephen Harper, current Prime Minister of Canada and the Leader of the Conservative Party. He might be right in this point. But many Canadians feel, that's not necessarily the merit of his current term of office.

In October 2015, the Canadian House of Commons will be reelected. Ten months before the elections, all signs point to change. Although Stephen Harper won an absolute majority at the previous general election in 2011 and the Conservative Party can govern alone, their approval ratings took drop steadily since then. One of the factors for the dwindling popularity of the Conservatives in the population is the fraud and bribery scandal to the, by Harper designated Senator, Mike Duffy. He is facing a total of 31 charges, among other things the misappropriation of public funds. The trial will over time move into the hot phase of the election campaign. But not this alone could have a negative impact on Harper and his party’s results.

27 years after the execution of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Canada has to deal with more investment arbitration than any other industrialized country. Even the historic Saint Lawrence River - the river, over which the European settlers have developed Canada - is affected. The province of Quebec has had imposed a moratorium on oil extraction on the river to prevent hydraulic fracturing (fracking), a controversial extraction process, which is banned in France and other countries. As a result, the Canadian government has been sued by a company $ 250 million, which is headquartered in Canada, but is registered in the United States.

In the small town Digby, a picturesque fishing village near the popular Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, a joint committee of federal and provincial authorities rejected a quarry after a thorough assessment. The Canadian government has to pay for it, because the company Bilcon won an investment arbitration.

In the province of Newfoundland and Labrador existed once a plan for economic development, which called for a contribution by petroleum companies for oil research. The referee decided that this requirement hinders the profit of this company and Canada paid $ 17.3 million.

Money spent on cases like that, is money missing somewhere else. Cuts in social and medical areas, missing infrastructures, …

After eight years in office that left little room for innovation and change, it might therefore be difficult for Harper to be elected prime minister of “the best country in the world” a third time.

More about the elections 2015 in Canada