A6 OPINION PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY November 16 - 30 ,, 2016
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Breaking Point
By Rosette Correa
While anti-Marcos and pro-Marcos groups in the Philippines were going manoa-mano whether or not the burial of former president Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani was moral , lawful or acceptable , Fidel Castro , Cuba ’ s strongman , died quietly in his native Havana . The former president died of natural causes and was immediately cremated .
While most reactions were of praise , with the exception of government officials in Denmark , France , Germany , New Zealand , the United Kingdom and the legislature in the United States , many Cuban-Americans in Miami , Florida celebrated the occasion , most of whom fled the country when Castro took over , after he , his brother Raúl , Che Guevara and 80 others set sail from Mexico in 1956 to begin what became the Cuban revolution to oust the U . S . -backed Cuban dictator , Fulgencio Batista . Because of this , the US became his worst enemy , and Castro garnered a spot in the infamous roster of dictators that included Muammar Gaddafi , the Shah of Iran and Marcos .
There is so much to say about the similarities and difference of Castro and Marcos . Both rose in office in different ways - the first , a revolutionary who wanted to change the way Cuba was run by a dictator , and who himself became one in the end ; the latter , a statesman , former senator and political prodigy who became a dictator and was ousted by a peaceful revolution . Castro was a staunch fan of Marx and Lenin , while Marcos was an American in political policy - a believer in democracy , albeit , his own brand of it . Under Castro ’ s administration , Cuba became a one-party socialist state , industry and business
Two Peas in A Podministry for Filipino Catholics
were nationalized , and state socialist reforms were implemented throughout society . Marcos ’ similar ventures such as The Green Revolution , made the Philippine a primary cultivator of the IR-8 hybrid rice , and exported US $ 7 million of rice and became self-sufficient for the first time in history in the early 60s and 70s . He implemented reforms in business , education , housing , infrastructure , agriculture and primary health care , building seven major hospitals such as the Heart and Lung Centres , where foreign doctors would come and study with Filipino doctors . All of this under his “ dictatorship ”.
Both dictators , nevertheless , were also guilty of mass murder , freedom thwarting and illegal arrests . That ’ s what dictators do when people start to complain . Castro and Marcos both failed at congeniality , although the latter was certainly more charming than the former , to the point of comparison to Adolf Hitler ’ s charisma .
In the end , both were mortal , and while Marcos passed away in 1989 , Castro waited out a little longer . Marcos remained “ active ” in the Filipinos ’ minds because he was awaiting the chance to be buried as a hero , a claim he made even before he became president . Castro wilted away , battling old age and illness while his brother took over Cuba . In the end , both men were buried in a heroes ’ cemetery in the same year , one more controversial than the other .
As this generation pretends to be an expert on everything , because the internet says so , the world buries two former leaders , reduced to ordinary men in the end just like the rest of us , and who will slowly fade into oblivion because of a historically ignorant , morally inept , and culturally shallow world .
Asset recycling
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or even our BC Public Service Pension plan .
Who can argue argue against a massive investment in passenger rail ?
No one believes airport investment can stand still .
But Emerson wants to trigger this investment by putting the private sector in the drivers ’ seat .
Not only would private equity funds lease or own the assets , the investment bankers would control an investment bank – arms length from government – and make the investment decisions .
In other words , private bankers -- not Parliament - - would decide the shape of Canada ’ s transportation system .
And Emerson proposed this revolution be complete within three years . When is it coming ? I first heard about Emerson ’ s report in September . I saw a modest amount of media coverage in the business pages that month .
In October , YVR CEO Craig Richmond made his annual
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report to Vancouver City Council , which appoints a member to the YVR board . His assessment of “ asset recycling ” of YVR was so negative that council unanimously adopted a motion I moved directing the mayor to write to the Marc Garneau , minister of Transportation , rejecting Emerson ’ s proposals .
But just days later , accountants from a Swiss firm hired by Ottawa were booking flights to Vancouver to assess YVR for asset recycling .
The same week , finance minister Bill Morneau confirmed his interest in an infrastructure bank and earlier this month , the Trudeau government promised to forge ahead .
And Morneau ’ s financial statement just a few days ago confirmed what many now suspected : asset recycling , driven by a private-sector controlled infrastructure bank beyond public oversight , will be a reality .
Our ports and airports are for sale .
What does this mean for
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Canada ’ s airports ? Think about it . We are considering the sale of our airports to private owners .
What is YVR today ?
• It ’ s one of the safest , cleanest airports in the world
• It supports at least 23,600 direct jobs
• It ’ s a critical part of national and regional infrastructure
• It contributes $ 1.9 billion in direct GDP a year
• It sells its business expertise in world markets , managing many other airports globally
• It earned a surplus in 2015 of $ 131 million
• It paid a land lease to Ottawa of $ 49 million
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YVR estimates , based on recent international airport sales , that private investors would pay between $ 2.5 billion and $ 6.2 billion for YVR – the price would realistically be closer to $ 3 billion . This is not a gift . They expect to recover that |
investment at a profit .
These extra costs would have to come out of airport operations .
YVR CEO Craig Richmond – not a left winger – says this :
The privatization of Canadian airports would result in sizable annual costs that would need to be recovered through :
• I n c r e m e n t a l aeronautical or AIF revenue ( that ’ s airline fees and airport taxes on travellers )
• Operating cost reductions in salaries and wages or materials ( that ’ s you people – you have to take a cut )
• Reduction in capital expenditures ( deteriorating safety and security for the travelling public )
• Or all three .
You now better than I what this well mean for the travelling public .
Brothers and sisters , we have a big problem .
This is bad so many ways – bad for travellers , bad for workers , bad for our economy , bad for democratic oversight of
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our nations most critical assets .
I think we all agree Canada needs a massive investment in infrastructure .
I think we expect our pension funds help build that infrastructure , putting savings to work now to create security for seniors later in life .
But those investments need to create wealth for Canadians , not international bond holders . These assets are our economy ’ s crown jewels .
The Trudeau plan feels like we ’ re putting those jewels into a pawn shop .
We need to get organized but we do have allies , some of them unexpected .
They include civic governments , airlines facing extra costs , travellers put at risk and even our pension fund trustees , who need to work with us to find ways to mobilize our pension resources for better solutions .
I know Unifor will be a leader in the coming debate and I look forward to working with you in the months ahead .
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