Canada takes it up the ass, asks for more

Canada and the U.S. signed a deal yesterday to put an end to the long-simmering trade dispute over softwood lumber. As if this in itself isn't fascinating enough, there's a dimension to this particular agreement that really pisses me off:

Canada already won this dispute. The U.S. lost, but they refused to pay compensation. So Canada caved and re-negotiated, agreeing to a new deal that has the entire Canadian forestry industry up in arms.

I'm not an expert on business news. Quite frankly, anything to do with the exchange of capital from one group of greedy bastards to another bores the shit out of me. But what I do know is that the U.S. for the last several years has slapped punitive import duties on Canadian softwood lumber, to the tune of $4 billion, citing unfair government subsidization.

Canada took the U.S. to the NAFTA panel, and won. The U.S. appealed, and we still won.
Canada took the U.S. to the World Trade Organization and won. They appealed, and we still won.

Get the picture?

The previous federal Liberal government refused to budge. This is a battle we won. Period. And we were going to get what was coming to us, namely all our duties back.

Enter the new Conservative government, and David Emerson, the former Liberal who saw which way the wind was blowing and defected to the Conservatives. No sooner was he in with the new government that he asked the U.S. to negotiate. He did, and we settled -- for much less than we are entitled to.

We took it up the ass, and now we're asking for more.

"What we've avoided today is further litigation for a long period of time," resulting in "a period of certainty and stability for the Canadian industry," Canadian Trade Minister David Emerson told CBC News.

Oh, okay, that makes sense. Instead of giving up a fight you've morally and legally already won, it's better just to give up.

Welcome to your Conservative years.