5.09.2008

where are the canadians?

I don't usually quote people from the world of business, but this jumped out at me.
The world would listen, if only Canada would speak up.

One of Canada's most successful entrepreneurs, Jim Balsillie, served up strong words for the country last night, saying that when it comes to foreign relations and global leadership, Canada should be doing more on the international stage.

"It's not that the Canadian voice isn't valued, I assure you that's not it," the co-chief executive of BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion Ltd. said at the annual gala dinner of The Canadian Press.

"It's that we're not there. It's not that people aren't prepared to receive us, we're not voicing," he said. "They never say 'we don't want to hear what you say,' they say, 'where are the Canadians?' "

This made me think: where are the Canadians? "Holding the bully's coat?" Or standing up for peacemakers?

Non-Canadian readers are undoubtedly less familiar with Jim Balsillie; many probably have not heard of him. Balsillie's company, Research In Motion, makes the Blackberry. He's also famous for bidding for NHL franchises, and he funds a think-tank, among other things. Here he is on Wikipedia.

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