The not so allied ally of Canadian conservatives for a long time holding playing the many tongues, be it an old bus from Alberta, on their knees for major USA capital investment for dirty oil & a plan, smart & brilliant at the time, either you or no choice Alberta goes commie hunting, the slamming of Trudeau as everything as communist, pinko, sell out of their oil & nation, & yet China now hacked to the top of security information to R & D, even roamed the brains of the pipeline controls for north america for days before noticed, no harm done, or as Harper said on the last trip to China rushing to follow Putin in trade with the powerhouse & dropping the global practice & thus weakening another notch, the USA dollar. The delightful position of playing the traitor, communist card, & yet mostly all the while, selling & doing business while the arts play & tongue wag where it really counts, national security, ally security & defying allies for a buck, often like draft dodgers big money & a large & powerful mystery base of like minded club members using our flag with invitation via the cons. in Canada. That overused war of 1812, again, is it code for some action of pay back against the Yankee in some civil war with this gov pulling for the cult neutral renegades or southern money? Strange, mix of allies we have, beyond the swim suits & Cigars, the boys play. Canada is not above leveraging the fact that it is, well, not the United States. During a November trade-show speech in Havana, the CEO of the Canadian Commercial Corp. (a Crown agency that promotes trade) highlighted some commonality in adversarial relations by harkening back to the War of 1812. “They invaded us,” Marc Whittingham joked, “and we got so mad we actually went and burned the White House down.” Today, the American embargo is effectively a twofold opportunity for Canadian firms – it significantly clears the field so long as it’s in force, and it makes Cuba far more profitable should it be lifted. Guessing at when that might happen is a mug’s game. Diplomats in Havana and Washington report a dramatically improved tone in their dealings of late. But incidents like the July seizure of a North Korean ship bearing Cuban arms concealed in sugary cargo can easily reverse steps toward rapprochement. One of the firms banking on Cuba’s future is Montreal-based 360 Vox Corp. The resort-development specialist has plans for three major projects on the island. “They work in this environment, but if we do get the travel embargo lifted, then it’s a huge bonus,” says Guy Chartier, CEO of the firm’s Cuba division. While firms from Europe, Latin America and Asia are also active here, the present moment, Chartier adds, “is really a window of opportunity for companies such as ours to bring unique expertise to a market where we’re not yet competing directly against our friendly U.S. neighbour.” Or, as Biniowsky puts it, “We’re simply filling a space that if it weren’t for the U.S. embargo probably would be completely filled by U.S. companies.” Some firms, he adds, are not in for the long haul. “They’re saying, ‘Okay, here’s an opportunity. Let’s set roots so that when, inevitably, the embargo is lifted, we sell out to American interests.’ Definitely there are a lot of companies here just for positioning.” 360 Vox hopes to break ground early next year on what will become the five-star seafront Monte Barreto Hotel, beside the national aquarium on Havana’s western shore. Chartier expects its location, on the way to Mariel, will attract foreign businessmen, technicians and professionals descending on the capital once the expanded port and free-trade zone open. “We’re really building the product of the future,” he tells me over coffee. “It will be the first property of its kind in the country. It will meet Florida construction code; it will meet the toughest U.S. and international industry health and safety codes.” After Monte Barreto construction begins, the firm will turn its attention to a plan to develop Jibacoa, a sleepy strip of beach halfway between Havana and Varadero. The project includes a golf course, marina, hotels and private villas. In the longer term, 360 Vox also has plans for a resort on Cayo Largo, off Cuba’s southern shore – near the key where Fidel Castro and Pierre Trudeau speared fish together in 1976. The company bears the imprint of a Bay Street legend – Ned Goodman of Dundee Capital, who spearheaded a $20-million investment and serves as chairman. The financier has made several trips to the island, including one in 2011 during which he met with cabinet minister Ricardo Cabrisas. Goodman deems Cuba “a unique country with extraordinary unexploited resources, the most important of which are the Cuban people themselves.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 09:50:02 +0000
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