Economic Integration in North America
| Published date | 01 September 2003 |
| Author | David Dodge |
| Date | 01 September 2003 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070200305800310 |
| Subject Matter | Couchiching Debates “The Big Idea” |
COUCHICHING
DEBATES
"THE
BIG
IDEA"
DAVID
DODGE
Economic
integration
in
North
America
ER
MORE
THAN
70
YEARS
NOW,
the
Couchiching Institute
on
Public
Affairs
has
been
bringing
Canadians together with
the purpose
of
ask-
ing
some
thought-provoking
questions
and
encouraging
lively,
stimu-
lating
debates
and
action
on
a
variety
of
key
public
policy
issues.
For
example,
it
was
at
Couchiching,
56
years ago,
where
the
idea
of
creat-
ing
a
North
Atlantic
Treaty
Organization
(NATO)
was
first
floated
pub-
licly
by
Escott
Reid,
then
a
senior
official
with
the
Canadian
Department
of
External
Affairs.
NATO
was
established
a
year
and
a
half
later,
reflecting
almost
exactly
the
vision
that
Reid
outlined
in his
speech
at
Couchiching.
This
year's
conference
theme,
"Continentalism:
What's
in
it
for
us?"
is
a
topic
that is
thought-provoking and,
some
might
say,
provocative.
Yet,
before
I
venture any
thoughts
on
the
subject,
let
me
make
it
clear
that I
am
not
here
as
an
advocate
for
greater
North
American integra-
tion.
This
is
very
much
a
political
decision
for
Canadians
and
their
elected
governments. It
is
a
big decision,
and
all
of
us,
as
a
democratic
society,
will
have
to
determine
what
we really
want.
I
am
not
a
politi-
cian;
I
am an
economist.
So,
what
I
intend
to do
is
to
lay
down
some
parameters
for an
appropriate
discussion
of
the
issues
relevant
to
greater
economic
integration
in
North
America.
First,
I
would
like
to
review
the
benefits
and
costs
of
economic inte-
gration.
By
economic
integration,
I
mean
the
free
movement
of
goods
David
Dodge
is
the
Governor
of
the
Bank
of
Canada
INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL
Summer
2003
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