On priority payments

The ultimate answer to the question of what NAFTA has cost Canada involves plenty of guesswork as to how the country would have involved politically and economically in its absence. But it's certainly worth recognizing the less disputable costs when we can - and the fact that a Harper government supposedly in cutback mode thinks it's just peachy to hand $130 million to a failed Canadian company based on a claim that hadn't yet been seriously pursued should serve as a huge red flag as to what NAFTA and its progeny mean for Canadian policymakers.