I smell Stephen Harper in the kitchen with John Manley boiling 33,100,000 frogs.

Harper's Legacy: CNOOC- Nexen

We have been so conditioned to expect changes in four year political cycles, that we don't realise  we have a disability: seeing the long term pattern beyond 2015.

The Chinese, of course, don't work that way. Unlike Harper they have an energy strategy and its national oil companies spearhead that party-directed strategy. And unlike Canada’s witless Tories they also think 50 to 100 years down the road. As disciples of Sun Tzu, they typically prefer doing business with short-term fools.

Chairman Harper's Weakness

Recklessly blind to ruthless aims of China's state-owned firms, PM treats them as any free market investors.

By Andrew Nikiforuk, 13 Nov 2012, TheTyee.ca

The years 2020 to 2025 is nearly beyond everyone's thinking at this point. To give Harper his due, not to mention the influence of Tom Flanagan's Calgary School and the American Political model, he has considered this modern human flaw. For several decades he very carefully micro-managed his path to power; from the Citizens Coalition, to the Reform Party to the new Conservative Party of Canada. Like his friend Rob Ford, he has a passionate dislike for opposition who represent a majority of Canadians, and rely on voter apathy to form governments and an unwavering determination to reverse Canada's global image of "honest broker".

Harper is at least astute enough to have seen his good fortune in having avoided the worst of the financial disaster of 2008 and the survivability of the Canadian economy. This was an inspiration to be bold and diversify our need to trade our natural resources and services with other Economic zones especially the emerging economic and political powers. Since 2009 he has been courting China, India and Brazil and signing trade deals with smaller countries such as Honduras, Panama, Columbia, etc.
The current American political model is a shambles and the Euro Zone is even worse. It seems like our only viable partner is China and the energy it is going to require in the next fifteen years. But we are seeing what only Harper wants us to see in this CNOOC- Nexen deal which is very little, and even he is unclear what it means in the future. It should be interesting to see the results of China's 18th Party Congress and its new political model.

On a Friday afternoon, Dec. 7th, Harper held a press conference and announced his approval of the deal and in the statement said "These were difficult decisions and there will be more difficult decisions in the future,” referring to the overwhelming resistance to the lack of information released. Also that the terms of the new FIPA legislation will be available soon. We will need this to learn what he means by "more difficult decisions", also "net benefit" and "exceptional circumstances" that will apply to any further major Canadian business buy-outs by foreign interests. Who decides? Harper, or an informed democracy?