John Baird: Canada's freedom agenda - Diplomat Magazine

MICROSTATES|Di spatchesThe Caribbean island nation of Barbados, whose capital of Bridgetown is shown here, enjoys one of the highest per-capita incomes in theregion.10. BarbadosVenezuelaBarbadosNewsweek claimed in its 2010 countryranking that the “best countriestend to be small, rich, safe,and cold.” Well, Malta and, to a lesserdegree, Barbados [population 285,000]prove that a nation can be small, relativelywell-off, safe and blessed with a climatethat does not chill your bones for a goodportion of the year. Thanks to its financialsector, which operates in the same timezone as major financial centres in theeastern United States, this island nationat the outer eastern edge of the Caribbeanenjoys one of the highest per-capita incomesin the region. Other major sourcesof income include tourism, agricultureand light manufacturing, with emergingBrazil being the country’s most importanttrading partner alongside Trinidad andTobago.Thanks to major government investmentsin education, Barbados alsopossesses one of the most educated workforcesin the region. Unfortunately, not allof the country’s best and brightest stayhome. Several prominent names in theworld of popular entertainment (Rihanna)and literature (Canadian Austin Clarke,who holds the Order of Canada) havejoined countless others in leaving Barbadosfor greener pastures. The countrymust wrestle with a growing debt-to-GDPratio. But then again, which country doesnot face that problem these days?Wolfgang Depner’s most recent publication,Readings in Political Ideologies sincethe Rise of Modern Science, co-edited byDr. Barrie McCullough, is scheduledfor release by Oxford University PressCanada in 2013.diplomat and international canada 57