Essay Sample on Health Considerations in Canada's Foreign Policy: Impact of Globalization

Introduction

In recent times, health has increasingly become a vital consideration in foreign policies. This prominence has been driven by the outbreak and spread of communicable diseases such as SARS and HIV/AIDS. For foreign policy, in particular, the effects of global trade, population mobility, and growth in migration trends on health justify the need for incorporating health when discussing foreign policies. In Canada's context, over 200000 immigrants enter the country annually (Beiser, 2005). If some of these immigrants enter Canada with infections, they not only jeopardize their wellbeing but also that of Native Canadians. Ultimately, the ensuing chronic and acute changes in health conditions undermine Canada's long-term economic viability. With that in mind, this paper assesses the foreign diseases brought by immigrants and foreign diseases in livestock and their effects on Canada's economic state.

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Canada's Immigrants

The number of immigrants in Canada has increased significantly over the years. Johnston and Conly (2008) revealed that from 1986 to 2006, the immigrant population in Canada more than doubled. The population increased from 99351 to over 25159 annually. This growth has occurred simultaneously with changes in the percentages of immigrants from various parts of the world. Asians, for example, have increased from 2.7% in 1921 to 3.6% in 1971 and 36.5% in 2001. Europeans, on the other hand, increased from 75.9% in 1921 to 79.4% in 1971 but dropped to 42% in 2001 (Johnston & Conly, 2008). With regards to settlement patterns, 43.7% of the immigrants settled in Toronto in 2001, whereas 50% settled in Ontario (Johnston & Conly, 2008).

Foreign Diseases in the Immigrants

Most immigrants come from nations with a high prevalence of communicable diseases. Johnston and Conly (2008) revealed the results of a study on 1213 travellers and immigrants in Toronto to determine some of the diseases that these immigrants bring into the country. The results indicated that there was a higher probability of parasitic diseases being detected in immigrants than travellers. Among these immigrants, 2.1% were diagnosed with filariasis, 2.7% schistosomiasis, 2.9% strongyloidiasis, and 6.8% malaria. Additionally, 932 immigrants tested positive for HIV/AIDS in 2002 and 2003 out of the 634958 people tested. With regards to these immigrants' origins, 4% were from Europe, 7% from Asia, 22% from the Americas, and 67% from Africa (Johnston & Conly, 2008). On another note, a data analysis by Betancourt and Roberts (2010) revealed that recent immigrants into Canada were more likely to be healthier than those who have lived in the country for over five years. The immigrants who have been in Canada for over 5 years were 50% more likely to report having either anxiety, chronic diseases in the digestive and respiratory system, stroke, diabetes, cancer or arthritis (Betancourt & Roberts, 2010).

Regardless of whether they are healthy or not, most of the immigrants come to Canada to look for employment. This job-hunt resonates with Canada's expectation that immigrants will provide skilled and unskilled labor, which can, ultimately, reinvigorate the country's aging workforce and boost its competitiveness in the global economic scene (Beiser, 2005). However, there is a connection between the immigrant's health and economic productivity, especially since human capital, which is a crucial factor for economic growth, is affected directly by the health status of both the immigrant and Canadian workforce. As such, Canadian policymakers need to understand the economic impact of foreign diseases brought by immigrants as they plan on building a workforce that can improve Canada's competitiveness.

The Economic Effect of Foreign Diseases

Immigrants in Canada form an economically significant segment of the populace. Canada's economic opportunities offer immigrants a chance to work and grow and, eventually, improve their socio-economic wellbeing. On the other hand, these immigrants facilitate economic growth by creating employment opportunities, for instance, through entrepreneurship. However, the foreign diseases that they may bring into the country can disrupt economic development. McInnes and Lee (2006) pointed out the case of the SARS disease that was first reported in China and spread to Canada and other countries. The economic loss from this disease was valued at $100 billion, a figure that drew the attention of the foreign policy community.

McInnes and Lee (2006) continued to argue that the spread of foreign diseases forces the government to channel most of its resources in fighting the diseases. This increases health expenditure as a percentage of GDP. With the need for additional health expenditures, the government may have to reallocate funds that were meant for other purposes, such as infrastructure manufacturing and education, in combatting the diseases' spread. For this reason, less funds will be available to undertake economically-viable development projects, which, ultimately, slow down economic growth or leads to economic recession if the disease burden increases.

Another possible cause for the economic decline is that business investments may fall due to loss of investor confidence (McInnes & Lee, 2006). This loss of confidence is attributed to the shortage in labor supply as most of the employees either contract the diseases or opt to stay away from work due to the fear of contacting infected people. Furthermore, a shortage of business inputs due to reduced productivity in the industries that manufacture these inputs will also lower investor confidence. On the health provision side, insurance providers are likely to raise insurance costs, which make it harder for businesses to provide medical coverage for their employees (McInnes & Lee, 2006). Consequently, these businesses will be forced to lay off most employees until the diseases are contained and the overall business costs reduce. All these factors will contribute to the economic recession.

Foreign Diseases in Livestock and their Impact on the Livestock Industry

Other than imported diseases from immigrants, foreign livestock diseases may also come into the country and affect the economy, especially the livestock industry. Whiting (2003) defined foreign animal diseases in Canada as infections transmitted by an infectious foreign agent that are likely to spread rapidly and impede the sale of Canada's animals and animal products in overseas markets. Such diseases include classical swine fever, mad cow and foot and mouth disease. These diseases severely undermine livestock production, animal health, environmental safety, and the export of livestock products, thereby prompting the need for a comprehensive disease eradication plan.

Moens and O'Keefe (2006) studied the mad cow crisis of 2003 and its effects on the Canada-American trade relations for beef and cattle. The mad cow disease, also known as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), is a contagious strain of the Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSE) that infects goats, elks and sheep. This disease can also be transmitted to people through eating contaminated meat. In 2003, Canada and the US confirmed two positive cases of BSE in their livestock herds. These cases were believed to have been caused by the entry of imported animals into North America before the 1997 ban on livestock importation.

Before these cases were reported, the livestock market in North America was a multi-billion dollar industry characterized by free, competitive and integrated import and export of cattle and beef products. Canadian cattle exports to the US rose from 1 million heads in 1992 to 1.5 million in 1996. Additionally, beef exports also increased from 100000 tons in 1990 to 300000 tons in 1999 (Moens & O'Keefe, 2006). US exports to Canada, especially processed beef also increased. This growth was boosted by the extension of the free trade deal for livestock products between these two countries. However, after the two BSE cases were confirmed, both Canada and the US imposed risk-reducing interventions to prevent the disease from spreading to other livestock. These interventions included closing borders to restrict the movement of cattle and people. The immediate effect is that Canada's live cattle exports to the US fell from about 100000 heads in January 2003 to less than 10000 in June 2003. The value of Canadian beef exports also fell from C$200 million in January 2003 to about C$80 million in May 2003 (Moens & O'Keefe, 2006). This decline in exports of livestock products continued until when both countries dropped their restrictive measures to allow free trade again.

Another livestock disease that has been of concern to Canada is the foot and mouth disease (FMD). Krystynak and Charlebois (1987) used an econometric model to analyze the economic effect of a possible FMD outbreak due to the trade restrictions imposed to contain the outbreak. This model conjectured two scenarios. The first scenario was that the FMD outbreak was small having only affected 10 to 15 farms. The disease was contained swiftly by killing and burying from 1500 to 2000 animals (Krystynak & Charlebois, 1987). The second scenario considered that the FMD outbreak originated from Eastern Canada. However, by the time the outbreak was controlled, it had already spread to Quebec and Ontario.

Trade barriers were introduced into the model by setting the export of pork, beef, heifers, calves, hogs and feeder cattle to the US to zero. The model then ran both scenarios over five years between 1986 and 1990. Results from this model revealed that the outbreak would affect significantly the monetary wellbeing of Canadian cattle and hog producers. For the first and second scenario, the hog industry would lose $1.1 billion and $1.6 billion respectively. Within the duration of trade barriers, the hog industry would lose $0.96 billion and $1.46 billion for the first and second scenario respectively (Krystynak & Charlebois, 1987). In 1986, hog prices would reduce by 33% and 31% in the first and second scenario respectively and by 43% in 1987. This reduction in hog prices would also result in the reduction of pork prices by about 10% (Krystynak & Charlebois, 1987). Moreover, the beef industry would record a reduction in cash receipts in the first and second scenario by $720 million and $986 million respectively, and $638 million and $913 million during the trade barriers period. Therefore, from these results, it can be seen that the FMD outbreak would affect Canada's livestock export industry adversely if trade barriers are imposed to contain the outbreak without government intervention.

Conclusion

This paper has evaluated the foreign diseases brought by immigrants into Canada and foreign diseases in livestock and their effects on Canada's economy. The evaluation shows that the number of immigrants in Canada has increased significantly over the years. Most of these immigrants come from nations with a high prevalence of communicable diseases. The spread of foreign diseases, however, forces the government to channel most of its resources in fighting the diseases, which would have otherwise been used in undertaking economically-viable projects. These foreign diseases are also likely to result in an economic decline due to the decrease in workers' productivity and the suppression of business growth. For the livestock industry, foreign diseases in livestock lower the amount and value of exports of live cattle and livestock products, thereby resulting in considerable losses in the livestock export industry.