Ironically, Martin came to power in December 2003 promising to repair relations with the United States. But he’s making things worse. With a much stronger Canadian dollar these days, Canada can ill afford to attack the nationality of the dwindling number of U.S. tourists and shoppers. Unfortunately, Paul Martin is an immature, conniving opportunist who desperately wanted to become prime minister just because being the chairman of Canada Steamship Lines and a competant book-cooker… er, “finance minister” is just not good enough for the resume.
It’s all about pleasing everyone everytime, regardless of cost – that’s the Liberal Party way.
And anyways, our environmental record isn’t any better than yours. If fact, it’s hardly as good.
PS – I tried to do a pingback with my own article, but the connection wasn’t too good (according to the server). I’ll pingback later.

Y-2-DRAY on December 16, 2005 at 1:41 pm

Debbie,
as much as I like your comments on American politics, I have to disagree with your comment on Quebec. They are not speaking a foreign language ! As a matter of fact, for most of them, French is their native language and this has been the case since long before the English tried to conquer them.
Would you complain about Puerto Ricans speaking Spanish?

algoman on December 16, 2005 at 2:56 pm

Quebec-at best-regards anything English,the way
smokers are treated in The US;Smokers in The US are probably rated a draw with Nazi’s.For an excellent book on the subject,check out, ‘Oh
Canada,Oh Quebec’,by Mordecai Richler.I can’t
imagine that things have improved since he wrote it.

jaywilton on December 16, 2005 at 4:26 pm

It is a shame that my first post on your site has to be critical because I generally enjoy reading what you have to say. That said, your comments regarding Canada in general and Paul Martin in particular reveal a need to do a bit more fact checking and a bit less knee jerking.
First, as regards the al Khadr clan, it is fair to say that that outfit is more than an embarrassment to Canadians. I think that those who keep up on current affairs know they may be dangerous. However, you make it sound as though Abdullah Khadr has been wandering around Canada since 9/11. He actually arrived back in Canada just 9 days ago. He had been imprisoned in Pakistan and was returned to Canada after the FBI declined to take him. They said they had no evidence. You can find out about it on this site : http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/GL09Df01.html
For better or worse the guy is a Canadian citizen. Thank God, the government doesn’t have the legal authority to simply arrest anyone it feels is suspicious. I am sure you wouldn’t want that in your country either. The RCMP is investigating, so we’ll see. It has only been nine days so far…
Martin did come into office with the expectation that there would be an improvement in Canada – US relations and many of us hoped that would transpire. The truth is that Martin was one of the Cabinet ministers most supportive of the US during the previous Chretien government. What happened?
A combination of things, I suppose, but the worst irritant related to softwood lumber and NAFTA (this is one issue).
Canada and the US each have their competitive advantages…for example you guys grow oranges and cotton…we grow trees. The country is covered with trees. The idea of NAFTA was to bring free trade between and among the treaty partners. With free trade, everyone enjoys competitive advantages and, collectively, everyone does better.
In Canada most softwood comes from government owned land; in the US most of it comes from private land. The taxes charged by the Canadian government to private companies to cut trees (stumpage fees) are lower than the fees usually paid by American cutters to cut on private land in the US. The US has argued for years that the lower Canadian tax amounts to a subsidy and has imposed a countervailing duty against Canadian lumber (so far it has confiscated upwards of $5 Billion that would have gone to Canadian producers).
Apart from the question of how US costs came to be the standard by which Canadian taxes had to be imposed, the big issue is what happened in the dispute resloution process. NAFTA has a dispute resolution process that all the parties, uncluding the US, have agreed to. In accordance with the treaty Canada litigated through this appeals process. At every level, up to the final extraordinary appeal process, Canada won. No NAFTA panel agreed with the US (really the lumber lobbyists)that Canadian fees were a subsidy. No further appeals lie, and Canada won. Yet the US government said…”too bad, we refuse to honour the result and will not repay.”
You¥re a lawyer. I assume you believe in the Rule of Law. This has overshadowed Canadian/American relations for virually the entire time of Martin’s Prime Ministership and is, I believe the source of much bitterness, not only from him but also among many Canadians (including those such as myself, who disgree with a lot of the anti Americanism out there). This issue is virtually unreported in the US media, so most people there are unaware of it, but it is huge in Canada. $5 Billion is a lot of money to wrongfully withhold, after all the appeals have been heard and won. Surely you agree with that.
On the knee-jerking side, you need to know that, in fact, most Canadians do not hate Americans, or even dislike them. A lot of us have relatives there. Just as the mood of the American public cannot be gauged by the NY Times, CNN or ABC, so too is it a mistake to judge Canada by the CBC or the Toronto Star. These news organizations tend to have a left leaning slant and tend to be unsupportive of the US (to say the least)…though have you looked at the BBC? But Canada is not Toronto. It is a big country with many and varied attitudes. The fact that so many thousands of Canadians gave money, donated blood, and went to New York after 9/11 to help proves it (facts again that did not appear in the US media).
There are other points in your article that need correction. For example our econmy is not foundering…it is actually doing great. We are actually securing the border with the US very well(check out the US government’s own views on this or Newt Gingrich’s apology for making a similar assertion and…). Ressam is called the Millenium bomber because it happened before the year 2000. (also before 9/11). I suggest that the real risks for the entry of terrorists into the US lie more across your southern border than across your northern one.
But before I close, I would like to mention the issue of the French language. First, French is not a foreign language…actually, French speaking settlers arrived before Englsih speaking settlers in North America. It is a founding language/culture of our country. Second, they don’t want to become a separate country.
I think Martin has weaknesses as a leader, as do all leaders. Just as Canada has issues with the US, I accept that you probably do with us as well. But before you write in such broad strokes, you need to look some things up. I think.
And don’t forget…it is our hemisphere too.
All that said, best regards.

Blaise on December 16, 2005 at 5:14 pm

I’ve got to agree with Blaise. Our government is absolutely stupid to annoy people who would be our friends for economic benefits to a few. Look at the duties on sugar, for one example. A few farmers get rich, candy makers are forced to move abroad, people here lose jobs, everyone pays more for anything containing sugar in the US, and we prove that we are hypocritical with regard to free trade.

MarkD on December 17, 2005 at 10:06 am

If they are ever victims of a terrorist attack Canadians would be a lot like Americans. If Bin Laden blew up the CN Tower they would be on the anti-terrorist bandwagon big time.
It’s just fortunate they have not been hit yet.

wisemonkey on December 18, 2005 at 5:16 am

UPDATE ON AL KHADR
Follow this link( http://news.yahoo.com/s/cpress/20051218/ca_pr_on_na/abdullah_khadr_arrested ) to a Canadian Press story with further details, but Abdullah Khadr has now been arrested by the RCMP on a warrant issued at the request of the US. So, less than two weeks after his return to Canada, he has been picked up pursuant to a legal process. Obviously, the RCMP were keeping a close eye on him and (also obviously) our (Canadian) security services are cooperating closely with their United States colleagues.

Blaise on December 18, 2005 at 11:51 am

He’s just a Jean Chretien warmover.
Canadians keep electing the same $hit, over, and over again.
Canada is lost.

Thee_Bruno on December 19, 2005 at 2:03 pm

So, Martin is taking the Gerhard Schroeder route, is he. He’s going to continue the anti-Americanism with these tactics in the runup to elections.

machsplanck on December 19, 2005 at 7:07 pm

If Martin ever got a majority all this anti american rhetoric would be out the door. The people he is appealing to are the Quebecors who will always be anti american and westerners who are upset at the US for the lumber and beef import problems.
If the US had any brains they would appease Canada by settling the latter two and doing a deal on the oil in the oil sands in the west that have more potential oil available than all the flaky middle east countries.
Not sure why Bush doesnt realize this.

wisemonkey on December 20, 2005 at 2:24 am

While there is a lot of anti-american feeling there is also the feeling that certain countries are part of a family – USA, Canada, UK, Australia, NZ and from a UK perspective even scandinavian countries and Holland and to a lesser extent Germany are included.
I think the problem this article highlights is the lack of an ability in the USA to accept mistakes are made. Things have to be kept too simple. Only those with an ulterior agenda would deny the truth of the axis of evil because it is obvious those countries are a danger to all mankind.
In agreeing on the axis of evil, it does not mean we have to agree that duplicitious foreign policy is a good thing. I can criticise USA foreign policy and actually think I am being pro-american in so doing. I do not think the values of any American I have ever met anywhere in the world agree with the death and destruction brought about by “rebel” groups supported by the USA from those in latin america through to Saddam and the Taliban. Granted, there is a logic to support Saddam against Iran in the ’80s but if you are one of those who suffered under him you have a legitimate reason to hate the west. Britian helped the shah gain power in Iran and current actions to correct this will naturally leave Iranians wondering what the horrible concequences will be.
I have noted from the outside that some US people have superiority complexes which reduces their ability to take or even consider criticism, or to criticise their own rulers.
As an example, I was ashamed when US farmers did not help out for free Canadian farmers recently in light of the fact that when the tables were turned Canadians farmers gave aid to US farms.
Another example is the war on drugs. Every latin american I talk to regards it as common knowledge that the US army is involved in the drug industry not stopping it. Before you blame the rest of the world stop and ask why it is that you breed children that “need” drugs. You could put well adjusted children in a “free drugs heaven” and they wouldn’t take any.

exposesithlords on December 20, 2005 at 6:07 pm