US/Canada Relations Under the Bush Administration

Okay, so I watched the Canadian debates last week- French on Thursday and English on Friday, both from Vancouver, BC.

The format was simple. A pre-recorded question from an "ordinary" Canadian was shown to all of the candidates, after which they all had a chance to respond. There was to be no cross-conversations between leaders.

There were four main themes to the debates- national unity, governance, social policy, US/Canada relations.

On each topic, you could really tell that the leaders all held positions much further left than their US counterparts. The Conservative Party of Canada has similar positions to the American version (on topics such as "states rights", less governmental involvement/pro market) except on issues like health care where it would continue universal coverage and military involvement where it would see Canadians taking a peacekeeping role in the world.

The big topic for the evening was the issue of US/Canada relations. Last week, the US Ambassador to Cananda, David Wilkins, gave PM Paul Martin a warning that he should not try to make US/Canada relations an election issue. There is a NAFTA trade dispute between the two countries on the issue of softwood lumber. Basically, Canada claims (and NAFTA agrees) that the US owes them money and the US disagrees citing the WTO.

I really don't know what the motives of Ambassador Wilkins were. His comments only enraged Martin and helped his party rally support. Many Canadians, as I understand it, do not agree with the policies (among other things) of George Bush.

Now, there is talk of building a physical wall between the US and Canada to "protect" us from the terrorists who use Canada as a staging area. This is completely ridulous. If I was the PM of Canada, I would use that logic to begin the development of nuclear weapons. "Hey, we gotta protect ourselves." And you know, there is nothing more uninviting that a house that is completely surrounded by a fence.

I am sick and tired of the fear politicking that both US political parties are doing. All one has to do is site 9/11 or say that we need to protect ourselves from terrorists and a politician can get away with anything. What's even crazier is the number of Americans who believe this line. I am sorry, but I don't buy it.

This administration has done litte to promote friendship with existing allies- France, Canada, and Germany. My friends, there will be a day when the US needs some help from its friends. And the government had better be careful- the help may not be able to get over the wall.