Posted on 11/04/2003 7:24:41 AM PST by quidnunc
It appears that the average Canadian has realized what most in the federal government have yet to. A poll commissioned by the Centre for Research and Information on Canada found that 44 percent of Canadians believe that Canada should have stronger ties to the United States. It's an increase of 18 percentage points since March and is at its highest point in three years.
While Canadians are clearly growing concerned about their ties to the United States, Canada's government has done little to bridge the distance. Thanks in part to undiplomatic talk before and after George W. Bush's election, the president has yet to make a visit to Canada — outside of attending two international conferences — and Prime Minister Jean Chrétien has only made one visit to the White House. To add injury to insult many prominent Canadians — including officials in the prime minister's office — seemed to take an "unholy glee" at what happened to the United States on and the days after September 11, 2001, stated historian J.L. Granatstein in a recent speech in Toronto.
"These Canadians and their friends did very serious damage to Canada's relations with the White House and the State Department," said Granatstein.
Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham best expressed the federal government's view on October 30 when he denied relations were in a "deep freeze." Said Graham, "This is a mug's game to go into that. The fact of the matter is that when we have specific problems, when we had the electricity blackout, the prime minister phoned up Mr. Bush, he took his call, we worked on it."
Despite Graham's assertion, it's safe to say that relations are at their frostiest since the days of Pierre Trudeau and Ronald Reagan and not surprisingly the problem partly stems from philosophical differences in approaches to policy. As an example, for Canadians foreign policy is about maintaining dialogue at all costs while Americans prefer a more pragmatic approach. Canada is in the business of trying to export its values while the United States is interested in protecting what it determines is in its national interest. As Granatstein pointed out in his October 21 speech, "Values or principles are for individuals, while nations have interests, above all."
Canada's "soft power" approach has been a dismal failure. The influence that Canadians believe they wield through kind words and understanding has had remarkably little effect in achieving our goals. Like Europe, Canada's influence is diminishing because cultural exchanges and foreign aid don't sway nations like Iran and other unstable rogue states — at the cost of its relationship with the United States. As much as Canadians don't like to admit it, the velvet glove occasionally must reveal the iron first. As Canada's ability to project power has diminished over the past two decades, so has its voice. Particularly with the United States.
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(Excerpt) Read more at spectator.org ...
It's Canadian tradition to oppose American policy on the grounds that it is both noble and defines Canada. We like to believe that we're more moral than the United States simply because we reflexively criticize our ally's actions.
What a way to define yourself as a nation… "We're the immature pain-in-the-ass country."
So all we have to do is call Canadians names and then we can become more moral too.
All the more pity that I have little sympathy left for them.
No. we make them the butt of ridicule… the more pointed the better.
This is the way to burst their bubble; don't get angry with them, laugh at them.
I dunno. Yesterday I was thinking very nice thoughts about Canada. Especially their need for American sperm donors.
I guess I should have known they wouldn't respect me in the morning...
All right, except for Quebec. Let the French have that ... then those two can be pains in each other's butts.
And just to make sure they don't make trouble for anyone else, make them responsible for Haiti, too.
All our bad eggs are belong in one poche.
I find I can get further with a kind word and a gun than with just a kind word.
I've long advocated annexing -- excuse me, federating with -- Mexico, but figured the only problem would be having to listen to all the whining and simpering from those *&@#$!! Canadians when they started to feel left out. But if we can pawn Quebec and Haiti off on France, I think we've got a winning combination here.
They get decent medical treatment. We get much simpler border crossings when we go fishing in Ontario. Of course we'll also get a LOT of grousing from their writers, actors, and musicians when they realize the Canadian content law no longer applies, but they'll get over it.
Tell that to the 2000 Cdn troops in Afghanistan who are in harm's way and JTF-2 commandos who have been working with US SOFs hunting down terrorist elements. Tell that to the Cdn Navy pers who spent time away from their families while serving in the ME during Iraqi ops. Tell that to Cdns who opened up their homes to American flight passengers during 9/11.
Do some research before spouting of nonsense and trying to place all Cdns in a socialist slot.
Have a nice day.
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