Posted on 06/03/2005 7:58:49 PM PDT by NorthOf45
McKenna tells Canadians to stop being smug when dealing with U.S.
June 3, 2005
OTTAWA (CP) - Frank McKenna, Canada's tough-talking ambassador to the U.S., has some advice for Canadians dealing with their powerful neighbours to the south - stop being smug and take the chip off your shoulders.
Americans are offended when Canadians attack them and endlessly moralize about what they should be doing differently, he said Friday.
"In short, a self-righteousness that isn't very flattering," McKenna told The Canadian Press annual dinner, a gathering of journalists and power-brokers.
McKenna, fresh from media tours in the U.S. where he tried to correct false American impressions of Canada, turned the table on his Canadian audience, calling on them to have a better understanding of Americans.
The world changed dramatically for Americans on Sept. 11, and dealing with the shock and fear of the next attack "trumps all other issues and all other relationships," he said.
"As Canadians, we intellectually acknowledge this reality, but we do not comprehend the full depth of the emotional scarring caused by that extraordinary event."
"It has changed America. Americans are consumed with the need to protect their physical security and economic security."
McKenna said that Ottawa's increase in spending for the military and foreign aid budgets have been well-received in Washington.Traditional diplomatic fights such as softwood lumber and BSE remain.
But fear of terrorist attacks is behind the latest diplomatic spat.
The recent move by Americans to have all foreign carriers register their passenger lists if they fly over the U.S. is causing trouble around the world.
Americans are also preoccupied with social security reform, soaring oil prices and being reliant on external markets for the majority of its supplies.
The growing economic might of China has given rise to an increase in protectionist rhetoric in the U.S., he added.
"Although Americans respect us and like us, they do not think about us very much," he conceded.
To raise Canada's profile, McKenna is looking to support from a fifth column - "the Canadian diaspora."
There are up to three million expatriate Canadians living in the U.S. and McKenna said he's looking to marshal them so they can help Ottawa on issues of importance to Canada.
Yes, in a failed attempt to buy the votes of the left, mostly in Quebec where over 85% oppose missile defense (they fell sharply in the polls shortly after - about 55% support missile defense in the rest of Canada)...
In a sense Paul Martin is a bit like Australia's Mark Latham on the missile defence stance. Like Latham, he deliberately kept it ambigious so as not to enrage the Quebec Liberal voters (I found that many francophone federalists like Trudeau are the most anti-US people in Canada, apart from Toronto metrosexuals). It is also telling that the Canadian Liberal Party is equivalent to the Left faction of the Australian Labor Party.
"I think Los Angeles is the third or fourth largest Canadian city."
Hear, hear! ;-)
I home-schooled my kids until Grades 6 and 7, then sent them to private Christian schools. My daughter graduated from the Christian High School when my son was in Gr. 10. I thought I'd try the Catholic school for one year to save some money. Not worth it. He has finished Gr. 11 in the Catholic school and will be going back to Christian High next September, Lord willing.
Unfortunately, there is some anti-American, anti-Bush sentiment there, but not as rabid.
Yes, I am calling the principal tomorrow. I decided with the 17 year old taking action on the hate he was filled with, it was time to let them know they are not without guilt if something should go wrong. You can not fill young minds with such frothing hatred and expect it to be taken in stride by everyone.
One thing I can't figure out is why the Catholic system is so left-wing. I thought it would be more moderate and less anti-conservative. They have such raging feminists that I am surprised they are pro-life.
My son was verbally berated for saying he would like his wife to stay home and raise their children. He thought it was being gentlemanly and giving her a great privilege...he nearly fell out of his seat when the attack came!
I thought the ALP were socialists (equivalent to Canada's NDP)?
It's Catholic In Name Only nowadays...
Are you in a conservative or liberal-leaning area? That also plays a role. A school in the Toronto area, for example, will be naturally ultra-liberal, while a rural school would be more conservative.
It is not quite so. In Australian politics the equivalents to Canada's NDP are the Democratic Party of Australia and the Green Party. Both of which are extremely leftist and violently anti-US (I mean rigourously, rather than to the point of organizing armed attacks). And Australians regard both parties as nutty left - both never mamaged to govern on their own (not even in states as leftist as Tasmania - they combined manage to get 4% federally, and 18% in Tasmania).
The ALP has two factions: the Left and Right. Since Gough Whitlam - described as Australia's Pierre Trudeau - was ousted in 1975 there had been two ALP Prime Ministers since. Both are from the Right and both (Bob Hawke and Paul Keating) had been very pro-US to the point that none of their politics would be tolerated in Canada's Liberal Party. Mark Latham is the most leftist ALP leader has had for a while (his own mentor was Gough Whitlam) and while he was very leftist by Australian standards his policies sound like Paul Martin (and is confirmed by an Australian friend).
Indeed the ALP as a whole is slightly to the right of the Canadian (federal) Liberals, even though the ALP is a member of Socialists International and the Canadian Liberals isn't. And the Coalition (Liberal Party of Australia and National Party of Australia) would be a whole degree to the right of the Canadian Conservative Party. This reflects the political realities of Australia - Queensland and Western Australia are on a whole a lot even more hardcore conservative than Alberta. No Quebec, Ontario-clone (Victoria) overshadowed by a moderate state, and leftist state also being the smallest one.
"It is also telling that the Canadian Liberal Party is equivalent to the Left faction of the Australian Labor Party."
Ouch! That Left faction is an embarrassment, an entire party of whacko's is more than this Aussie can imagine - what happened to the Canadians? They used to be such nice people, (well, all the Canadians that came to live in Australia, anyway!)
Canadian MP won't apologize for calling U.S. "coalition of idiots"
thanks for the link, the whole story makes me feel ever so pleased there's a whole lot of water between us Aussies and New Zealand.
Liberalism once more proves itself to be a mental illness.
"Ms" Parrish must be muttering out "D*** Aussies, I hate those b***ards!" if she knows what you think! ;-)
"That's me, and I'm going to stop trying to fit into some cookie-cutter mould that somebody else has tried to design for me."
Every idiot who has stepped into a steaming pile of BS because they weren't watching their step, and now can't get the mess off their shoes, says the same thing.
It is a school in Hamilton, Ontario. Very unionized, very liberal. Even the rural schools (we live outside Hamilton) are still run by the union. It doesn't seem to make much difference, sadly.
never in the history of the world has such an insigificant national occupied such a significant amount of the worlds land mass
""America couldn't ask for better people to
have as neighbors.""
Aussies?
"Sydney is the fifth largest city of New Zealand"
What's the 4th?
Canada's decent into the moral abyss began in 1968.
Canada was a decent nation up until that point.
Trudeau and the Liberals brainwashed Enligh canadians to be ashamed of their language and heritage. Today most english canadians have no pride in european/english culture, so much so that Ontario can toy with the idea of having Sharia law in civil cases. They are so brainwashed by moral and cultural relativism and so ashamed of their culture, they would be offended by the idea that Candian law is superior to Sharia.
Today Canada is so corrupt that when the Conservative party points out the corruption and crimes of the Liberals in ADSCAM, Canadians dont get mad at the Liberals they get mad at the Conservatives to threatening to spoil the welfare gravy train.
It is a thourougly rotten society right to the core.
Ontario and Quebec are the most anti-American.
in Quebec the Quebecois are constantly engaged in a childish rebellion against their Catholic Church which use to be very powerful. Quebec has the lowest fertility rate of any jusrisiction in North America. Something like 1.1 per woman, lower tha neven Vermont. It also has the highest approval of gay marriage of any province.
I use to live in Montreal...I loathe Canada
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