March 30, 2006

If you go to www.CanadianAlly.com, you'll see, in the words of the website itself, "an electronic newsletter maintained by the Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC, designed specifically for an American audience....The intent is to give American citizens a better sense of the scope of Canada's role in North American and Global Security and the War on Terror."

Along with this website, the Toronto Star reports that the Canadian Embassy in the United States has spent $18,000 to have "huge signs and banners posted in seven strategic subway stations in the District of Columbia and suburban Virginia tout the Canadian contribution in Afghanistan, showing that the fight Stephen Harper calls "our war" is also meant to curry favour in Washington. The poster features a Canadian soldier, weapon in hand, standing alongside Afghans, with the words, "Canadian Troops in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Boots On The Ground."

The Toronto Star also reports that one Pentagon official told Lt.-Col. Jamie Robertson, the counsellor for military outreach at the Canadian embassy, the other "coalition bubbas" - as U.S. allies are sometimes known here - should be as smart.

This should raise concern among Canadians. It would clearly appear that the intent of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his new ambassador to the United States Micheal Wilson is to more closely align Canada's foreign and military policies with those of U.S. President George Bush. With Canadian casualties mounting in Afghanistan, and Harper and Bush scheduled to discuss Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan this week at the "Security and Prosperity Partnership" meeting in Cancun, Mexico, this is all the more outrageous and worrisome.

A key recommendation from the Council of Canadians Crossing the Line: A Citizens' Inquiry on Canada-U.S. Relations was that, "The Government of Canada should renew and rejuvenate its status as a peacemaker, rejecting participation in unilateral U.S.-led wars." We believe that this is the direction Canada should be taking.

You are encouraged to contact Prime Minister Stephen Harper at pm@pm.gc.ca and Ambassador Michael Wilson at canada@canadianembassy.org (the fax for the Office of the Ambassador is 202-682-7678) and demand that the "Boots on the Ground" posters be pulled, that the CanadianAlly.com website be dropped, and that Canadian foreign and defence policies reflect Canada's commitment to peacekeeping.