Canadian Perspectives Winter 2005

When U.S. President George Bush visited Canada on November 30 and December 1, Prime Minister Paul Martin should have stated these five points on behalf of Canadians:

1. "The Canadian government has different priorities than your administration."

Canadians believe in peace (74% think Canada made the right decision by not going to war with Iraq), public health care (64% want the health care system to exclude for-profit corporations), clean water (97% want water to be recognized as a human right) and fair trade (60% oppose trade deals, like NAFTA, that give corporations the right to sue governments if public policies impair their profits). Paul Martin must state that these are the priorities of the Canadian people, and therefore those of his government.

2. "Canadians are opposed to deep integration with the U.S."

Ninety-one per cent of Canadians believe that we should be able to set our own environmental health and safety standards and regulations, even if this might reduce trade with the U.S. The Prime Minister must state that Canada is a sovereign country and that it has the right to have "made in Canada" economic, foreign and defence policies, and to make its own decisions on regulatory efficiency, resource security and border issues.

3. "Canadians are opposed to Star Wars.

Sixty-nine per cent of Canadians believe that Canada should not support the Bush administration’s missile defence system even if it requires dedicating military spending to the program or allowing U.S. missile launchers in Canada. The Prime Minister's former Cabinet colleague Lloyd Axworthy has stated that there should be "a moratorium on any present deals or discussions related to border security or missile defence on the grounds that in a minority Parliament there is not a mandate for such decisions."

4. "Canada will enforce its Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act."

According to this act, a war crime is any conduct defined as such by "customary international law." United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has stated that the U.S. invasion of Iraq is illegal under the terms of the UN Charter. The Toronto Star's editorial board has stated, "Martin should lobby Bush to comply with the Geneva Conventions in dealing with the hundreds of suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay and other detention centres."

5. "The Canadian Council of Chief Executives does not speak for Canada."

Last April, 100 Canadian corporate executives went to Washington and met with Andrew Card (Bush's Chief of Staff), Condoleezza Rice (now Secretary of State) and General John Gordon (Bush's Homeland Security Advisor) to advance their agenda of deep integration. Although John Manley (the Deputy Prime Minister at the time, now the co-chair of an American-based task force on North American integration) was also present, Martin must state that the CCCE's promotion of further regulatory, economic and policy integration with the U.S. does not have his support.

Brent Patterson is the Editor of Canadian Perspectives.

Printer-friendly version:
Download "5 Things Paul Martin Should Have Told George Bush" in PDF Format (504KB)