In light of recent desires expressed by Prime Minister Martin to tighten the US-Canada relationship, a panel of prominent speakers expressed fiery hostility to Canada’s integration with its neighbour to the south this Tuesday, during an event called “Canada: Colony or Country.”
Organized by the Council of Canadians, an organization committed to issues such as fair trade, social justice and democracy, the event included many anti-American organizations opposed to Canada’s participation in the war on Iraq and numerous other American foreign policy strategies. But the war on Iraq was only one piece of the puzzle.
Maude Barlow, a well-known activist and national chairperson of the Council of Canadians, reminded listeners that the issues concerning Canada’s integration with the US will have immediate consequences on Canadians’ lives. There are five key issues on which Canadians will greatly lose out if Paul Martin continues to press for integration, said Barlow. Firstly, Canada will have to abandon its historical position of peacekeeping by succumbing to George Bush’s missile defense system, placing Canada under direct US command and turning Canada into a military-focused state. Secondly, integration with the United States means that Canadian resources will have to be supplied to the U.S. These include oil, gas and electricity. According to the US’ energy security plan, after the Americans no longer use Middle East’s oil, Canada will be their oil supplying country after Saudi Arabia. What this means for Canada, Barlow said, is that pipelines for oil extraction will be built, damaging the environment, and robbing Canada of its natural resources. Other concerns that Barlow included had to do with degradation of health care and lowering standards in sustainable agriculture.
At the end of her speech, Barlow exclaimed: “They can’t take our health care system. They can’t take our peaceful foreign policy. They can’t take our history. It is all ours to keep and ours to share with the rest of the world.” After these words, the audience stood up and clapped intensely. A feeling of national pride could be felt in the room.
The discussion then turned to Canada’s role in the war on terrorism. Speaker Amina Sherazee, a law professor at U of T, said that Canada’s Anti-Terrorist Act, bill C-36, which stemmed as a reaction to the attacks of 9/11, was unfair. Sherazee said the act “undermines hundreds of years of human rights in Canada” because it makes anyone who actively resists governmental policies a terrorist, while excluding state terrorism which, Sherazee said, is what is happening now in Iraq. According to Sherazee, the anti-terrorist act gives police the right to interrogate people without clear evidence behind allegations. Sherazee brought up the example of 23 Pakistani men who were arrested and detained for over two months under accusations that they were Sunni extremists without any evidence to support this. “Swayed by the spirit of America’s ‘war on terrorism,’ our government had no grounds to pass a legislation that infringes on people’s constitutional rights.”
But the event gained a lighter side when musician Jian Ghomeshi talked about preserving the Canadian music industry, without Americanizing our singers and musicians. “Thirty years ago,” Ghomeshi said, the “Canadian music industry didn’t exist. Now it is Canadian women such as Shania and Avril who are on top of the world’s billboard charts. The only way through which Canadian music can succeed further is through the support organizations that protect our musicians, so that instead of going to L.A, they can have the opportunity of making it here.”
Other prominent speakers included journalist and author Linda McQuaig.
