Letters to the Editor
-
canada and the us
Dear Editor:
Briefly, to Xeynon: some of what you say is true. Canada's treatment of natives, for example, is horrible and a national shame. (On the other hand, the natives are slowly making progress in the courts in getting the treaties that they signed honoured). That being said, I would never want to live in the US. Every time I cross the border, I can't wait to get back to Canada. The image of the US as violent and backwards is, in many ways, absolutely true. And what passes for political dialogue in the US is horrifying. Indeed, even though our present government is Conservative, many of its policies would not be out of place with the Democrats in the US - and I think that is unfortunate on both counts, since it wasn't that long ago that the Conservative Party here would have been far to the left of the Democrats. Canada certainly has its problems but - while it may be somewhat self-righteous to say this - I have no qualms in believing that Canada is a much better country than the US and I hope it stays that way.
Of course, it may not if the Harper government remains in power much longer. It is important to note, however, that even though Canadians voted for Harper, he still only has a minority government. Moreover, in terms of domestic policy, his Conservative government has been forced to moderate its positions on some important issues (such as the environment) because of public pressure. Even after having made all of these changes, public opinion polls show that if an election were held today, the Conservatives would still only win with a minority. To put this in perspective: right now, the government has the support of about 34% of the public. 66% of the public would vote against them.
It is really only in the area of foreign policy that the Harper government has been able to exercise its bizarre ideological leanings. As the article notes, Harper seems to have a strange fascination with American foreign policy and wants to create a mirror-image here in Canada. Again, that generally does not enjoy much support in the country as a whole, but most people don't vote on foreign policy issues.
Finally, Canadian public opinion does seem split on the issue of war deserters for the reasons stated above by others: there is a general sense that if one volunteers for military service, one should not leave when the going gets tough. If a soldier really does believe that his/her service is wrong, then refuse to fight and face the consequences. This attitude is a bit callous,however, given that many American soldiers (like the American public) were fed a line about Iraq and were essentially duped into going to war. Moreover, many Americans enter the military because of their economic circumstances; should they be punished because they were poor and their options limited? So, the issue is more complex than many Canadians realize.
Sincerely,
Shaun Narine
-
I salute Canada
...for tracking down and killing Al Queda in Afghanistan, right alongside U.S. and our Afghani allies. While we may differ on sanctuary issues, we are together in bringing hell to the terrorists on the Pakistani/Afghani border.
http://geo.international.gc.ca/cip-pic/afghanistan/menu-en.asp
-
An illegal war
Anyone appying for refugee status in Canada in order to remain here has to go before a board to prove their claim. Claiming that you are tired of killing or seeing the killing in Iraq isn't a good enough reason to be a refugee. Claiming that you are being forced to fight in an unjust war might be true but for any governnment agency to accept that the Iraq war is unjust would open up a hornets nest.
Not that there aren't good arguments for such a claim under internaional law. The UN Charter is clear that no country can invade another unless there is an immediate threat. It is clear now that even the fragile evidence for the threat that Iraq posed was based on lies that were used to justify a preconsidered decision. Deposing a tyrant such as Hussein would be legal if carried out under the auspices of an UN resolution be no such resolution was ever passed. Koffi Annan has said that the iraq war was illegal.
The Refugee Board is well aware that to accept a claim for refugee status for deserters based on their claim that they can't fight in a illegal war would cause a huge problem for Canadian-American relations. How would the Canadian govenment respond to such a decision even if most Canadians (and the world) believe it is true.
-
As a good Salonik
I don't understand why we need or should have to follow laws or any legislation at all if it conflicts with our inner anarchist?
-
re: Every time I cross the border, I can't wait to get back to Canada. The image of the US as violent and backwards is, in many ways, absolutely true.
What a strange statement! I could be in Canada in an hour, yet I have no desire or reason to go there - yet you seem to to despise America, yet seemingly come here often?
I wonder why?
Canadians like you show very little knowedge of America - often as you benefit from our very presence. You say America is backwards?
I live in Manhattan and often stay in LA - I doubt you have any cities as modern and cosmopolitan as either of those two towns - yet here you hating on my country - if were were African or Latino, you'd be labeled a racist.
But we're only Americans...
-
The real for Canadian ambivalence
Three figures to begin: 77, 78, and 66%. The percentage of Canadians that held a favourable view of Americans in 2002, '03, and '05, respectively, according to PEW research. By global standards these aren't bad numbers (along with Poland, Israel, and, recently, India, Canada is always near the top in favourability towards the US). But the drop is hard to ignore. So what gives? The Iraq War's beginning in '03 is one obvious culprit, but I don't think that fully explains it. More critical in creating ambivalence in Canadian's minds than launching the Iraq War was (many) American's endorsement of it through the reelection of George W. Bush. Canadians, I'd guess better than any non-American public, have long been able to keep separate Americans themselves from the American government; but the 60+ million Bush votes in '04 made that compartmentalization increasingly fraught.
It is an ambivalence that I think extends to the issue of deserters, who, as many writers have pointed out, volunteered: "you elected this man, so suck it up." Yes, we elected Harper, but there are critical differences. Harper wouldn't dare flaunt the social positions Bush has, as he knows he'd be handed a ticket out of Ottawa; he was elected with a minority; the previous Liberal deserved the slap in the face; and Harper is, ultimately, a competent and intelligent man, even if I personally disagree with his politics.
Put another way, it's not just that Americans have twice elected a hard right President. It's that they've twice elected a deeply unintelligent, incompetent, and contemptuous, hard right President. Sympathy for American military deserters is hard to come by in such circumstances. On a personal level we ought to empathize, of course: many are from poor backgrounds and are indeed escaping a Wal-Mart job and looking for a leg up. But I think Canadians in 2007 view these problems as firmly of America's own making and are much less likely to put out the welcome mat than they were in 1967.
That Canada has relied on the U.S. security umbrella is both true and off-topic here. We're an ally, not an employee, and we weren't cowering under anybody's skirt at Passchendaele or Normandy. Or, for that matter, in Afghanistan right now, the one Bush war that was justified by 9/11; 53 Canadian dead and counting. And if security flows upstream, oil, wood, water, and PhDs flow back down. We need each other, ultimately; when the Bush nightmare ends, hopefully that will again become clear.