by arthur Weinreb, associate Editor,
March 29, 2004
If there is anyone who thinks that Canadian-american relations will vastly improve now that Paul Martin has replaced Jean Chrétien as prime minister, they are going to be sadly disappointed. Now it’s true that Martin is not likely to travel the globe making silly anti-american comments to play to the america-hating faction of the Liberal Party as his predecessor did. and he may not tolerate obscure backbenchers like Carolyn Parrish going on national television and performing a comedy routine after her "Damn americans--I hate those bastards" comments were picked up by a boom microphone. But the real test of our relationship with the United States will be determined by Canada’s policies regarding the war against terrorism and in that respect, nothing will change. This fact became obvious in the wake of the terrorist attacks that took place in Madrid.
after saying how Canada had beefed up its security after 9/11, Paul Martin said: "after Madrid we again went into vigilance and we’re watching the situation very, very closely". The PM then added: "I don’t think there is any doubt that al-Qaeda is a highly decentralized organization and I think the world changed and nations have to be vigilant" (it’s amazing how much Paul Martin knows about security since he didn’t seem to know very much about what went on in his own department when he was Minister of Finance, but I digress). What was missing in Martin’s comments about Madrid was any indication that Canada has the resolve to step up the fight against terrorism in the wake of the attacks in Spain. Unlike George W. Bush and Tony Blair, the former high school football player is content to play defense when he’s not simply watching from the sidelines, vigilantly of course.
One indication that the status quo will remain in our relations with the United States is that despite making major changes to the Cabinet after he assumed office last December, Martin left Bill Graham in the Foreign affairs portfolio. after Madrid Graham stomped his foot and showed his displeasure but otherwise was absolutely Chrétienesque in expressing his condolences as if the 200 plus dead were victims of a natural disaster not an enemy at war. Graham’s most telling response was when he expressed "hope the terrorists will be brought to justice" as if this were to happen magically or at least with no help from Canada. If Paul Martin were really serious about improving our relationship with the United States he would have removed Graham from the Foreign affairs portfolio.
Canada’s refusal to take the combating of terrorism seriously is perfectly okay with a vast number of Canadians. Many in this country are of the view that because we are so diverse, so tolerant, so nice, so multicultural, terrorist attacks cannot possibly happen here. The fact that the americans and the Spanish never thought that attacks from Islamic fundamentalists could occur in their countries until they actually happened doesn’t appear on a lot of people’s radar screens.
When viewers of an edition of Citytv’s CityOnline were asked if they were concerned about terrorist attacks occurring in Canada, over one third of those responding answered "no". and they were only asked if they were concerned about it; not if they thought it would actually happen. When the Globe and Mail asked its readers which of four areas should be given priority in the budget, only 21 percent of respondents chose defense. The other areas were Native issues (24 percent), the environment (27 percent) and cities (27 percent). as unscientific as these polls are, they clearly indicate that many Canadians think that fighting terrorism is not very important.
When it comes to protecting the security of Canadians, we need a government that will lead and not follow. although bin Laden has singled out Canada as a country that can expect attacks many think that we are immune because we did not join the United States in the war against Iraq. Our lack of commitment to fight terrorism will not lead to greater relations with the U.S.
Even though the childish anti-american quips from members of the government may be gone, our relationship with the United States is not likely to change until we get our collective heads out of the sand.