A Liberal With A Backbone!

Pettigrew's assertion in this article that we are vulnerable to U.S. linkaeg is of course hilarious, but I like this Emerson guy. The fact Dhaliwal got nowhere on the same issue is not surprising, but is depressing.

As for linkage being the best answer, I'd say no, the best answer is abrogation of NAFTA. Linkage is a minor issue compared to NAFTA.

I also like how the Asper papers tell us "Canada is dependent on the U.S.," although they state in this article "The U.S. needs Canadian anergy," implying they need and will get our energy without any problems.

No, "linkage" means Emerson says there's a connection between trade disputes & energy exports. That means we should do what Jack Layton & Mel Hurtig have said, which is to reduce exports to the USA to get leverage in a dispute.

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"George Bush has declared the war on terrorism to be the cause of his generation. The cause of Canadian sovereignty will be ours." - John Godfrey, MP for Don Va

Oh yeah, John Godfrey is another Liberal with a slight backbone. Too bad it's the party that sets all the policies though. I don't think that even Paul Martin has a lot of a say in what happens.

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"George Bush has declared the war on terrorism to be the cause of his generation. The cause of Canadian sovereignty will be ours." - John Godfrey, MP for Don Va

I understood the linkage part, but this issue is so broad, I'm not sure an isolated action is enough, though it's better than nothing. If we abrogated NAFTA, then this would be accomplished on a greater scale, and we'd have an even better chance to play hardball, though the Liberals seem to have given this idea up, and we can all thank cowardly Jack Layton for despicably staying silent.

As for Paul Martin, he honestly thinks the world is about competing for "2nd place" behind the U.S., and that the competition is debt-to-GDP ratio. He actually did say so in a speech. If Martin doesn't set policy, then who does? Probably people like him.

I've been watching reruns on CPAC, and yesterday I witnessed a grand spectacle.

They were televising a meeting that took place on April 1, this spring, and it was a two-day affair.

The best part of the entire program was when a gentleman stood up at the microphone and lambasted the crowd about NAFTA. He went on and on !! I loved it !

He even turned to Hugh Segal, who was sitting right beside the mic and chided him for saying in his memoirs that he had never even read the agreement. He even suggested that he STILL hasn't read it.

Mr. segal should not sit by the mic next time.

It was great, and the moderator himself chuckled and said something like "well, we did ask for any and all opinions."

This gentleman was not the only one to take the case against NAFTA.

How embarassing for poor mr. segal. In front of all his American buddies, no less !




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"Arrogance in Politics is unacceptable"
Jim Callaghan
Minden, Ontario
705-286-1860
www.misterc.ca

A liberal with a backbone? In this day and age? Wow! I guess anything can happen in this universe!

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Dave Ruston

I think this "linkage" idea is not the best. That kind of negotiating could become contentious without reason. I'd rather we dump NAFTA as well.

Hi Jim, thanks for sharing. Do you remember the name of the program? Will it be on again?

Actually, there's another one. David Anderson is standing up for the moratorium on West Coast off-shore drilling. He said in the Province that he's willing to work with the NDP to ensure that the moratorium isn't lifted prematurely (without complete scientific support).

Mind you, it seems that Anderson's career has been based on that moratorium. Apparently, he was instrumental in establishing it in the first place, and that was quite some time ago. Fifteen years or something, if I remember correctly.

-KY

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Kory Yamashita

"What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." - Oliver Wendell Holmes

I think the name of the program was North American Integration. Note the dates in the bottom right corner, just above the CPAC logo.

I would expect it to be on again, CPAC is running mostly reruns all summer.

I hope you get a chance to see it.


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"Arrogance in Politics is unacceptable"
Jim Callaghan
Minden, Ontario
705-286-1860
www.misterc.ca