The Clarity Act
After the very close call in the second referendum on Quebec sovereignty, the Liberal government of Jean Chrétien passed the “Clarity Act.” The title is almost a joke since it should really be called the “oh-no-you-don’t act” and doesn’t offer much clarity. The Act specifies that if any province wishes to separate from Canada, the Federal House of Commons must accept the question and will determine what constitutes a majority without clarifying the definition of a “clear question” or “a majority.” The Act also specifies that provincial secession would require an amendment to the Canadian constitution and must respect the rights of the provinces, territories, First Nations and minorities.
In the present context, we should be grateful. According to recent polling, the majority of Quebecers (58%) are proud to be Canadian.
Wexit and Western Separtism
The Clarity Act notwithstanding, the greatest internal existential threat to Canada is western disenchantment. Danielle Smith leader of the United Conservative Party, Premier of Alberta, and former leader of the Wildrose Party, as I have repeated, is currently the weakest link and greatest threat to Canada’s survival as a country. Speaking at a gathering for an recent iteration of the Wildrose Party, (the Wildrose Independence of Alberta Party) in 2020, interim leader Paul Hinman announced:
I have great faith in Albertans that when that referendum comes they’ll make the right choice for a sovereign nation, [ . . .] We’ll be a beacon of freedom and prosperity around the world and I think Alberta will overwhelmingly by that point be voting 60, 70, 75 per cent saying, ‘You know what we need to be our own nation.’
Canada as a 51st US State
Donald Trump’s musings on Canada becoming a 51st state began as a bad joke but with repetition have devolved into a greater insult and threat. Recently he suggested that “Canada would be a good candidate to become the 51st state,” suggesting we are in competition with our friends in the Common Wealth of Puerto Rico. Trump’s posturing is, of course, absurd—Canada is the "bigger" country in every sense of the word. Nonetheless we are being threatened and bullied. We need to consider how to respond and anticipate what will come next.
How to respond to a bully
Elon Musk, who endured his fair share of bullying, and is now Trump's official bully, offers this advice on how to respond to a bully:
I realized by then that if someone bullied me, I could punch them very hard in the nose, and then they wouldn’t bully me again. They might beat the shit out of me, but if I had punched them hard in the nose, they wouldn’t come after me again.
Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson. https://a.co/9TzEH4e
Canada cannot win a trade war with the USA. Our only response is to inflict as much damage as possible on the USA and prepare to endure and survive the pain which the USA will inflict upon us.
A Chain is only as strong as. . .
The adage is well known, even Biblical, that we are strong when we stand together but weak when we stand alone. Trump's buffoonery about Canada becoming the 51st state is a ploy. His claim that the USA doesn't need Canadian oil, lumber, gas and cars is the beginning of negotiations. As the economic effects of Trump's tariffs and the trade war begin to take effect in Canada, there will be a more reasonable offer to Alberta--full state status, two senators like all other states, a number of seats in the Congress based on population, and, of course, promise of a governorship for Danielle Smith if not a position in Congress or the Senate. Most Alberta oil already flows south, but if Alberta becomes a US state, oil flowing east or west will be heavily taxed. The next target for US annexation will be British Columbia, not just because it is a prized Pacific province but because it is a strong link between China and Canada which the USA will want to sever once and for all. In Trump's twisted imagination, once Albert and BC have succumbed, the rest of the provinces and territories will line up begging for access to his greater America on whatever degrading terms he chooses to impose.
Was It a job interview?
When Canadian Premiers came out of their half-hour meeting at the White House, they looked ashen and shaken. Their repeated insistence that it was a "high level meeting" told me that one thing was certain: it wasn't a high level meeting. Later, when I learned that one of the "high level" people they met with was in charge of hiring White House staff, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
The Best defence . . .
Step one in resisting the dismantling of Canada is to address Western disenchantment: more pipelines? maybe. Reviewing the equalization payment system in which Alberta gives and Quebec receives? Probably. A high-speed train so we can finally connect and get to know each other? Definitely. It doesn't make sense that we are a single country so divided by geography.
End the mythologizing of China
Then there's China. Since December 1, 2018, we Canadians have been mythologizing China as a dangerous, evil empire trying to influence our elections and threaten our sovereignty. Well, guess what, they are not the most dangerous empire threatening our sovereignty at the moment. China remains our second largest trading partner and our only real leverage in a trade-war with the USA. "China" remains a word that Canadian politicians cannot utter in light of six years of a brainwashing level of China-bashing. However, when Canadian politicians of every stripe say "diversify trade" that is code for "China." And beyond China is BRIC+ (Brazil, Russia, India, China, plus 19 other countries) ; in other words, 55% of the population of the world. And yes we will need the Chinese to help us build high-speed rail across Canada, just as we needed the Chinese to build the original railway across Canada in the 1870s. Only this time we will need to treat the Chinese with a lot more respect, humanity and justice.
No comments:
Post a Comment