Canada and the World Backgrounder articles from January 2003

Canada and the World Backgrounder archives from January 2003

Fifty-first state: Canadian sovereignty at risk?
January 1, 2003... THE FIFTY-FIRST STATE -- COMMENT "Manifest Destiny" Once there was only the continent. There were no borders, no artificial lines drawn on maps. There was only the land. Then, the Europeans came. They divided up the land among...

Taming the top brass: it's convenient for sovereigns to think there is no higher power. But even supreme leaders need rules to guide them. Otherwise, they are accountable to no one, and, human nature being what it is, they mill fight each other in an endless quest to conquer all. (Introduction).(Powers of the Sovereign)
January 1, 2003... By most accounts, Jean Bodin had a major-league brain. He was born in the town of Angers in west-central France in 1530. His family was prosperous and that meant he was able to get a good education. But, Bodin did not have to be dragged by the...

Democratic deficit: citizens entrust their sovereignty to Members of Parliament to act on their behalf. However, over the last few decades, the power of MPs has been slowly whittled away to the point where their relevance is being questioned. (Parliament).(Powers and duties of MPs)
January 1, 2003... One billion dollars is a lot of money to lose track of; but, that's the amount Canada's new firearms registry will end up costing. (If a billion loonies were placed side by side, they would stretch from Ottawa to Saskatoon, or from Winnipeg to...

Tapping our wired lives: sovereignty doesn't just apply to nations. Taking a broader brush stroke, it also includes the privacy and identity of the individual, and both are under attack. (Personal).(Identification theft)
January 1, 2003... The Social Insurance Number (SIN), which is supposed to be known only by its holder, employers, and the government, has become the standard unique identifier for all manner of transactions. Apply for a credit card, for example, and they want...

Fallout from 9/11: on the inside front cover of the Canadian passport officials of other countries are requested "to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance and to afford the bearer such assistance and protection as may be necessary." Lately however, a number of Canadian citizens have been harassed by U.S. authorities. (Citizenship).(U.S. Immigration treatment of Arab-Canadians)
January 1, 2003... In December 2002, supporters of Maher Arar held a vigil in front of the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa: they were protesting Mr. Arar's treatment by U.S. immigration officials, who deported him to Syria during an airport stopover in New York....

Might is right: the idea that a country is sovereign within its borders has taken a battering frequently over the years. (National).
January 1, 2003... As far back as you want to go in history people have violated each other's sovereignty. About 35,000 years ago, Neanderthal humans were living in Europe when Cro-Magnon humans migrated into the area from the Middle East. The two groups...

Sovereign bankruptcy: for a long time, Argentina had Latin America's strongest--and third largest--economy; today, one in five of the country's citizens lives in extreme poverty. The financial crisis has resulted in the country losing its economic sovereignty. (Argentina).
January 1, 2003... Late in 2001, the economy of Argentina went into a major tailspin when a four-year recession turned into a full-blown financial crisis. In February 2002, it defaulted on its $155 billion public debt, the largest such default by any country...

In the giant's shadow: joining with other nations in groups such as NATO, the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, etc., a concept called multilateralism, has long been the cornerstone of Canada's foreign policy and a way of protecting its sovereignty. (Multilateralism).(U.S. does not consider multilateral organizations)
January 1, 2003... Canada belongs to so many international organizations it's hard to keep track of them all. Most of us know about the Commonwealth or the Organization of American States; but, the Cairns Group? The Organization for Security and Cooperation in...

Quote ... Unquote.(Losing Sovereignty)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... `There can be no security, no freedom, no effficiency without the acceptance of great discipline under the guidance of a strong state and with the enthusiastic support of a people rallied in unity." Former French President Charles de Gaulle...

"Manifest destiny". (Comment).
January 1, 2003... Once there was only the continent. There were no borders, no artificial lines drawn on maps. There was only the land. Then, the Europeans came. They divided up the land among themselves. This piece is mine, that piece is yours. Through...

The nationalist's dream. (History).(economic history related to foreign investment in Canada)
January 1, 2003... Walter Gordon had a distinguished career in Canada's public service. In 1955, he wrote an article in which he questioned the wisdom of selling control of Canadian natural resources and Canadian businesses to foreigners. The article captured the...

On guard for whom? (Politics).(Americanization of Canadian politics and economy)
January 1, 2003... As he retired as Premier of Saskatchewan in January 2001, Roy Romanow expressed concerns about Canada's future independence. In an interview with The Globe and Mail he described the federal election of 2000 as "horrifying" and "stunning." He...

Branch-plant Canada. (Economy).(foreign ownership of Canadian business)
January 1, 2003... Economic nationalists in Canada hate the free trade agreement that went into effect between Canada and the U.S. in 1989. They hate it with a passion, and they marshal statistics to support their case that the FTA has driven a spike into the...

The price of free trade. (Resources).
January 1, 2003... Yes, there is an enormous imbalance of power between Canada and the United States. They have ten times our population and 14 times our wealth. But, Canada is not without a few bargaining chips. We have a couple of things in abundance that the...

Loonies for greenbacks. (Currency).(eliminating the Canadian dollar)
January 1, 2003... Snowbirds would be happy if Canada adopted the U.S. dollar as its currency. These are Canadians who live in warm southern U.S. states during the winter. Right now they have to spend $1.50 Canadian to buy a dollar's worth of goods or services in...

"Pass, friend". (Border).(opening the border between Canada and the US)
January 1, 2003... Mexico's President Vicente Fox has proposed opening the border between his country and the U.S. sometime between 2020 and 2025. Many experts believe Canada should be thinking about a similar time-frame. Before that can happen there will have to...

Do we know where we're going? (Defence).(ramifications of North American security perimeters)
January 1, 2003... An American invasion of Canada would be over pretty quickly. A few brave souls might try to beat them back with hockey sticks and maple syrup buckets, but resistance would be futile. The U.S. military is so much bigger than Canada's that no...

Getting lean and mean. (Social Programs).(Canada's social programs have been gutted.)
January 1, 2003... The Council of Canadians is a group that is fiercely pro-Canadian. Under the leadership of Maude Barlow, the Council promotes the policies of the left, such as greater investment in social programs and curbs on the influence of the business...

Loosing our reflection. (Culture).(Canadian cultural identity)
January 1, 2003... Canadians have usually viewed culture as an expression of their national identity. Here's how the Council of Canadians puts it: "Our culture is who we are, how we define ourselves; it is what keeps an otherwise unwieldy country, bilingual...

What the people say. (Polls).(poll on Canada-US relations)
January 1, 2003... Four of ten Americans think it would be just dandy to have Canada as part of their country. There is less enthusiasm for this prospect on the northern side of the border. These are the findings of an October 2002 poll. The poll by Leger...