Just Say No

"Just say no." How many times did I hear that phrase throughout high school? How often was it reiterated in my Archie comics and during Saturday morning cartoons. Stand up for yourself and don't fall to peer pressure... So is that what Canada did when it said no to a missile defense agreement with the United States?

Lately we seem to be pissing of the American government - saying no to Iraq, possibly saying yes to gay marriage and the latest: no to missile defense. Is the American government angry because they aren't having their way with us? Are they feeling defeated by the fact that Canada is standing up to them... The analogy of the USA being the big bully to Canada is cliche, but fitting. There was always concern of what would happen if we put our foot down with the American Government - what would happen to us, our economy, would we be able to function?

We've been beat down by this whole softwood lumber thing for so long now and we seem to be surviving, in fact the BC forest industry is on the upswing. But that doesn't dismiss the fact that the American Government feels that is so powerful that it can ignore world body rulings, such as both the WTO and NAFTA finding the softwood tariffs illegal... And of course there's the whole mad cow fiasco, which is again rearing its ugly head. The US has decided to re-open the borders, but just days after the Canadian government saying no to missile defense, a lobbyist group has appeared wanting a reverse on the decision.

And then there's the whole situation with Condaleeza Rice all of a sudden "canceling" a visit to Canada next month. Maybe there really is a scheduling conflict or maybe it has something do to with the decision Canada made this past week.

Paul Cellucci said that we are giving up our sovereignty by not signing to missile defense; Canada is giving up it's sovereignty everytime we do something in America's favour, but not ours. Missile defense is the latest sticky issue with the United States and it won't be the last. In saying that, I hope the next time the US wants us to do something not in Canada's best interest, I hope we continue to "just say no."