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Politics : Canadian Political Free-for-All -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TimF who wrote (2383)	4/9/2003 7:59:43 PM
From: Lino...	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 37068

of interest... Jean Chrétien: Not a Friend to the USA Paul Weyrich Wednesday, April 9, 2003 I received a call quite out of the blue from a former classmate of mine from St. Gregory's Seminary in Newton Center, Mass. His name is Father Nicholas Deek. He handles two churches in Welland, Ontario. One is a Hungarian Greek Catholic parish. The other is a Ukrainian Greek Catholic parish. Father Deek is a Hungarian who lived in Romania and who escaped from there with his parents to settle in Canada decades ago. For years he worked at General Motors, until forced early retirement left him able to pursue his religious vocation. Most of our classmates are ordained deacons. Two are priests and Father Deek is one I seldom see or hear from. That is why I was surprised to get the call. "In all my time here I have never joined a political party," he said. "But I want you to know that I joined the Liberal Party, along with many of my friends, so we will have the chance to vote our prime minister out of office." Father Deek went on to say that sentiment in those cities and towns close to the border with the United States is overwhelmingly pro-American. He said they deeply resent the anti-American attitude of the prime minister's government, and there is a real push to get him out of office. It was good of him to call, because all we are hearing about is how Montrealers booed the singing of our national anthem during a recent NHL hockey game, and even at a peewee hockey tournament young U.S. players were subject to all sorts of abuse. The Toronto Globe and Mail reports that 11- and 12-year-olds from Massachusetts who participated in this junior hockey game witnessed the burning of the Stars and Stripes as well as people on the street giving the kids an obscene gesture because their red, white and blue motor coach had a "Coach USA" logo. Even on the ice, Canadian kids their age yelled "The U.S. sucks" and dispensed other anti-American insults. Parents traveling with the group were horrified that kids would be treated this way. One parent, Bill Carpenter, is so upset he has canceled the family's plans to visit Quebec this summer. "I understand opposition to the war. But we were made to feel unwelcome just about anywhere we went. ... It's not like we were traveling to Syria or France or Germany. As Americans, we felt in the past that Canada was our closest ally and friend. No one told us we were heading into unfriendly territory," Carpenter said in an interview with the Globe and Mail. Of course, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien hails from Quebec. It is not surprising that his blatant anti-Americanism would have rubbed off on his constituents. Kids hear what their parents say and so we shouldn't be shocked that even little kids pick up that sentiment as well. The question is, does this attitude represent all of Canada? My guess is that it does not. Welland, Ontario, is midway between Pt. Colbourne and St. Catherines. There are many small cities and towns near the border, towns where people watch American television, listen to American radio, even subscribe to U.S. newspapers. Father Deek says they identify with America and its causes. Moreover, Father Deek points out that Canada is filled with refugees from formerly Communist countries, especially Ukrainians, who are spread throughout Canada. "I understand what it is like to live under a brutal dictator in Romania and so do they. There is no way they don't support America in what it is trying to do," Father Deek pointed out. He may well be right. The provinces out west, Alberta and British Columbia, once seriously wanted to become part of the United States. It is hard to imagine that they want to spit on Americans. We shall see how Chrétien does in upcoming elections. Canada, of course, has a parliamentary system, so there is no national election for prime minister as such. Instead, the political parties choose their own leaders. If Chrétien continues as leader of the Liberal Party and the Liberal Party gains the most number of seats in the national election, then he remains as prime minister, a post he has held for 10 years. So there are two chances to defeat Chrétien. One is inside the Liberal Party. If he is defeated as party leader, even if the Liberals continue as the majority party, someone else then would be prime minister. Or there is the general election, assuming that Chrétien remains leader of the Liberals. The problem there is that the opposition to the Liberals is split. The Progressive Conservatives, who held the prime ministership for two terms during the Reagan-Bush era, went from being the majority party to being wiped out in the 1993 elections. They had only two seats left in Parliament. The Canadian Alliance (formerly known as the Reform Party), which came into prominence when the Conservatives disintegrated, has its strongest appeal out west. When both parties run a candidate in a Riding (Congressional District) they tend to split the vote, allowing the Liberals to win. There is an effort to get the two parties to cooperate with each other but thus far that has not been successful. So Father Deek may be right in joining the party if he wants to effect the outcome. Opposition to the prime minister may have to come from within the Liberal party. If most Canadians aren't as anti-American as their prime minister, then it will show up at the polls. If, on the other hand, Chrétien is really speaking for the average Canadian (as some public opinion polls would suggest), then we'll have him to kick us around for a good long while.

To: TimF who wrote (2383)	4/10/2003 7:29:37 AM
From: John Carragher	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 37068

"Expect severe consequences from anti-U.S. stance" I doubt it very much... sounds like my sister in law who was worried about the Irish in Ireland not supporting the war... At shannon airport we had military planes flying in to refuel... The peace marchers got onto the airport area and damaged several planes a few times.. The U.S. stopped coming into Shannon and found another place to refuel.. I only heard one person on tv suggest we find another place to go on St. Patrick's day.. As for visits to Canada I also only heard of one person on tv to cancel going to Que. this summer.. Both these people however were encouraging all listeners to cancel trips to Canada and Ireland.. I for one would visit both if it were not for the stock market.. I think the people are great , just a few nuts like in the states.