Canada to U.S.: Mind your business...

Canada to U.S.: Mind your business
Don't tell us how to run our military, defence minister admonishes U.S. president. Second Canadian official calls Bush'a moron' for pushing Iraq onto NATO agenda.
PRAGUE -- Defence Minister John McCallum bluntly told George W. Bush yesterday to stop lecturing Canada about increased defence spending after the U.S. president urged the federal government and the NATO allies to boost their military budgets to confront new international threats from terrorism and rogue states.

The Bush administration, particularly through Paul Cellucci, its ambassador to Canada, has been calling on Canada to increase defence spending and to purchase new heavy-lift aircraft so it does not have to rely on the U.S. to transport Canadian troops.

Mr. McCallum said yesterday he is fed up with the Americans hectoring Canada about its low defence expenditures, even though he himself has been publicly lobbying for greater military spending.

www.canada.com...

McCallum must be from Quebec, lol

Seems to me that the US not only want Canada to fight in it's wars but also to make their own way there.
Canada has no enemies of any great threat but does have her Commonwealth allies who would come to her defence.
If the Canadians would rather spend their money on a National health service that has already saved thousands of lives of low income families rather than spend that money on killing the poor of the world then I say good for them.

US military superiority today was bought at the expence of hundreds of thousands of lives of low income families who couldn't afford medical insurance and mistakenly thought that the role of a modern democratic state was more than paying taxes and fighting wars.

I think it's well to remember that the countries that the US gov criticise the most for lack of military expenditure all have national health system where a person doesn't have to worry that they might not have their credit card with them if they need medical treatment

I know this is slightly off thread.I'm sorry.

This is all very rum - I'd always had the Americans and Canadians as fairly good neighbours, with occasional neighbourly squabbles. But a number of my colleagues are Canadians and they seem to be adopting a rather anti-US tone of late. forever mumbling darkly about new border controls and how the Americans are planning to steal their water!
I wonder if any Canadian posters can
tell us if there has been a sea-change in Canadian-U relationships.

I agree Estragon.I would like to hear the views of a Canadian on this subject.

I agree as well. A good deal of the animosity stems from the lack of diplomatic acknowledgement ushered in with this administration. Canada is one of our biggest energy suppliers, a willing battle ally, and an open boarder neighbor of which allot of citizens cross back & forth working for US factories in both countries.
But, they seem to be never thrown a bone. Mexico is more favored by The Bush team, yet contributes less to the US than Canada. Plus, they were pissed over that friendly fire incident that did not get any show of direct condolence from Cheney/Bush or any other official.
To think they gave us Michael J. Fox, Pamela Anderson, Peter Jennings & most of our game show hosts.....we're such ingrates.

Well Geeze..I guess we can stop purchaseing stuff from Canada...since they want us to mind or own buisness..Yes they are our biggest energy supplier..and i assure you the DONT GIVE it to us for free.

Boomslang

So you want to go into your neighbours house and tell him how to run it... How to raise his kids, what color to paint his wall etc...

A good point about the "friendly fire" BT -it was (publicly, at least) poorly managed and there were numerous litle annoying things:the Canadian who traded with Cuba -Delmart the defecting spook etc. etc. (all quiet now)
If the US is favouring Mexico -silly old US say I (other than the Hispanic vote and the fact that meddling in Latin American politics has a seemingly irresistible appeal to US administrations).
Many Canadians, 'tis true, cross borders daily to work in the US but tend not to stay there, have huge families, insist upon changing the language of education, peddle narcotics, or impose burdens on the social security budget.

Bandit i am not even gonna waste my time with a response to you..And for you guys that say that Canada is getting left in the dark becasue of Mexico...next time you are in a lumber yard..see where 90 % of the lumber that builds American houses come from..!

Boomslang

[Edited on 24-11-2002 by Boomslang]

I dont care...

LOL good!

tons of lumber is from Canada, go down to Home Depot/Lowe's/etc and see for yourself. It seems like the Canadians have more and more of our auto industry - not to mention 3rd party auto parts. The buzz in my area and probably any remotely close to the Canadian border is seniors chartering busses to get their medication across the border.
Here's their real contribution though: www.canadiancelebs.com...

a good post on Canadian entertainers, Bob and a few they've missed, too.
The Canadian mutterers on my staff do talk a lot about medication charges -you're quite right.
Some of the auto business is a course a result of US companies deliberately out-sourcing in the past fo purely financial reasons ( multi-nationals are not renowned for their loyalty).
There is a longer-term issue here, I think - Canada's vast resources and relatively tiny population are obvious factors.
But, I was more concerned at this sudden hostility that seems to be bubbling up- OK, Canadian politicians frequently use the Big Neighbour for rhetorical effect; but it does seem a little nastier now.

Good, let them piss us off, then let them find out what happens when you don't spend money on the military. I can see it now, fourteen new states, and the United States of Canada being the largest country in the world. Also the most powerful, now that we don't have any border tax or whatever they charge for moving stuff between borders, we will be able to spend more money on military.

Maybe if mexico makes us mad, the United States of Norht America. Then we decide we don't like the South Americans growing drugs and stuff, so we vecome the United States of the Western Hemisphere.

A guy can dream, can't he?

i am canadian frankly government is a racist left wing government

As a Canadian, do you detect a worsening of relationships between the two nations or do you think it's just the governments: the Canadians choosing not to work closely with a Republican and vice versa?

James L,

Don't even think about it...

You try that... Aruba, just 173 sq miles is gonna KICK YOUR U.S. ASS!!!!

Falcon,I would also be very interested in hearing your views on current US/Canadian relations.(The aparent Canadian world lumber monopoly aside)

.....Let's see

We had a Canadian Official call him a MORON.

We had a Japanese official call him an AZZHOLE.

We had a N.Korean official call him a BACKWARDS CHILD.

I know there are other choice ones on record from various world leaders.....can you help me think of them?