The Blog of Harald

Canada and the USA have had their share of differences in the past (softwood lumber, for example :-), but things appear to be getting worse:

h3. Maher Arar:

bq. U.S. Attorney-General John Ashcroft insisted Wednesday [November 19th, 2003] American law enforcement officers acted properly when they deported Canadian Maher Arar to Syria last year on suspicion of terror links.

bq. During an hour-long meeting Wednesday with Solicitor-General Wayne Easter, Ashcroft said U.S. security officials followed U.S. law in the Arar case despite protests from Ottawa that American authorities should have returned the man to Canada.

bq. “Mr. Ashcroft assured us that, from his perspective, the decisions that were made were certainly made within the context of the laws within the United States and he feels that there were no laws broken in that regard,” Easter said following the meeting.

h3. ” U.S. won’t change policy on deportations to third country”:http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/12/04/cellucci_passport031204

bq. The U.S. government will continue to deport Canadian citizens to third countries if they pose a risk to American national security, said Paul Cellucci, U.S. ambassador to Canada.

bq. He emphasized that the U.S respects the Canadian passport, but homeland security comes first.

bq. Alex Neve, secretary general of Amnesty Canada said he found Cellucci’s comments troubling.

bq. “It contravenes international law and should, and can play, no part in any effort to increase security,” said Neve. “If anything, (he) is fostering greater insecurity in the world.”

( Maher Arar, a Syrian born Canadian citizen, was deported to Syria when he landed in the USA en-route to Canada from a routine business trip. There he was tortured and forced to sign confessions about his (non-existent) connections to terrorism).

h3. “Canadian flag causes flap in the U.S.”:http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/story.asp?id=066271BE-AC4A-4322-B23D-6E7B44C2B575 Maple Leaf on baggage irks ‘sensitive’ Americans

bq. Canadians should be careful not to appear “boastful” to Americans, who are insecure because of the war in Iraq and admit they are annoyed by northerners showing off the red maple leaf on their luggage when they travel, a recent federal report warns.

bq. “Some participants expressed a certain amount of annoyance at what is perceived as a systematic attempt by Canadians to make the statement that they are not Americans by sporting the maple leaf,” said the recently released report. “This underscores the American sensitivity at feeling rejected by the rest of the world ….”

Wow; this from the country that “waves the flag” more than pretty much anyone else. How many US flag bikinis have you seen recently? :-)

which leads into:

h3. “Are You A Closet Canadian?”:http://blogs.salon.com/0002007/2003/12/03.html#a541

bq. far from being Americans ‘lite’, Canadians have fundamentally different values and worldviews from Americans, and those differences are increasing. Canadians are now much closer to their European contemporaries than to Americans, closer to Europeans, in fact, than are the British. America is now largely isolated in its prevailing worldview from the rest of the developed world. Its values are closer to those of autocractic developing nations than to those of other nations that have made the transition to democracy and constitutional liberalism.

I took the “survey at environics”:http://fireandice.environics.net/surveys/fireandice/main/fireandice.asp?surveyID=1, and came out quite firmly in the bottom right-hand corner, the “Idealism and Autonomy” Quadrant. I’m sure you’re all shocked by this…