Canada: Martin wraps himself in the Maple Leaf after scolding from US envoy

During a visit to a British Columbia lumberyard Wednesday, Martin said he will continue to criticize the US for the heavy tariffs it imposes on Canadian softwood lumber exports and for its environmental policies. “I am not going to be dictated to as to the subjects that I should raise. I will make sure that Canada speaks with an independent voice now, tomorrow and always, and you should demand nothing less from your prime minister.”

Later Martin, who has led Canada’s 12-year-old Liberal government since December 2003, told reporters, “We’re not going to let up until Canadian companies are repaid the tariffs that were improperly collected on our lumber and until our neighbours respect the fact that free trade must be fair trade.”

Martin’s comments came in response to blunt public criticism from US Ambassador David Wilkins—criticism that was unprecedented in that it was delivered in the midst of a federal election campaign.

Speaking Tuesday at a Canadian Club luncheon, Wilkins interrupted what appeared to be extemporaneous remarks to read from a prepared text. Said Wilkins, “It may be smart election-year politics to thump your chest and constantly criticize your friend and your No. 1 trading partner. But it is a slippery slope, and all of us should hope that it doesn’t have a long-term impact on our relationship.”

Although Wilkins did not refer to Martin by name, it is patently obvious that the Bush administration was intent on delivering him and his government a message. The White House was shocked and angered in February 2005 when Martin, who campaigned for the Liberal Party leadership on a promise of improving relations with the Bush administration, announced that Canada would not formally join the US’s geo-politically provocative, anti-ballistic missile defence program.

Last week Canada’s ambassador to Washington Frank McKenna was given a dressing down from the White House for comments Martin had made at an international conference on climate change in Montreal. Speaking before diplomats and scientists from around the world, Martin said that the US’s failure to adhere to the Kyoto accord on reducing greenhouse gas emissions indicated a lack of “global conscience.”

Wilkins’ prepared text included this rejoinder: “I would respectfully submit to you that when it comes to a ‘global conscience’, the United States is walking the walk. And when it comes to climate change, we are making significant progress, greater progress than many of those who have been most critical of the US.” The latter barb was a reference to the fact that over the last decade greenhouse gas emissions have risen more rapidly in Canada than in the US, notwithstanding the Liberal government’s claims to support Kyoto.

Wilkins’ intervention was ordered and no doubt scripted by the highest levels of the Bush administration. US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack defended Wilkins’ remarks, saying that the ambassador had spoken “as a representative of the US government.”

Posturing, hypocrisy and the Iraq war

There is a large measure of electioneering and hypocrisy in Martin’s anti-Bush stance. Since 1993, the Liberals have won four elections by railing against the right-wing policies of their principal opponent. Then, when ensconced in power, the Liberals have pursued policies similar to those advocated by their Progressive Conservative, Reform Party, Canadian Alliance and new Conservative Party rivals—whether it be massive social spending cuts, tax cuts for big business and the well-to-do, the regressive Goods and Sales Tax or the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

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http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/dec2005/cana-d16.shtml