Message to our Neighbours to the South
M. Gérard Montpetit de La Présentation s’adresse à nos voisins du sud, témoignant du non-sens des tarifs de 25% imposés au Canada et expliquant le sentiment de colère que cet affront génère à-travers le pays.
Message to our Neighbours to the South
On the evening of February 15th, the national anthem of the United-States was booed by hockey fans in Montreal. Since hockey is our national sport, this has a lot of symbolic importance to us! After the puck was dropped, the players of Canada and the USA became embroiled in an ugly fight; that such bad behaviour should be displayed is a disgrace. This is unfortunate since, as collateral damage, the booing also hurts the average American citizen. Please understand that the boos are not aimed at the average Bob Smith and Jane Doe nor the athletes of the USA; they are aimed at the openly hostile policies of the White House.
The on-again off-again announcements of 25% tariffs are in open violation of the Canada-USA- Mexico (CUSMA) agreement that Mr. Trump himself signed. On October 1, 2018, during a press conference, he praised this deal; ”... we have negotiated this new agreement based on the principle of fairness and reciprocity.….” Now, he unilaterally tears up the business deal he had signed and imposes those illegitimate and illegal tariffs. This will probably launch economic hostilities that will be detrimental to all parties concerned. The Wall Street Journal calls it « the dumbest trade war in history ». Neither Mr. Trump nor anybody can accuse the Wall Street Journal of being « woke » or an « extreme leftist media »! Worst, the fact that Mr. Trump can tear up a deal he has negotiated is a clear signal to all, friends and foes alike, that the Unites States as a political entity is now an unreliable partner who may renege on an agreement according to the whims or fancies of the day.
The other reason for those boos is directed at Mr. Trump's frequent quips about « the governor of the 51st State ». For almost 2 centuries, Canadians and Americans have lived side by side as neighbours and equals. Since we trusted each other, we had the longest unprotected boundary in the world. We have been solid allies during two world wars plus the cold war. We have done business with each other in a way that was mutually beneficial... until now. True, our political histories are different; north of the 45th parallel (49th parallel in the Prairies!), we do things differently. We view ourselves as «the kinder, gentler society». Amongst other things, if we spell «neighbour» instead of «neighbor», does it mean that we are retarded numbskulls? Until now, respect and tolerance were part of the common relationship between the leaders AND the people of our two democracies.
All Canadians, even those who, like me, did not vote for Prime Minister Trudeau are deeply insulted by all those despicable meandering about the « 51st State ». When the sour « joke » about the « 51st State » was compounded with musings about annexing the Panama Canal, Greenland and the Riviera on the Gaza strip, fear of a 21st century-style Anschluss led to some hurried trips by our political leaders to Mar-a-Lago to hopefully find a solution. It soon became evident that appeasement wouldn't work.
Please remember that those boos at sport events are not aimed at our American neighbours; they are aimed at those outrageous insults by today's government of the USA. Whatever our personal political opinion about Canadian politics, WE ARE UNITED IN DENOUNCING THOSE INSULTS! From our point of view, we are a free, independent and sovereign country. We are minding our business; we can only hope that President Trump would have the decency to honorably respect his signature and his word to Canada, a long time ally! Since I believe in a courteous relationship with our neighbours, I will refrain from saying out loud what I really, really think about those illegal tariffs and the « 51st State»!
Gérard Montpetit
A neighbour who lives north of the 45th parallel
