Strains
in US-Canada Relations: An Interim Study


-COL
DR. ABDUL RUFF


________________













Divided,
among other parameters, by the breathtaking Niagara falls, USA and Canada,
the English speaking former British colonies, have maintained love - hate
relations for centuries.







Relations
between Canada and the USA have spanned more than two centuries. This includes
a shared British cultural heritage, warfare during the 1770s and 1812, and the
eventual development of one of the most stable and mutually-beneficial
international relationships in the modern world. Each is the other's chief
economic partner and large-scale tourism and migration between the two nations
has increased rapport.





NATO
serves as a binding force to keep both UK and Canada under Washington's
heavy control mechanisms.


As
the senior strategic partner, America dictates to Canada and like Britain,
Canada just sub-serves the American big brother, especially in the era of
state terror strategies. . Many Canadians grudge, maybe with reasons, the
domination of America over Canada. As it stands today, Canada and the USA are
currently the world's largest trading partners, share the world's
longest border, and have significant interoperability within the defense
sphere.





The
foreign policies of the neighbors have been closely aligned since the Cold War.
However, Canada has disagreed with American policies regarding the Vietnam War,
the status of Cuba, the Iraq War, Missile Defense, and the War on Terrorism. A
serious diplomatic debate is whether the Northwest Passage is in international
waters or under Canadian jurisdiction.







Recent
difficulties have included repeated trade disputes, environmental concerns,
Canadian concern for the future of oil exports, and issues of illegal
immigration and the "threat of terrorism". Nevertheless, trade
between the two countries has continued to expand in both absolute and relative
terms for the last two hundred years, but especially following the 1988 FTA and
the subsequent signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in
1994 which has since further merged the two economies.





The
most serious breach in the relationship was the War of 1812, which saw an
American invasion of then British North America and counter-invasions from
British-Canadian forces. Military collaboration began during World War II and
continued throughout the Cold War on both a bilateral basis through NORAD and
through multilateral participation in NATO. A high volume of trade and
migration between the United States and Canada has generated closer ties,
especially after the signing of the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement
in 1988.





President
Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper talked common cause on
the Americas on Monday, but their two nations' historic trade relationship is
being tested anew by tensions over membership in a trans-Pacific trade group.
Obama, after hosting a one-day summit with Harper and Mexican President Felipe
Calderón, said all three nations will take new steps to ease regulations with
the aim of increasing trade among them and creating more jobs. The three also
discussed immigration policies and the war on drugs. Obama said the U.S. would
welcome both countries' entry into the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free-trade
zone spanning the Pacific Ocean. And Harper reiterated his country's eagerness
to join the TPP, saying it was part of Canada's "ambitious trade
agenda."





The
TPP began in 2005 as a pact including Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and Singapore.
A second wave of five countries, including the U.S. and Australia, started
negotiations to join soon after and have said they aim to reach a deal this
year. Canada and Mexico began the process to join the group later.







The
tension over the TPP follows a series of minor trade spats last year, including
the surprise decision by the White House to reject a proposed expansion of an
oil pipeline running from Alberta to the US. Some Canadian officials say that
despite the verbal support from the White House, U.S. trade negotiators have
been reluctant to encourage Canada's entry into the TPP. The treaty is seen as
important for both countries to take advantage of Asia's booming growth, at a
time when much of the rest of the developed world is still struggling to
recover from the global downturn.







The
U.S. stymied Canada's attempts to join the most recent round of entry talks in
Melbourne last month, saying there wasn't enough time to accommodate Ottawa.
Although several TPP member countries and countries among those seeking to
enter the group have signaled their willingness to allow Canada in, Americans
oppose it. Some U.S. companies that compete with Canadian firms for Asian
business also oppose Canada's membership.







The
suspected leak of military intelligence to Russia in March by a Canadian naval
officer may have created a significant rift between Canadian and American
security officials.the leak, allegedly conducted by Sub Lt. Jeffrey Paul
Delisle, created serious fallout between Canada and the U.S., which was
downplayed by Canadian officials. Delisle, 40, was arrested in Halifax in
January and became the first person charged under the Security of Information
Act, which replaced the former Official Secrets Act in 2001.






it
was electronic communications between allied militaries that was leaked to
Russia. Delisle was employed at HMCS Trinity, an intelligence facility at the
naval dockyard in Halifax that tracks vessels entering and exiting Canadian
waters via satellites, drones and underwater devices. The base is believed to
specialize in sub-sea surveillance and regularly feeds its findings to the U.S.
Navy and NATO. In addition to having access to communications codes, an
employee of the facility might have been able to tell a foreign power the
locations of ocean sensors used in monitoring ship movements.







Americans
use “security” as the weapons ot threaten Canada, others and have
successfully coerced Canadians and Europeans by keeping "threat
perceptions" in tact. Since the Sept-11 hoax perpetrated by the hard US
terror strategic nuts, infested in Pentagon and CIA, with assistance from
like-minded Israeli and other terror nuts, USA has intensified the terror
hold over its NATO allies, especially Canada. The US Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) recently unveiled a northern border strategy which seeks to address
security concerns, while at the same time facilitating the flow of lawful
travel and trade. The new plan promotes enhanced shared intelligence and joint
law enforcement integration with Canada. It further builds on initiatives
included in the "Beyond the Border agreement" and is part of ongoing
efforts to lay the foundation for a North American security perimeter to make
Canada an integral part of US empire. .



Americans accuse Canadians, among others, of illegally migrating to USA
and grab American plump jobs. On June 5, DHS Secretary announced the
Northern Border Strategy (NBS) aimed at deterring and preventing
"terrorism, smuggling, trafficking and illegal immigration". The new
plan, “provides a unifying framework for the Department’s work focused
on
enhancing the security and resiliency along our northern border while
expediting legitimate travel and trade with Canada. In order to
accomplish
these objectives, the NBS seeks to, “improve information sharing and
analysis
within DHS, as well as with key partners. The Department will also
enhance
coordination of U.S.-Canada joint interdictions and investigations,
deploy
technologies to aid joint security efforts along the border, and
continue to
update infrastructure.” The NBS parallels the National Northern Border
Counternarcotics Strategy issued in January. It also supports goals
outlined in
the U.S.-Canada Beyond the Border action plan which focuses on
addressing security
threats early, facilitating trade, economic growth and jobs, integrating
cross-border law enforcement, as well as improving infrastructure and
cyber-security. Another
facet of the perimeter security deal is the U.S.-Canada Regulatory Cooperation
Council (RCC) action plan. It seeks greater regulatory alignment in the areas
of agriculture and food, transportation, the environment, health, along with
consumer products. In January, government representatives, as well as industry
officials held regulatory meetings in Washington.



In Canada, there are fears that deepening regulatory integration with the US
could weaken and erode any independent regulatory capacity, thus threatening
its sovereignty. Further harmonization could result in Canada losing control over
its ability to regulate food safety. This could also lead to a race to the
bottom with respect to other regulatory standards.



As part of the Beyond the Border agreement, the USA and Canada are also
working towards an integrated cargo security strategy. Washington says Canada
and the USA are working together to strengthen co-ordination, co-operation and
timely decision-making at the border for cargo shipped by sea or land with a
view to increasing two-way trade, and reducing travel and commercial disruptions.
When the Action Plan is fully implemented, the principle of ‘screened once,
accepted twice’ is intended to apply to all modes of shipping cargo.” In order
to keep trade flowing across the northern border, Canada is being pressured to
further take on US security priorities. In other words, Canada should care for
US security and other interests first.



Last month, there were a series of US-Canada joint consultation sessions with
stakeholders regarding facilitating cross-border business. The joint emergency
guide, “outlines best practices and identifies critical issues to consider when
developing or updating traffic management plans to ensure they are tailored to
address regional requirements and individual border crossings.” Minister of
Public Safety Vic Toews stated that, “This plan is the result of close
collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders, including government officials
from the local, state, and provincial/territorial level, to manage the flow of
traffic near the border during a disruption.” Implementation of this
guide will help maintain US economic stability and ensure that priority traffic
moves freely towards and away from the secure Canada-US border during times of
crisis. Through various initiatives, NAFTA partners are laying the foundation
for a fully integrated North American security perimeter. In the advent of a
terrorist attack, disaster or any other perceived threat to the continent, the
USA could then execute control over the security perimeter.



USA is eager to officially usher in a North American Union.





A
long-simmering dispute between Canada and the USA involves the issue of
Canadian sovereignty over the Northwest Passage (Arctic disputes). Canada’s
assertion that the Northwest Passage represents internal (territorial) waters
has been challenged by other countries, especially the US, which argue that
these waters constitute an international strait (international waters).
Canadians were alarmed when Americans drove the reinforced oil tanker Manhattan
through the Northwest Passage in 1969, followed by the icebreaker Polar Sea in
1985, which actually resulted in a minor diplomatic incident. In 1970, the
Canadian parliament enacted the Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act, which
asserts Canadian regulatory control over pollution within a 100-mile zone. In
response, the United States in 1970 refused to accept the assertion of a
Canadian claim that the Arctic waters are internal waters of Canada….




As neighbors, there are close cultural ties between modern day Canada and the
USA, advanced in large part because both nations predominately speak English.
There are also historical ties between the respective Francophone populations
and their pop culture. Their cultural uniqueness is stressed by both even on
the basis of the international perception that Americans and Canadians are
virtually identical.



There is a strong notion that anti-American rhetoric has helped create and
sustain Canadian identity in a positive sense and that anti-Americanism helped
to "establish and maintain our sense of difference," and permits
Canadians to see themselves as a "cultural corrective" to Americans,
whose "excesses" prove "just as poisonous to genuine American
culture as it is to us."








A
Word








Americans
are increasingly becoming vary about losing its superman status.







USA
wants to be the only superpower to control the world, peoples and its resources
and one, big or small, opposing or refusing to cooperate with USA in its
economic efforts, would be punished. Canada or Britain is no exception.
Canada knows it and can only cray over its permanent predicament. Today,
American power is increasing and its NATO allies are promoting that global
nonsense. . . .







Co-operation
on many fronts, such as the ease of the flow of goods, services, and people
across borders are to be even more extended, as well as the establishment of joint
border inspection agencies, relocation of US food inspectors agents to Canadian
plants and vice versa, greater sharing of intelligence, and harmonizing
regulations on everything from food to manufactured goods, thus further
increasing the American-Canadian assemblage.





Canadian
population and economy are roughly one tenth that of the United States and
Canada remains dependent on US in many respects almost permanently.







Like
many other allies, Canada is really a fearful that USA would incite terrorism
in Canada and conveniently blame on "terrorists".





Knowing US power, Canada takes a balanced
approach in relations with USA.


--------
د. عبد راف





Dr. Abdul Ruff, Specialist
on State Terrorism; Educationalist;Chancellor-Founder of Centor for International
Affairs(CIA); Independent Analyst-columnist;Chronicler of Foreign
occupations & Freedom movements(Palestine,Kashmir, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Xinjiang, Chechnya, etc); Anti-Muslimism
and anti-Islamism are more dangerous than "terrorism" Anti-Islamic
forces & terrorists are using criminal elements for terrorizing the
world and they in disguise are harming genuine interests of ordinary
Muslims. Global media today, even in Muslim nations, are controlled by CIA & other anti-Islamic agencies. Former university Teacher;/website:abdulruff.wordpress.com/ 91-9961868309/91-9961868309