5-16-06, 8:46 am
The new Tory budget ramps up the massive military spending increases brought in under the 2005 Liberal-NDP budget. And despite public sentiment against Canada's aggressive military role in Afghanistan, the Harper government remains solidly committed to the US-led imperialist occupation of that country.
And now, Parliament has backed the Conservative move to expand the Canada-U.S. NORAD military command. By a vote of 257-30, the House of Commons voted on May 8 to make NORAD a permanent treaty, expanding its terms to include the waters around North America, as well as air and space. In other words, Canada is now completely locked into the US military command structure. On paper, either side can drop out on a year's notice, but in reality, no country ever breaks out of US-imposed military treaties without a massive popular uprising against Yankee domination. It would now take virtually a revolution to pull Canada out of NORAD.
As peace researcher Steve Staples notes, adding maritime responsibilities to NORAD's role can only complicate sovereignty and territorial disputes, especially in the Arctic where the U.S. considers Canada's Northwest Passage as 'international waters.'
Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor admitted to Parliament that 'If there were vessels going through the Northwest Passage, I am not certain we would report that to the United States. That is up for question.' he admitted.
Another question: what happened to Stephen Harper's election pledge to stop foreign - including U.S. - submarines from entering into Canadian waters without Ottawa's permission? the expansion of NORAD's role clearly indicates that Harper was never serious about this promise, which was nothing more than a campaign gimmick to give the Tories a thin veneer of credibility on matters of sovereignty.
Researchers also note that providing missile warning information to U.S. commands, as agreed to in the August 2004 NORAD amendment, will lead to Canadian involvement in missile defence and even space weapons. As Staples says, 'the government could try to argue that the establishment in Canada of a missile defence X-band radar, used for targeting, is consistent with the NORAD agreement. In fact, the Americans have already scouted a location in Goose Bay, Labrador, for a radar site despite the Canadian government's policy of not participating in ballistic missile defence.'
But instead of taking time to allow a full public debate on these and related military issues, the Harper government simply rammed the NORAD renewal and expansion through Parliament.
This dangerous turn of events makes it clear that there is no time to waste in building a stronger extra-parliamentary campaign to defeat the Tories. The Harper government is cleverly using every possible opening to push its agenda, cutting deals with opposition parties and wooing the corporate media. Just as residents of Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia have found, much of the worst damage inflicted by extremist right-wing governments is done early during their terms in office, while the labour and democratic movements are still on the defensive.
Therefore, we renew our call for the trade union movement to take the lead in convening a broad gathering of people's movements which oppose the Harper agenda, to hammer together a fightback plan to stop the Tories in their tracks, using all possible tactics and strategies. If we leave this struggle to the next federal election, the integration of Canada into the imperialist US war machine will be that much closer to completion - and it will be even more difficult to defeat the Tories. The time to unite and move into action is today, not tomorrow!
From People's Voice
