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Web Exclusive: All Unquiet on the Northern Front
Canada’s foreign political goals are often painted in altruistic glory, intervening abroad to liberate women, sending children to school and partnering with allies to prevent “rogue” states from acquiring nuclear weapons. Deeply woven into this ideology are notions of humanitarianism, freedom, human rights and a tinge of social democracy that instills a sense of pride in many, if not most, Canadians.
Even when successive Liberal and Conservative governments have acted almost systematically to dismantle these values, this deep-rooted liberal ideology persists. The media are perhaps the most effective at instilling this ideology, which says something about the supposed left of mainstream Canada. And again, this ideology is no different from what has been achieved in earlier, more violent times.
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In pursuit of leisure: A political imperative
What were to happen if we were to challenge our existing social structure by demanding a shorter working day? With more time to pursue personal creative efforts and desires, society could move away from a state of near-constant fatigue and towards a more just society; a society that could focus on more grave concerns that the planet’s neglected majority face on a daily basis.
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Imperial Agenda
Back in January, when the Harper Tories eked out their election squeaker, Canadian foreign policy wasn’t even on the radar screen, despite valiant efforts by the anti-war movement to challenge Canada’s role in the occupations of Haiti and Afghanistan. Things will be different next time. As Canadian troops die in sizeable numbers for the first time since the Korean War, foreign policy could become a key factor in blocking a Harper majority.
It’s true that the military brass, key business organizations like the Canadian Council of Chief Executives and the political right are pulling out all the stops, and this may have some impact. The “red rallies” to “support our troops” are a well-orchestrated campaign to whip up patriotic fervour, and every time a bomb kills civilians in Kabul, the corporate media sings the “save the Afghan civilians” tune.
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Canada’s Military Lobby
In this country today a battle is being waged over Canada’s role in the world. On the one side is a powerful alliance between those who want Canadians to give up their sovereignty and integrate with the United States and those who reject a role as a peace-broker and embrace the Bush doctrine of military and economic totalitarianism. On the other side are the majority of Canadians, who steadfastly refuse to give up the idea that Canada should be an independent force for good in an increasingly unipolar and violent world.
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Latino Mercenaries for Bush
n the faculty dining room at the California State University where I teach, a Mexican-American woman places the thin slice of turkey on the bread to make my sandwich. The stress lines that radiate down from her high cheekbones twitch as she tells me politely that she’s fine. One of her sons is in Afghanistan, she reports. The other will leave tomorrow for Iraq. “I pray every day,” she says, smearing the mayonnaise on the other slice of bread.
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Nuclear Warning
In your recent book, New Nuclear Danger: George W. Bush’s Military-Industrial Complex, you state, “Never, in the almost three decades that I have been campaigning against the use of nuclear weapons and nuclear power have I felt that the world is in so much danger.” What kind of risks are we currently facing?
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Academics in the Service of War
In Canada, we have guidelines that strictly regulate the use of human stem cells and assisted human reproduction. Both Bill C-6 and the Guidelines on Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Research came about through public consultations with scientists, faith groups, the Canadian public and scholars in bioethics, sociology and law, among others. These instruments established guidelines for ethical research into and use of technologies with potentially profound life-saving medical benefits. Furthermore, the Guiding Principles include the notion that “Research undertaken should have potential health benefits for Canadians” and that the research should “Respect individual and community notions of human dignity and physical, spiritual and cultural integrity.”
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Canada And The Big Business Of War
Millions of working Canadians are being fiscally conscripted into the shameful business of war. We are forced into this unwitting participation in the arms trade and imperialist American wars, thanks to the Liberal government’s legislation governing the Canada Pension Plan. Through our mandatory CPP contributions, we are entrapped in complicity with many of the world’s most notorious warmongers.
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