Wither Canada...

Once in a while I get a hit on an older post from my blog.  Today’s drop in was from the author of a blog site alleging human rights abuses in Canada.  The site, Valerie Guillaume, contains a short listing of issues and concerns – including some very personal challenges.

 

I like Canada.  I have traveled to that nation a number of times and worked with its citizens and military.  I find Canadians to be very similar to Americans in views, although perhaps a bit (read a lot) less arrogant and overconfident.  There are, however, many things going on in Canada which should spark concern and attention.  Canada seems to be a nation plagued by the worst of protectionist laws regarding free speech and governmental criticism.  In an earlier post, O Canada, I noted these problems, especially in regards to corruption.

 

Canada faces a mix of issues.  The nation is beset by immigrants, faces an internal secessionist movement in Quebec, an aboriginal opposition group, substantial drug trade (especially hydroponic marijuana and an influx of terrorist support organizations due to its largely open borders.  Canada has mirrored the United States economically since the end of World War II but avoided many of the social freedoms enjoyed by the United States.

 

Unlike the United States, Canada’s separation from the United Kingdom has been the slow parting of a former colony.  Canada’s independence was only recognized in 1867, with final constitutional permissions granted in 1982.  Any reading of the Canadian founding documents leaves one with a distinct impression of a favoring of the state over the individual.

 

This is reflected in laws governing personal freedoms, such as ownership of arms, speech and the press.  In fact, in 2008, Canada was noted as having less freedom of the press.  And thus we should inquire what does this mean for the United States?  Will a breakaway province seek to align itself with the United States?  One of the western regions is far more likely to feel ill used by Ottawa. 

 

The legacy of a constitutional monarchy as the dominant form of government and the tradition as an immigrant bastion leaves Canada with some burdensome challenges.  It must maintain a civil society and incorporate new citizens at a rapid pace.  Additionally, as a first world industrialized nation – it must cooperate in the global arena.  All of these effects, coupled with its governmental history, make for a benign socialist oligarchy.  It leaves many individuals in major cities wanting for added freedoms and yet captive of the social largesse of the nation.