Commentary

Paul Martin’s “Sovereignty”

Despite strong public opposition to the idea, Paul Martin’s Liberal government has taken another step towards participation in the U.S. Missile Defence plan. It was announced last week that the Canadian and American governments had agreed that NORAD’s detection system would be incorporated into the Missile Defence program.

The Missile Defence concept (dubbed “Star Wars”) was first put forth by U.S. president Ronald Reagan, but was dropped after extensive tests revealed it to be unworkable. The current Bush administration has brought the concept back to life, much to the delight of the U.S. military industry, which stands to make a fortune on the development of the space-based weapons shield, whether it works or not

During the recent federal election campaign, Paul Martin accused Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper of kowtowing to the Americans. In particular, during the course of the English-language televised debate, Martin pressed Harper to answer whether or not he would sign off on to the Missile Defence project. Throughout the exchange, Harper looked slightly bemused, probably because Martin has supported the initiative since before he became Prime Minister. According to Paul Martin (recent election campaign excepted), participating in the scheme will enhance Canadian sovereignty.

In April, 2003, speaking on a CTV television program, Martin said: "I certainly don't want to see Canada isolated from any moves that the United States might take to protect the continent. I mean if there are going to be missiles that are going off and they are going to be going off over Canadian airspace whether we want it or not, no, I don't think that is acceptable. I think that we want to be at the table."

That same month, he was quoted as saying: "It's conceivable that a missile could be going over Canadian airspace. And you know what? If a missile is going over Canadian airspace, I want to know. I want to be at the table before that happens. …You want to talk about sovereignty? My sovereignty says you don't send missiles up over my airspace unless I'm there."

Martin thus reduces the concept of sovereignty from an issue of controlling one’s own territory to merely a seat at the table.

Back to Modern Communism