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Canadian Senator says Lecturing Americans Hurts Canada

by albertacowpoke | August 18, 2009 at 05:09 pm

129 views | 36 Recommendations | 10 comments

According to Canadian Senator Pamela Wallin, Canadians need to do a better job managing their relationship with Americans.

Speaking to Municipal Leaders, she said there is too much finger wagging toward our Southern neighbour.

It is seen as hectoring said the former Ambassador to New York. Wallin was a prominent Canadian journalist before her appointment to New York. Prime Minister Stephen Harper appointed her to the Senate during the parogueing of parliament last fall.

She said the finger pointing strategy just doesn’t work and we do it at our peril. Canadians need to take more time to understand Americans and their society, rather than judging them.

While she may be right in her analysis, it would also serve both countries well if Americans also gained some understanding of Canadians. With a larger land mass than the United States and with a wealth of natural resources, our politicians must do a better job selling Canada to the United States. Canada is more than Niagara Falls and Toronto.

So in essence, the statement should have been: we must learn to understand each other and our societies. We have a parallel history and culturally many things in common. We tend to watch the same TV programs, enjoy the same sports (with perhaps the exception of Hockey).

So here is an invitation to get to know each other.

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158

at 17:48 on August 18th, 2009

I agree with the senator.

albertacowpoke

at 17:51 on August 18th, 2009

I agree to a degree, but we have a lot to learn from each other both ways.

The_Cynic

at 20:03 on August 18th, 2009

"So here is an invitation to get to know each other."

Canada and the US have been neighbours for, well, like forever, man! And what is noted is that a lot, not all, but a lot of Americans are not willing to get to know Canadians so much - two-way street.

When the American right went on the attack about many things Canadian - that wasn't a nice way of saying hello now was it?

Canada and Canadians have stood up for themselves and said, in that normally Canadian pleasant way - "Leave us out of your arguments!"

marianmo

at 20:17 on August 18th, 2009

interesting post ty

Iffy (not verified)

at 00:12 on August 19th, 2009

Canada needs to learn how to do the most basic and honourable thing: do what you say. Canada has gained a reputation over the past 15 years for quick lectures to the world, while not being able to pull its own act together and actually take risks and achieve big things. Canada's domestic politics is feeble, weak and fractured; its foreign policy is a mess, and hasn't made an attempt to contribute to world affairs with some courage and cash for 20 years.

I shall be clear: nobody likes a fat loud mouth living in a monster home who always has an opinion but couldn't get up the energy to move off the couch. And that, I am afraid, is Canada. Get off the couch and maybe the world would start to respect you.

albertacowpoke

at 01:38 on August 19th, 2009

I'am afraid it''s a lot longer than 15 years. Canadians sometimes have an inferior complex and that goes for gouvernments as well. When we define what a Canadian is, we tend to do better when we can say what we're not.

Get off the couch and maybe the world would start to respect you.

Iffy, I think we're off the couch and doing things. We're in Afghanistan and for a country with a population of 31 Million pulling more of our weight than some of our NATO allies who have supported this effort.

If you wanted to call us the armchair quarterback without taking on the global responsibility, I would agree with you.

I don't think Canada's Foreign Policy is well defined. We tend to wrap our head around domestic policies and make up foreign policy as we go.

Iffy (not verified)

at 02:32 on August 19th, 2009

Hey! I am an ex-sniper too. I always feel sad about Canada's overseas posture because it is a poor reflection on amazing Canadians I have worked with over the years. They never get any credit in their homeland but you can often find the people in a country doing the most, and getting the most respect from locals, being Canadians.

albertacowpoke

at 02:46 on August 19th, 2009

No doubt about that. Always good to have a sniper buddy around. Where did you take your training Iffy?

AlvarezGalloso

at 09:28 on August 28th, 2009

Actually, USA can learn from Canada in terms of tolerance. Canada for me is Montreal, Nunavut, RCI, and CBC. I used to listen to RCI and CBC Northern Service on my shortwave radio. It was great hearing them.