Saturday, January 28, 2006

New Canadian Conservative Leader Shows Determination and Strength












OTTAWA (CP) - U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins clearly struck a nerve with prime minister-designate Stephen Harper when he criticized the Conservative plan to bolster Canada's presence in the Arctic.
"I want to address one other question before I go," Harper said Thursday in response to an unasked question as a lengthy session with reporters wound down.
"I've been very clear in the campaign that we have significant plans for national defense and for defense of our sovereignty, including Arctic sovereignty. It is the Canadian people we get our mandate from, not the U.S. ambassador."
The issue of jurisdiction over the frozen archipelago and iceberg-cluttered waterways is clearly heating up in Ottawa and Washington.
An expert in Arctic defense and sovereignty predicted that the issue will become a sore point in relations between the Bush administration and the newly elected Harper government - which had campaigned in part on a warmer rapport with Washington.
"The sovereignty of the Northwest Passage is a red button issue for Canadian political leaders and for the Canadian public," said Rob Huebert of the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary.

Although this pundit doesn't necessary support this political maneuver - I am delighted to see Harper demonstrating his strength, determination, and desire for a stronger and better federalist Canada in a first days after election, even before being sworn in as a prime minister. I applaud Mr. Harper, conservatives are in to stay.

2 Comments:

Blogger Rodogg said...

He is just saying that right now because he wants to show the Canadian people that he is not buddy buddy with Bush and the states, even though in fact he is.

He has to be rather careful because he is under a microscope, any being to cozy with the states will not impress the Canadian voters in the next election one bit.

His campaign started the day after the election so he has to be very careful, he will eventually slip up, showing his long lost brother and him are great friends!

10:53 AM, January 28, 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What a great site » » »

6:12 AM, March 07, 2007  

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