The President Thanked America’s Greatest Friend – Great Britain

Thursday night, September 21, 2001, President George Bush delivered the speech of this new century. And amongst his many significant words, President Bush paused to praise Prime Minister Tony Blair of Great Britain, who was a guest of the United States of America in the Capitol Building, while the President delivered a speech that was to spell out how the world as we knew it, was going to change.

The President of the United States of America thanked many countries by name; with the obvious exclusion of one.

Canada; America’s immediate neighbor to the North, America’s single largest trading partner, America’s largest consumer of US culture. Canada; by any stretch should be America’s closet friend and ally. But we were not even mentioned in his speech.

Last Saturday, September 15, 2001, I was invited to go on one of the largest and most listened to news/talk US radio stations (WHAM in Rochester NY) to speak of our feelings towards this tragedy. And before I even said thank you for having me on-air, I apologized for my country. I expressed great regret that our government did not come flying off the blocks to show complete solidarity with the USA in this incredible time of crisis.

This jerk in Ottawa made me ashamed to be a Canadian.

It took Tony Blair, literally seconds from the realization that a terrorist war was declared on the USA, to declare that “Great Britain will stand shoulder to shoulder with the Americans”. He then recalled Parliament and made no bones about where he and his country stood.

On the other hand, Canada took forever to respond, and in its response, its words were measured, anemic and cautious. Only after the mood of the Canadian people reached the government did the Prime Minister finally come forward with more than a few platitudes.

I have recently wrote that Canada Stands For Nothing. I might have been wrong if there is anything less than nothing.

I have a strong disdain for former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. But; at least he knew who his friends were. And he was loyal. Even as the USA and the rest of the world signed up to go to war against Saddam Hussein, Canada, through Mulroney was on-side at the speed of light. But Chrétien was not.

Even then as leader of the opposition, it took quite a while for Chrétien to finally accept the need for Canada to join the world in its battle against Iraqi aggression, but only after he saw what rest of the world was going to do first.

This is not a new phenomena for a Federal French Québécois political leader. Trudeau set the stage as he pissed on our American neighbor and great friend to the south, in order to suck up to the likes of Castro and third world despots in the middle east. Chrétien is simply carrying on the tradition.

After the dust settles, which it will, whether it settles in a few months or years, Canada will pay the price for being a trollop. There is a difference between protecting one’s culture and social umbrella, and offering a lukewarm shoulder to lean on in a time of genuine crisis.

America is a big, brash, complicated and sometimes too full of itself country. But; there is also no other country on this planet that comes close to filling its shoes.

America stands for freedom and courage, while Canada stands for nothing. I am truly ashamed that the President of the United States of America chose not to mention Canada in his speech, because Canada was indeed not worthy.

Chrétien and his entire ilk of ministers and backbenchers have got to go. They have shamed Canada.