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Viewpoint by Alex Shepherd, MP Durham Americans harbour no animosity toward Canadians All the talk in Ottawa these days saying we must have better better relations with the U.S. is rooted in th<| idea that somehow somehow Canadians have done something wrong. It all stems from a few in our society who fail to distinguish distinguish themselves from Americans and believe a different different foreign policy between the two nations is unnecessary. unnecessary. These are the same people who would blindly march Canadians into the deadly quagmire that is now Iraq. Some in Ottawa feel we have missed the boat by not being more proactive on a broad range of issues. They believe that if we set up a cabinet committee to review our relationship with the Americans and foster more direct bilateral involvement with U.S. legislators, Canadians would get better results on issues like soft wood lumber, BSE arid a host of other irritants. All of this makes a number of assumptions. First that U.S. legislators would like to sit down with their Canadian counterparts and discuss thee issues. As a member of the Canadian-U.S. Parliamentary group I can tell you few American legislators would want to. The fact that we sit down once a year has its benefits. benefits. But it is questionable to me that the U.S, wants more opportunities to do this.' Secondly, if more meetings could be arranged, it assumes the Americans would be interested interested and influenced by Canadian parliamentarians. That's not the case either. The U.S. government system works entirely different than Canada's. U.S. legislators receive huge cash contributions contributions to their re-election campaigns campaigns from American lobby i ji tJj » ji 1 : ill . !|, t I I 1 , - A .; !... .. ■ - lipii Sd âtei* II r| «&!! I!!;:' = ' IP Iffill i:ïî««tlsîstiïlïîîî|îtî|«tiîîîî*lî!sîï:î .. vV:li!| . « ! !il !! Ill Il!l isBiiaSi liSlil iiÿAh. Ç j , 'll' ^ ^ >' !' '(fy ' . M i i tâJfm |wi »|jjr| )>T.CS i; %«! i il! [H ! ,r |;it ht .ïülfc ïji| 1? Æ m. ii 1 üpi i, :* M iiiiUi'*' Join in our Christmas Célébrations at Qarington Muséums The Museums will feature traditional Christmas decorations and our Tour Guides will offer guided tours of the museum featuring featuring old time Christmas traditions. Hot apple cider and Christmas cookies will put you in the Christmas spirit! The Museum Shop will be open with unique Christmas gift items including handcrafted German glass tree ornaments. Bowmanville Museum Clarke Museum 37 Silver Street 7086 Old Kirby School Rd. Dec. 5, 7:00 - 9:00pm Dec. 14 12:00 - 3:00pm Dec. 6, 1:00 - 3:30pm Admission is free! For more information call the Museum 905-623-2734 l/jy-';} | |h i'l HE; : ipnij Eli 111111 Mil ii ||ji| iiiliiiiiliiiilii Pi*- liipi! ;!|||.i| iililillliiiiifill liijliiii'iji 11 ff| ! ill iiiiil iliiliiiiitiiiiiliiiiili Kl . ,:•! ilnliniiiii! ll 'I'll i ii ii iiili !' ii r iilLh i> ! },\|i! | liiliiiiiHiiiHliiilliiiiiiiiilllilliiii Orono Weekly Times, Wednesday, December 3,2003 - 7 Dorothy Tennant and Santa cut the rug at the Orono Town Hall Friday night at the B.LA.'s 'Lighting of the Lights' event. Don't let Christmas be a burden groups like lumber and cattle associations. American politicians politicians make no bones about the fact that they are subservient to those special interests. The U.S. system is also structurally different than Canada's. While Congressmen are more independent than MPs, who are part of the party system, they fail to wield sufficient sufficient power when it comes to contests between Congress arid the President. A great deal of our so- called bad relationship with the U.S. started with the Bush Administration. This is the man who said you are either with us or against us. That mentality is making his administration the least liked throughout the world. Quite frankly the notion of cowboy diplomacy just isn't working. Why Canadians think they can find a way to subjugate themselves to this principle escapes me. Obviously we shouldn't resort to name calling as, unfortunately, some of my colleagues have resorted to. But you can't allow yourself to be pushed around by a bully. It will get you no respect and you will lose in the end. Recently I returned from the U.S. northwest coast and found that Americans harbour no animosity toward Canadians. The Bush Administration's misguided assumptions of equating terrorism terrorism with the former regime in Iraq is now causing many Americans to question their own loyalty to Mr. Bush. Mr. Bush has placed the U.S. on a collision course with the world. And worse, while the U.S. economy sinks into an economic quagmire, brought on by increasing indebtedness, it threatens to pull many western countries, like Canada, down as well. Once again we should start looking beyond the U.S. for markets and other economic benefits. Closer economic ties will place us in peril. And closer diplomatic ties won't get us any more respect from those who currently operate out of the White House than what they are giving giving us now. Christmas is a month away. The time of family, food, fun, and shopping. Start planning now and you can enjoy the holiday season. -Set a budget for your holiday holiday season and remember to include the cards, wrapping, stocking stuffers, and extra food. -Make a list of those you buy gifts for and set a spending spending limit. -If there are more gifts than money, review your list to see where the number of people or the amount spent can be reduced. -Consider buying for the kids only or drawing names for the adults. -Shop with your list and stick to the limits. -Show off your talents such as home baked cookies, knitted knitted hats etc... -Give the gift of time. Shovel the neighbors driveway driveway or spend an afternoon with Grandma. -Have a pot-luck get together. Friendship will be remembered longer than a gift. -Start picking up the food extras now and avoid the big shop. -Leave a little money aside and on Boxing Day pick up cards and paper for next year. With this planning you and your family can enjoy the holidays. holidays. Celebrate spending time with those closest to you. Orono Crown Lands Trust MsÂT. ., « Jm :■} J. V • Ær m L.-Ta# .L™ +1 ■ tfaùz T>wmvi & 'Donee Wed., December 31, 2003 Orono Town Hall Cocktails at 7 pm Five Course Meal & Dessert Table Music by ,/ Crosswinds ,/ Tickets: $62.50 per person ~ Call 905-983-5970 ilÀ ■.NT i*' ■