Jean Chrétien, who was Canada’s prime minister from 1993-2003, spoke with the CBC about Donald Trump’s presidency and the impact he believes it’s having on democracy.
“He is a threat to democracy because he does not care much about the rule of law. And the Western society is built on the rule of law. When there is no more rule of law, it’s blackmail on a daily basis and it’s not working.
…
But if you ask me if I’m very pessimistic, I say no.”
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Jean Chrétien’s Letter to Donald. “From One Old Guy to Another”
A few days prior to Trump’s inauguration, former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien sent an open letter to Trump pointing to “The totally unacceptable insults and unprecedented threats to our very sovereignty from U.S. president-elect Donald Trump”.
***
“I have two very clear and simple messages. To Donald Trump, from one old guy to another: Give your head a shake! What could make you think that Canadians would ever give up the best country in the world … to join the United States?
I can tell you Canadians prize our independence. We love our country.
We also had the guts to say no to your country when it tried to drag us into a completely unjustified and destabilizing war in Iraq. [March 2003]
But you don’t win a hockey game by only playing defence.
All leaders across our country have united in resolve to defend Canadian interests.
Now there is another existential threat. And we once again need to reduce our vulnerability. That is the challenge for this generation of political leaders.
And you won’t accomplish it by using the same old approaches. Just like we did 30 years ago, we need a Plan B for 2025.
Yes, telling the Americans we are their best friends and closest trading partner is good.
But we also have to play offence. Let’s tell Mr. Trump that we too have border issues with the United States.
We also want to protect the Arctic. But the United States refuses to recognize the Northwest Passage, insisting that it is an international waterway, even though it flows through the Canadian Arctic as Canadian waters. We need the United States to recognize the Northwest Passage as being Canadian waters.
Jean Chretien’s above statement regarding Canada’s Northwest Passage is but the tip of the Iceberg.
The broader issue today which affects Canada’s territorial sovereignty is USNORTHCOM
(excerpt from The Creation of the 51st State is “Déjà Vu“. It Was Announced by Donald Rumsfeld in 2002 (M. Ch)
Following the creation of US Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) in April 2002, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced unilaterally (without consulting the government of Canada) that NORTHCOM’s territorial jurisdiction (land, sea, air) extended from the Caribbean basin to the Canadian arctic territories and the North Pole. What this means is that the U.S. gave itself the right to deploy its military by air, land and sea throughout Canada, including its internal waterways and its territorial waters in violation of the UN International Law of the Sea (see maps below)
The new command was given responsibility for the continental United States, Canada, Mexico, portions of the Caribbean and the contiguous waters in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans up to 500 miles off the North American coastline
NorthCom’s mandate is to “provide a necessary focus for [continental] aerospace, land and sea defenses, and critical support for [the] nation’s civil authorities in times of national need.”
(Canada-US Relations – Defense Partnership – July 2003, Canadian American Strategic Review (CASR),
Announced by Donald Rumsfeld, Northern Command establishes U.S. sovereignty pertaining to the deployment of the US military (land, waterways, air) encompassing fully the territories of Mexico, the U.S. and Canada, from the Caribbean up to Arctic.
It also violates the UN International Law of the Sea by extending U.S. military jurisdiction into the “high seas” (500 miles of territorial and international waters)
It happened more than 23 years ago. It was barely covered by Canada’s media. In one fell swoop, the Sovereignty of Canada and Mexico is wiped out.
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Jean Chrétien will go down in history in having forcefully opposed the creation of Combat Command US Northern Command (USNORTCOM) which consisted in creating a military entity encompassing the entire territory of North America.
He is a man of the people, committed to peace and social justice, serving the interests of Canadians from his heart and his mind.
What is of substance today is to confront Washington pertaining to the legitimacy of USNORTHCOM which encompasses the entire territory of Canada.
Michel Chossudovsky, January 28, 2025
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