I think that what surprises me is not so much that this is happening - as you say, it's perfectly in line with what American and european imperialism has been doing for a very long time... it's just that it's so blatant.

And I guess there's also a sickening feeling that we might well be finding ourselves trotting along behind them, as Harper fulfils (or at least does his very best to fulfil) his dream of turning Canada into Mini-America.