Canadian political systems and our ideas about our role in international affairs are currently in a state of some flux, and the West is where a lot of the changes are happening. We have been struggling for some time to find political frameworks that can encompass both Quebec and Western nationalism, and that struggle continues. We are also beginning the process of looking for ways to make our parliament more representative.
What sort of reforms are we talking about here? Abolish the monarchy? Change the Senate to be more like ours? Compulsory voting? Multi member electorates?
It seemed to me that Canadian government was more devolved that the US or Australia - more was done at lower levels.
We are at the moment even more obsessed with the U.S. than usual - for obvious reasons, at least in my opinion - and are torn between the need to find effective ways of dealing with our very large and militarily powerful neighbour and largest trading power, while at the same time feeling more and more that we want to be quite distinct from the U.S.
The whole world is probably more concerned with the US than usual. Here, the events of 9/11 have drawn us much closer to the US, and concerns about cultural imperialism have abated.
Internationally, we want to believe in the image of Canada as a peacekeeping and humanitarian nation that is the legacy of Lester Pearson, while not wanting to spend a dime on providing the military and international service infrastructures to carry out the work that has to underlie that image.
While we may not be quite so stingy as Canada, we don't have nearly the resources, so this sort of cancels out. But I think that the Canada-philes are misreading the situation when they equate Canada's desire to be a peacekeeping nation with our "deputy sheriff" <<insert cringe here>>.
Here's the Party Line:
Canada is a valued partner
Canada is an established partner for Australia. As one of the world's major industrialised nations, Canada is a member of several significant forums that affect Australian national interests. These include the group of the world's seven largest economies and Russia, and the group of four leading members of the WTO. Australia and Canada share underlying interests in many areas, particularly trade liberalisation, disarmament and UN reform. The Government will use regular official dialogue with Canada to develop further our cooperation in international forums. The Government initiated the Canada-Australia Dialogue in 2002 to expand cooperation on a range of public policy issues.
Canada continues to be a valued partner for defence and intelligence exchanges and consular services. Canada's importance as an export market has also grown in recent years. Our goods and services exports were worth about $2.3 billion in 2001. Australian firms have invested some $3 billion in Canada's mining and transport sectors. The Government will continue to work with Australian exporters to identify new opportunities in Canada.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2004-10-20 03:21 pm (UTC)What sort of reforms are we talking about here? Abolish the monarchy? Change the Senate to be more like ours? Compulsory voting? Multi member electorates?
It seemed to me that Canadian government was more devolved that the US or Australia - more was done at lower levels.
We are at the moment even more obsessed with the U.S. than usual - for obvious reasons, at least in my opinion - and are torn between the need to find effective ways of dealing with our very large and militarily powerful neighbour and largest trading power, while at the same time feeling more and more that we want to be quite distinct from the U.S.
The whole world is probably more concerned with the US than usual. Here, the events of 9/11 have drawn us much closer to the US, and concerns about cultural imperialism have abated.
Internationally, we want to believe in the image of Canada as a peacekeeping and humanitarian nation that is the legacy of Lester Pearson, while not wanting to spend a dime on providing the military and international service infrastructures to carry out the work that has to underlie that image.
While we may not be quite so stingy as Canada, we don't have nearly the resources, so this sort of cancels out. But I think that the Canada-philes are misreading the situation when they equate Canada's desire to be a peacekeeping nation with our "deputy sheriff" <<insert cringe here>>.
Here's the Party Line:
Canada is a valued partner
Canada is an established partner for Australia. As one of the world's major industrialised nations, Canada is a member of several significant forums that affect Australian national interests. These include the group of the world's seven largest economies and Russia, and the group of four leading members of the WTO. Australia and Canada share underlying interests in many areas, particularly trade liberalisation, disarmament and UN reform. The Government will use regular official dialogue with Canada to develop further our cooperation in international forums. The Government initiated the Canada-Australia Dialogue in 2002 to expand cooperation on a range of public policy issues.Canada continues to be a valued partner for defence and intelligence exchanges and consular services. Canada's importance as an export market has also grown in recent years. Our goods and services exports were worth about $2.3 billion in 2001. Australian firms have invested some $3 billion in Canada's mining and transport sectors. The Government will continue to work with Australian exporters to identify new opportunities in Canada.