David Wilkins, the U.S. ambassador to Canada, publicly complained December 13 about such “America-bashing.” Constant criticisms of “your No. 1 trading partner” could “hurt the Canada-US relationship,” he said. Addressing the most contentious issues in Canada-U.S. relations, Wilkins said, “Freedom is on the march” in Iraq, where Ottawa has refused to send troops. Responding to recent comments by Prime Minister Paul Martin blaming Washington for not signing the Kyoto agreement, Wilkins also defended the U.S. government’s record on environmental issues.

On the dispute over softwood lumber, which is the biggest irritant for Canadian rulers, Wilkins noted that the U.S. Commerce Department had just reduced duties on Canadian timber.

Martin responded to Wilkins the following day. Speaking to the press at a softwood lumber mill in British Columbia, he stated, “We’re not going to let up until Canadian companies are repaid the tariffs that were improperly collected on our lumber and until our neighbors respect the fact that free trade must be fair trade.”

Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper called the U.S. ambassador’s intervention “inappropriate.”

New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton said Martin is “whipping up the rhetoric” because his Liberal government has failed to make any gains for Canada in the softwood lumber issue.

Canada’s trade with the United States is vital for the Canadian rulers. It is responsible for more than half of the country’s gross domestic product and represents roughly 80 percent of Canada’s exports, while less than a quarter of U.S. exports go to Canada. Softwood lumber is one of Canada’s largest exports to the United States, representing $6.8 billion per year.

In 2002 Washington imposed a 27 percent import duty on Canadian lumber. The rate has since been lowered to take account of the rise of the Canadian dollar. Washington, however, has rejected rulings against this tariff by a special panel set up to referee cross-border disputes under the North American Free Trade Agreement. U.S. Customs has collected $5 billion in duties from Canada’s lumber exporters since May 2002.

Such pressure and the developing depression of the world capitalist market have driven the forest industry here into a crisis.

More than 7,000 workers have lost their jobs in paper mill shutdowns across Canada in recent months. Since the beginning of the federal election campaign in early December, at least two companies have announced new mill closures. At the same time, the bosses profit drive is deadly for workers. Forty forest workers died last year in British Columbia alone, a province with a population of about 4 million people.

The growing competition from other imperialist powers, especially Washington, is a major factor behind the incapacity of Canada’s ruling billionaire families to stabilize their rule. The Liberal Party, the only party that could still pretend to be a national party, is losing significant ground in Quebec.
 
 
Related articles:
Faced with public workers strikes, Quebec gov’t imposes concessions
Communist League candidates in Canada campaign with working-class platform  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home