Will Canada lose too much sovereignty if ....

QUESTION OF THE DAY and of our future

Will Canada lose too much sovereignty if it creates a coordinated security perimeter with the U.S.?
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/inside-politics-blog/2011/05/question-of-the-day-364.html

A: YES.

Sovereignty

We do not cherish our sovereignty - we take it for granted.

Initially as 'favourite son' under commonwealth umbrella and now 'little brother' under the USA.

And now as "youngest son of a wealthy family, with a sensitive nature", unsure of who we are, what we want, what we don't want and without any attention to the dierction we are being "led" and "by who" and not too attentive to any of it.

My opinion is that we (me the greatest) are spoiled brats.

Constantly relying on bailouts and second-chances from "our elders" when we mess up or chicken out or 'can't be bother just now"

AND are blessed with such a plethora of wealths that the money keeps coming to bail us out.

What SOVEREIGNTY do we want to keep/protect/conserve?

-The Crown in Right of Canada? and the whole 4-level hierarchy of powersharing and checks & balances?

ie the masterfully-crafted written BNA/Constitutional system that is not being followed?

-One of the Biggest land-masses on the Map? (sparesely-populated)

-French-British history & heritage? (no longer taught)

-Judeo-Christian-Judea moral tradition?

-Freedom to live, move, talk, work, save, give, marry, believe etc without much restriction (unless you do something really dumb/selfish)

-Great mineral and natural wealth - sold off at bargain prices to speculators, temporary-employers/exploiters and/or foreign financiers?

-Judicial system -packed by patronage and ideology?

-Education system - filled with Fabians, Syndicalists, Corporatists and failed-artists?

-Canadian banking and monetary systems?

-Crazy-quilt jurisdictional system of blatantly UNequalities demanding to be treated equally?

-Cray-quilt cross-subsidization of just about everything?

-High Taxes that cover the cost of (abused by everyone) Healthcare (that's dying a death of a thousand cuts)

-Skilled (but small), poorly-equipped Army, Navy & Air Force?

-Reputation (from Suez .... long time ago) as Honest Broker in Int'l affairs?

MILITARY Self-Defense

What would happen if "our enemy" attack Canada ... perhaps enroute to the USA or perhaps for our known & unknown mineral wealth.

NATO will not help us - they'll be busy in Europe

The UN will not help us because "the enemy" will hold a veto on the Security Council.

The USA's Manifest Destiny thinking will lead to assistance from them .... but likely with a "tit or tat" clause or two.

The USA WILL help us -as a buffer zone in their own defense- but they'll really be helping themselves.

Lose Sovereignty

We have never been able to police our borders (that's why the UK pulled out and the 1867 Confederation was devised).

-Shall we beef up our military? -impossibly expensive

-Sub-contract to the USA as mercenary soldiers to protect us?

-Join an alliance with the USA where they pay the bulk of the project and we give them base stations and permissions for pan-Canadian surveillance ?

-Join a defense/repulse/pre-emptive joint-venture with the USA where we pay 35-45-55% of the cost?(and get a comensurate proportion of the military-industrial work)

-Just muddle along and hope no enemy appears, no enemy infiltrates, no enemy attacks Canada AND THAT no enemy of the USA uses us as a jumping-off point?

Lose too much

We can only lose, will only lose and will lose "too much" if we do nothing.

Or if we make the "wrong" read "expedient" choice.

Who is a) our enemy, b) our friend always, c) our friend-if-convenient, d) our enemy's friend and d)  our enemy's enemy

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The Future of Canada in the World - 'Model state' or mushy-middle Power that flaps with the wind

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