Global Policy Forum

By Susan Thompson

US Ambassador Paul Cellucci's mildly threatening statements about Canada's official refusal to join the US-led war on Iraq have sent right-wing Canadian politicians, commentators and pundits into panic attacks about whether the US-Canada trade relationship has been damaged by our official stance. According to Premier Klein, Mike Harris and others, damage to the trade relationship between the countries would be bad for Canadian business and bad for the economy, which is why they've gone to such lengths to express their own support for the war despite the government's official position.

Cellucci's solution to the so-called "bump" in relations between the two countries has been to suggest that Canada and the US completely integrate their energy markets. "Without [Canada's energy], we will not maintain our standard of living or our way of life and that's why we envision this North American energy policy," said Cellucci. In his most recent remarks, which the Toronto Star characterized as "conciliatory," Cellucci reminded Canadians that they are part of the "family" and that Canada is a bigger and more reliable source of oil for the US than Saudi Arabia in the post-9/11 world. On other words, the way Canada can make up for refusing to officially support the war on Iraq, a war which many have criticized as being a war for control of Iraq's oil reserves, is to give the US unfettered access to our own oil.

It seems that while the official claim continues to be that this war is about disarmament of Hussein and democracy for the Iraqi people, Cellucci's remarks reveal the real underlying interests of the US If the war really was about creating a beacon of peace and freedom in the Gulf, then Cellucci might have asked Canada to demonstrate its support for these aims by, for example, aiding in reconstruction efforts and the transition to a democratic government or providing peacekeeping once the hostilities were over. Instead, Cellucci (and by extension Washington) chose to focus the entire US-Canada relationship on one thing - the US need for our oil.

This shouldn't be a surprise in light of the Ambassador's past comments. In 1999, while Governor, Cellucci shocked fishermen and environmentalists by endorsing the lifting of a ten year moratorium on oil and gas exploration on the Canadian side of Georges Bank. At the time, the Canadian government was under heavy pressure from oil giants Chevron, Texaco, and Amoco to reopen the bank for drilling, and Cellucci's comments ran counter to the united front presented by other Massachusetts elected officials who opposed the drilling on the basis of environmental concerns. Cellucci justified his position by telling the Halifax Herald that "If there are resources there, I think we would want to get those resources." After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Cellucci told the Canadian Press newswire that Americans were even more focused on ensuring access to Canada's energy, rather than simply relying on oil supplies from the Middle East.

"We see Canadian sources of energy as reliable," Cellucci said. Cellucci recommended that Canada renouce the Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in favour of a joint "North American" strategy with the US, which refused to ratify the Protocol. In the April 8, 2002 edition of the Hill Times, Cellucci wrote that "When my fellow Americans think of energy supplies, they might think first of Texas and the Gulf of Mexico; perhaps next of Venezuela; then Saudi Arabia and maybe the North Sea. Part of my job is to make sure they learn to think of Canada first. I rarely miss a chance to tell Americans that Canada is our No. 1 supplier of imported energy."

As ambassador for a US administration that has been characterized as being in bed with big oil, Cellucci's own willingness to be an ambassador for the energy industry seems only fitting. However, while this may help oil-friendly politicians such as Alberta Premier Ralph Klein sleep easier, regular Canadians should be concerned. There is nothing to guarantee that US interest in our oil will be a good thing for Canada. Experience has demonstrated that the US is willing to go to extraordinary lengths to protect its own interests. Free trade with the US is generally neither free nor fair - the US is perfectly willing to employ protectionist policies while loudly denouncing any perceived roadblocks to the free flow of goods from Canada. Unlike the relatively equal relationship enjoyed by countries in the European union, the relationship between Canada and the US is inevitably slanted south, because the US has been more than willing to use its superpower status to gain the upper hand despite the costs to Canadian industry. Further integration could threaten Canada's ability to set its own energy policies, including control over our oil reserves.

Cellucci's own remarks in the past illustrate this point. In just one example, when New Brunswick's government proposed to guarantee a portion of natural gas from the Sable Offshore project to be used in Canada, Cellucci denounced the idea. New Brunswick argued that Canadian needs should be met before the gas was sold to the States, but Cellucci stated that this would "discourage investement." Imagine this situation expanded to the whole of Canada, and it's fairly easy to predict the results of a fully integrated market.

Unfortunately, now that the US has expressed such an interest in our energy, we can only expect the pressure to integrate our industries to increase. That's the kind of friendship we may not need or want. Just ask Iraq.

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