All states are a product of their history, a sum of those events that have shaped them, and Canada is no different. This is why it is always important to learn and understand our history, to know where we have come from, as this will indicate roughly where we are now. And once we understand this, we have an ability to learn from our past to shape our future.
History may also show us something else, for it is a social study of the patterns of human behaviours. And such patterns indicate whether we are making progress, learning from our past, or whether we continue to repeat certain actions, failing to learn from them or offering us an opportunity to predict certain outcomes.
This methodology may be used to analyze current affairs to help explain recent events; whether it is the ideal of nation-building, this time through pipelines or our current negotiations with our neighbour over NAFTA, we see a recurring pattern of behaviour for Canada.
In an effort to build this nation, the Canadian government has consistently ignored Métis and First Nation issues, and the TMX pipeline seems to be no different. Though there were a series of Supreme Court of Canada cases that asserted this responsibility, in the end the federal agency, the National Energy Board, failed to adequately do so, and thus another hurdle was thrown in front of this project, once again repeating past behaviours and sending a negative message to First Nation peoples. This upsets many from all sides of this issue, but maybe there is an opportunity to learn from it this time and do things better.
As for NAFTA, there are many calling for us to walk away from the current negotiations, especially given the fact that the U.S. president seems to be acting petulant and in bad faith. If anyone has ever examined Donald Trump’s business practices in the past, one would know that this is his modus operandi. But remember, the FTA and NAFTA were developed to help improve the flow of manufactured goods between neighbouring states and to help improve pre-existing trade relations. This trade has not gone away, but, rather, it has improved, and NAFTA still serves U.S. interests.
As in the past, when we faced hurdles, the Canadian government went directly to the source of U.S. political power, circumventing the president’s office, as Congress and the U.S. Senate represent those states whose interests are served by trade with Canada.
There is much more depth to the examples mentioned above, but there is not enough space to explore that at this time. Unfortunately, our media likes to sensationalize such stories, creating much uncertainty for citizens and the economy, and governments of late have reacted to these fears. The point is that history can provide us with solutions, if we care to learn from it. But this requires our government to be more pragmatic, as with Canadians, but if we do so, we might show more progress as a nation.
John Kennair is an international consultant and doctor of laws who lives in St. Albert.
