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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, MARCH 22, 1985
PAGE 9
only wish their buffer zone--Eastern Europe--were as cooperative.)
The
article was written by Peter Benesh, an editorial writer for the OTTAWA
CITIZEN.
There may be angst over ANZUS, but there's no need for neurosis
over NORAD. That's the message the Canadian government is send
ing•••to the Reagan administration. When the President flies
north to meet Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney in Quebec
City for the St. Patrick's Day "shamrock summit," Mulroney in
tends that Reagan be primed and receptive toward Canada, the
neighbor Americans love to ignore.
No issue, Canadians believe, ought to make Washington and all
Americans more sensitive to Canada than defense. Canada, the se
cond-largest nation .Q!! earth, is also the world's biggestt:>uffer
state. Any Soviet missiles or bombers shot down in mid-flight
are going to land on Canada. Indeed, depending on where the So
viets might intercept incoming American weapons, they too could
fall on Canadian territory.
The country can't be moved, and the superpowers can't be moved.
Canada therefore has the dubious honor of being the potential
minced meat in the nuclear sandwich. But, because most of the
nation's population resides within driving distance of the U.S.
border, Canadians accept the role created by their geography and
live relatively comfortably under the protection of the U.S. de
fense umbrella. They also hold up a corner of that umbrella, al
though in recent·years not with the exertion the U.S. adminis
tration would prefer.
Canada is a partner with the U.S. in NORAD, the North American
Aerospace Defense Command. In fact, a Canadian is traditionally
the deputy commander, even though Canada's contribution to the
operation is a mere 9-10 percent of the total. For example, dur
ing the 1985-2000 period, NORAD will have a total of 22 fighter
interceptor squadrons. Two will be Canadian, made up of some of
the 138 F-18 fighters Canada is buying from the United States••.•
The 10-1 u.s.-to-Canadian contribution is typical of the bilat
eral relationship in most areas. Despite its size, Canada has
only about 24 million people, roughly the population of Califor
nia. It lacks the economies of scale to do much more than it does
in defense••••
Mostly for economic reasons, Brian Mulroney wants the friendliest
possible relationship with Washington, and one way he's trying to
achieve that goal is by endorsing, almost without critical eval
uation, Reagan's defense plans. For example, Mulroney's govern
ment has endorsed research into "Star Wars" defense systems. Ex
ternal Affairs Minister Joe Clark called the research "prudent"
in the House of Commons.
However, the government is not prepared to issue a wholesale en
dorsement of the concept--yet. Predictably not wanting to anger
the radical center of the Canadian political spectrum, Clark has
maintained the traditional position that Canada will not accept
nuclear weapons on its soil. On the other hand, the government