Free Movement Proposed Between Canada, U.K, Australia, New Zealand

The Commonwealth Freedom of Movement Organization wants to see free movement policies between Canada, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand. (Commonwealth Freedom of Movement Organization)

From cbcnews-British Columbia

When James Skinner moved from the United Kingdom to Australia, he fell in love with Melbourne, landed a great job, met a great group of friends, settled down in his new home — only to leave because permanent residency was much harder to obtain than he anticipated.  

Skinner, who now lives in Vancouver, says he fears the same experience could happen again.

• Vasco Castela loses job, may have to leave Canada over immigration mix up
• Permanent residency spouse sponsorship delays leave new dad unable to support family

"We are virtually the same people," he told The Early Edition's Rick Cluff, referring to countries within the Commonwealth.

"The only thing that divides us is the cover of our passports."

Skinner, who is the founder and executive director of the Commonwealth Freedom of Movement Organization, is calling on politicians in Canada, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand to loosen restrictions on visas and work permits between the four countries.

He says citizens within the European Union can work and reside indefinitely in each of the 28 member states, and a similar policy occurs between Australia and New Zealand.

There's no reason why something similar can't happen between Canada, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand, he argued.

"We've had that Commonwealth tie for generations and decades in the past, we've stuck together through thick and thin, [we] share the same head of state, the same native language, the same respect for the common law," he said.

"It's not something completely out there that we're proposing."

The Commonwealth Freedom of Movement Organization's petition has already gathered nearly 25,000 online signatures.

Skinner says he plans to send the petition to politicians in New Zealand and Australia, and then to the Canadian and British governments, pending elections in each respective country.

Canada Declares April 2 Annually As “Pope John Paul II Day”

From The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops

Bill C-266 has now become Canadian law, recognizing Saint John Paul II as a champion of human dignity and freedom. The new Act designates April 2 annually as "Pope John Paul II Day". After the Bill was adopted last year by the House of Commons on June 12, 2013, it received third and final reading in the Senate on December 16, 2014, following which it received Royal Assent the same day.

Link to the full text of the Act

Dear Scotland: An Open Letter from Your Canadian Cousins

An editorial from The Globe and Mail

Dear Scotland,

You probably don’t know this, but you made us. The first European to cross the continent and reach our Pacific coast was Alexander Mackenzie – a Scot. Our first prime minister and chief Father of Confederation, Sir John A. Macdonald? Scottish. So too our second PM. Our country’s national dream, a railroad from sea to sea, was realized in 1885 when Sir Donald Smith, head of the Canadian Pacific Railway, drove The Last Spike at Craigellachie – a place named after a village in his homeland. The man who did the most to create Canada’s system of universal public health care, and chosen as “The Greatest Canadian” in a national survey of CBC viewers, was Tommy Douglas. He was born in Falkirk. The thistle and the red lion rampant on our national coat of arms identify you as one of our four founding nations; half of our provincial flags contain a Saint Andrew’s cross; and one of our provinces – Nova Scotia – is named after you. There are said to be more pipers and pipe bands in Canada than in Scotland. And nearly five million Canadians identify their ethnic origin as entirely or partly Scottish, which means we have almost as many Scottish-Canadians as you have people.

Ditch NATO, Defend the Anglosphere

Magna Carta - a shared foundation for freedom

From The Hill

By Bernie Quigley

Suggested in the days between the Velvet Revolution and the Orange Revolution — which you do not hear much about these days — that "they," meaning those in the unfortunate neverwhere between the old Soviet Union and Greater America, were not really calling for Thomas Jefferson, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Abrahama Lincoln for liberation. More like Calvin Klein and Michael Jackson. Even the honored Czech poet and then-President Vaclav Havel, seeking a front-row bench in the "West," would pitch musician Frank Zappa as avatar and inspiration. This has been the odd model of the American conquest since World War II. The French in their imperial day would send the soldiers, then they would send the priests. We send Frank Zappa and Lady Gaga, Starbucks, McDonald's and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Bono and Mick Jagger. Possibly what is today causing the stellar decline of American influence in the world is that most under 50 don't know who Frank Zappa was.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper to Name Canada’s First Religious Freedom Ambassador

We hope Canada's good Prime Minister and Her Canadian Majesty's new ambassador will begin their defense of religious freedom by applying pressure on the intolerant, Marxist regime south of their border.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper will unveil the government’s long-awaited Office of Religious Freedom on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper will unveil the government’s long-awaited Office of Religious Freedom and name Canada’s first religious freedom ambassador at a Toronto-area Ahmadiyya Muslim community centre on Tuesday. 

The announcement at Tahir Hall in the Toronto suburb of Vaughan will fulfil a two-year-old promise that has seen its fair share of controversy since it was first proposed during the 2011 federal election. 

 The government has pointed to a growing body of literature linking religious freedom with democratic rights and societal well-being to justify making the safeguarding of religious minorities abroad a key tenet of Canadian foreign policy.

Read more at National Post >>

Canadians are a Hardy Bunch, Eh?

For the First Time, Canadians Now Richer Than Americans

The average Canadian household is worth about $40,000 more than their American counterparts

While Americans might enjoy throwing politically-charged barbs at their neighbors to the north, Canadians now have at least one reason to be smug.

For the first time in recent history, the average Canadian is richer than the average American, according to a report cited in Toronto's Globe and Mail.

And not just by a little. Currently, the average Canadian household is more than $40,000 richer than the average American household. The net worth of the average Canadian household in 2011 was $363,202, compared to around $320,000 for Americans.

 Read the rest of this entry at U.S. News & World Report >>

New Canadian Society to Honor Sir Winston Churchill

Canadian Prime Minister W.L. Mackenzie King and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Ottawa, 1937.

"The growth of population, petty as it is compared with what the future will bring, is already sufficient to sustain the social and political conceptions of what will one day be a mighty nation rich in grain and cattle, with minerals and oil in her bosom and with a climate to breed a sturdy race."

Winston Churchill, writing in the Daily Telegraph, 1930.

Winston Churchill wrote warmly and with admiration about Canada.

The late British prime minister, who inspired his nation in its seemingly doomed effort to rebuff and ultimately defeat Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany, visited this country on nine occasions, passing through Ottawa on six of them.

That is good enough reason for Ottawa Churchill scholar Ronald Cohen and a group of like-minded Churchillians to form the Ottawa Winston Churchill Society to honour the great wartime leader 46 years after his death.

Read the rest of this entry >>

Canada's National Post Apologizes for Pro-Family Ad, Donates Proceeds to Gay Activist Group

What a tragedy for Canada!  The National Post was a good news source with some excellent columnists but this explains the change.  We just removed it from our recommended links.

From LifeSiteNews

By John-Henry Westen

The Canadian National Post, which until the advent of SUN news network was thought to be the most conservative national mainstream media outlet in the country, has shocked conservatives by apologizing for running a pro-family advertisement. Moreover, the National Post says it will be donating the thousands of dollars paid for the ad by the pro-family group to a homosexual activist group.

The ad, sponsored by the Institute for Christian Values, depicted a large picture of a little girl with the header, “Please! Don’t confuse me.” Below the photo, the youngster said, “I’m a girl. Don’t teach me to question if I’m a boy, transsexual, transgendered, intersexed or two spirited.” The ad specifically addressed the Toronto District School Board’s policy of forbidding parents to opt out of its pro-homosexual curriculum.

Canada Reinstates Word 'Royal' into Names of Air Force and Navy after 43 Years

Canada's Conservative government, stressing traditional ties to the Queen and the monarchy, is reinstating the names Royal Canadian Air Force and Royal Canadian Navy after a gap of 43 years. 

  
From The Telegraph

The Liberals removed the "royal" designation in 1968 when they amalgamated the branches of service and called the military the Canadian Forces.

General Walter Natynczyk, chief of the defence staff, announced the decision to bring back the word "royal" for the official names of the two branches of the military in a memo posted on Monday on the military discussion site Milnet.ca.

The initiative to restore the names of Canada's former services "is aimed at restoring an important and recognisable part of Canada's military heritage," Gen Natynczyk said.

"These were the services that fought and emerged victorious from the Second World War and Korea and contributed to the defence of Europe and North America from the early days of the Cold War. These were also the services that paved the way in terms of international peacekeeping missions."

Peter MacKay, the defence minister, and other Conservative members of Parliament have scheduled what they describe as "significant" announcements on Canada's military history on Tuesday.

The Queen is Canada's head of state, and a tour by The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge last month revived interest in the monarchy.

"I think Canadians in general are going to be quite pleased and quite happy to have a little piece of their history back," said Robert Finch, chairman of the Monarchist League of Canada.

To Our Canadian Friends, Warmest Good Wishes for a Happy Canada Day!

"Geography has made us neighbors. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners. And necessity has made us allies. Those whom nature hath so joined together, let no man put asunder.”

President John F. Kennedy

In an Address to the Canadian Parliament

May 17, 1961

Pro-Life Catholic Elected Speaker of Canada’s Parliament

From Catholic World News

 Andrew Scheer, a 32-year-old Catholic and father of four from Saskatchewan, has been elected the youngest speaker in the history of Canada’s Parliament.

Described by a Canadian pro-life newspaper as a “passionate social conservative” who is “unabashedly pro-life,” Scheer has spoken out against same-sex marriage. Scheer faced criticism from some of his colleagues in 2010 when he invited Opus Dei’s vicar for Canada to the Parliament’s restaurant.

Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

• Andrew Scheer, 32, takes Speaker's chair (Winnipeg Free Press)
• Saskatchewan Tory MP Andrew Scheer values family (The Interim)
• Catholicism prominent in public life of Canada's new House speaker (CNS)
• Jewish Ezra Levant Slams Anti-Christian Bigotry in Canadian Parliament (LifeSiteNews)

A Very Happy Victoria Day to All Our Canadian Friends!

We have been surprised and delighted by the large number of Canadians, particularly from the beautiful western provinces, who visit this blog.  

Sunlit Uplands reveres the historical, social and cultural bonds that unite the English-speaking peoples, and it is deeply gratifying to see so many throughout the Anglosphere responding to our posts.  Because of the large number of readers from Canada, we have added a Canadian news source to our Sunlit News feed, and we hope that you will not hesitate to call to our attention any article that may be of interest to our readers.

We extend to all our Canadian friends and your families, "from Cape Race to Nootka Sound," warmest good wishes for a very happy Victoria Day!

Canada's Conservatives Win Decisive Majority

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper celebrates stunning victory for his Conservative Party.

Stephen Harper’s long term strategy has been to break the Liberal brand and drive a stake through the heart of the separatist movement in Quebec. Having won the 41st general election and seen both the Liberals and the Bloc Québécois tumble to humiliating lows, it was a good night for Mr. Harper. 

Read the rest of this entry >>

Mark Steyn: 'Is Canada's Economy a Model for America?'

Mark Steyn's column appears in the New York Sun, the Washington Times, Philadelphia’s Evening Bulletin, and the Orange County Register. In addition, he writes for The New Criterion, MacLean’s in Canada, the Jerusalem Post, The Australian, and Hawke’s Bay Today in New Zealand. The author of National Review’s Happy Warrior column, he also blogs on National Review Online and appears weekly on the Hugh Hewitt Radio Show. He is the author of several books, most recently America Alone: The End of The World as We Know It, a New York Times bestseller and a number one bestseller in Canada. A Canadian citizen, Mr. Steyn lives with his family in New Hampshire.

The following is abridged from a lecture delivered on the Hillsdale College campus on September 29, 2007, at the second annual Free Market Forum, sponsored by the College’s Center for the Study of Monetary Systems and Free Enterprise.

I was a bit stunned to be asked to speak on the Canadian economy. “What happened?” I wondered. “Did the guy who was going to talk about the Belgian economy cancel?” It is a Saturday night, and the Oak Ridge Boys are playing the Hillsdale County Fair. Being from Canada myself, I am, as the President likes to say, one of those immigrants doing the jobs Americans won’t do. And if giving a talk on the Canadian economy on a Saturday night when the Oak Ridge Boys are in town isn’t one of the jobs Americans won’t do, I don’t know what is.

Unlike America, Canada is a resource economy: The U.S. imports resources, whereas Canada exports them. It has the second largest oil reserves in the world. People don’t think of Canada like that. The Premier of Alberta has never been photographed in Crawford, Texas, holding hands with the President and strolling through the rose bower as King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia was. But Canada is nonetheless an oil economy—a resource economy. Traditionally, in America, when the price of oil goes up, Wall Street goes down. But in Canada, when the price of oil goes up, the Toronto stock exchange goes up, too. So we are relatively compatible neighbors whose interests diverge on one of the key global indicators.

As we know from 9/11, the Wahabbis in Saudi Arabia use their oil wealth to spread their destructive ideology to every corner of the world. And so do the Canadians. Consider that in the last 40 years, fundamental American ideas have made no headway whatsoever in Canada, whereas fundamental Canadian ideas have made huge advances in America and the rest of the Western world. To take two big examples, multiculturalism and socialized health care—both pioneered in Canada—have made huge strides down here in the U.S., whereas American concepts—such as non-confiscatory taxation—remain as foreign as ever.

Tom Brokaw Explains Canada to Americans

We are very proud that after the United States, more of our readers come from Canada than all other nations combined -- 28.8% from Canada, and 24.7% from all other countries. We share a mother country, culture, history, language, and a love for freedom and opportunity. The superb Olympic Games in Vancouver prompted the following tribute to Canada by Tom Brokaw.
 

Oh Canada! ... Role-Reversal in North America?

From Brussels Journal
By Marc Huybrechts

Stereotypes are often rooted in some current or past reality, but they can also become outdated. While the USA and Japan have for a long time been regarded as small-government countries, among industrial countries, Canada has long been considered more ‘socialistic’ and closer to the big-government model of Western Europe. However, a careful look at the relevant economic data casts serious doubt on that old stereotype. That is exactly what three economists did in a recent article in The Washington Post (Chris Edwards, Jason Clemens and Niels Veldhuis, Great Right North, Sunday, May 17, 2009), using data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and development (the OECD, which is specialized in constructing ‘comparable data’ for industrial countries) as well as on national data from the USA and Canada. Consider the following 7 criteria for judging the degree of socialism in North America (excluding Mexico).

1) Government Spending

Over the last twenty years or so, consolidated general government spending, i.e. spending at ALL levels of government (federal, state/provincial, local) has steadily declined in Canada from a peak of about 53 percent of GDP (gross domestic product) in 1992 to just below 40 percent in the last few years (2004-08).

By contrast, in the USA, over most of the same time period, general government spending has tended to fluctuate narrowly around 35-36 percent. However, in recent years (2006-08) it has turned sharply upwards to reach the current ‘Canadian level’ of just below 40 percent of GDP.

Read the rest of this entry >>

Time to Call It Treason

Many Americans are bewildered by President Bush’s refusal to secure America’s borders, enforce our laws regarding illegal entry and employment, and his willingness to provide lawbreakers blanket amnesty. However, they can find an explanation in a document that Human Events has called “a bureaucratic coup d’etat,” and CNN’s Lou Dobbs has termed “treason.”

Entitled the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), the agreement is the mechanism by which the Prime Minister of Canada, and the Presidents of Mexico and the United States are dissolving national sovereignty to create a new entity called the North American Union. The document has never been submitted to Congress.

Operating “below the radar,” this ambitious plan enjoys the support of multi-national business elites. It is being implemented through working groups and regulations promulgated by the Secretaries of State, Commerce and Homeland Security. Even the U. S. Department of Education is playing a role in the President’s globalist agenda.

At a summit meeting in Waco, Texas in 2005, President Bush, President Fox and Prime Minister Martin jointly called for

the creation by 2010 of a North American Community to enhance security, prosperity, and opportunity. We propose a community based on the principle affirmed in the March 2005 Joint Statement of the three leaders that ‘our security and prosperity are mutually dependent and complimentary.’ Its boundaries will be defined by a common external tariff and an outer security perimeter within which the movement of people, products, and capital will be legal, orderly and safe.

A Mexican government website has described the process as “a permanent, tri-lateral process to create a major integration of North America.”

Its model, obviously, is that of the European Union which started life as merely a Common Market, but now has a parliament, a judiciary, a common currency and a massive bureaucracy that oversees every aspect of European life. It is even preparing for a European President and Foreign Minister.

Given its massive incursion into the running of schools in the United States, one would think that the U. S. Department of Education would not have time to assist with plans to abrogate the Constitution and national sovereignty, but even they are facilitating the North American Union. The Department is offering discretionary grants under a program called North American Mobility in Higher Education. According to the Department’s website, funded projects are intended to:

• Encourage cooperation and exchange among higher education institutions in the United States, Mexico, and Canada;

• Increase the knowledge of the languages, cultures, and institutions of these three countries;

• Increase the quality of human resources development in the three countries;

• Explore ways to prepare students to work throughout North America; and

• Augment student mobility, through mutual recognition and portability of credits and by developing joint curricula and degrees.

Perhaps no American has sounded the alarm more clearly as to what is afoot than the indefatigable Phyllis Schlafly, and her Eagle Forum has dedicated a website to the North American Union. Some Canadians have also begun to recognize what is at stake. Vive le Canada, a liberal Canadian advocacy organization states:

This plan goes by various names and euphemisms, such as "deep integration", "NAFTA-plus", "harmonization", the "Big Idea", the "Grand Bargain", and the "North American Security and Prosperity Initiative". Regardless of which name you prefer, the end goal of all of these plans is to create a new political and economic entity that would supercede the existing countries.

This summer the American people spoke clearly and thunderously that they want our borders secured, our laws enforced, and our national sovereignty, culture and institutions protected. Yet our President, with historically low poll numbers, has come to believe he is free from the restraints of public opinion because he has nothing left to lose. He persists in a plan to subvert what our founding fathers crafted in Philadelphia and what patriots have secured with blood down to the present day. It is time to call this process by its proper name – treason. It is also time for the Congress to end it.