Review: Canada-USA
| DOI | 10.1177/002070208403900112 |
| Published date | 01 March 1984 |
| Author | Carl H. McMillan |
| Date | 01 March 1984 |
| Subject Matter | Review |
220
INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL
creation
of
still
more
consultative
mechanisms
between
the
two
coun-
tries.
Other
aspects
of
the
analysis
are
more
doubtful.
For
example,
the
statement
views
the
sources
of
recent
bilateral tensions
as
arising
almost
exclusively
from
Canadian
policies.
These
policies
in
turn
are
the
result
of
major
struggles between
the
federal
government
and
the
provinces
over
the constitution,
the
economy,
and
energy.
The
state-
ment
observes
that
the outcomes
of
the
conflicts
could
transform
Canada
'and
affect
u.s.-Canadian relations
profoundly.'
It
also
warns
that
American interests
could
'find
themselves
paying
part
of
the
price,'
should
Ottawa
'seek
to
use
the
occasion
of
an
economic
contest
with
the
United
States
as
a
unifying
force
in
its
domestic
politics.'
However,
the
statement
downplays the
adverse consequences
of
United
States
policies
for
Canada
on
such
issues
as
acid
rain
and
fisheries.
More generally,
it
underestimates
the
impact
of
American
cultural,
economic,
and
political
influences
in
shaping
Canada's
politi-
cal
agenda.
Taken
individually,
the
volume's
seven
background
chapters
are
well
informed,
balanced,
and
often
incisive.
The
policy
statement
is
correct
in
scoring Canadian
insensitivity
toward
the
United
States.
But
recent
Canada-United
States
discord
was
not
simply
the
by-
product
of
power
struggles between
Ottawa
and
the
provinces.
It
was
also
precipitated
by
American
policies.
It
was
the
further
result
of
Canada's
continuing
quest
to
find
an
effective
balance
between
its
national
and
continental
interests
in
a
relationship dominated
by
its
vastly
more
powerful
neighbour.
Donald
Barry/University
of
Calgary
CANADA-USA
Economic
and
political
relations
Academy
of
Sciences
of
the
USSR,
Institute
of
the
United
States
of
America
and
Canada
Moscow:
Nauka,
1983 (in
Russian)
In
May-June
1983,
the
Canadian Institute
of
International
Affairs
held
its
first
study
trip
to
the
Soviet
Union,
organized
with
the
gener-
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