April 2025

The crocuses are coming up and in bloom here in Victoria …

All the best,

Brett. 
Class of 1963!

The Rev. Dr. Brett Cane,
209-1959 Polo Park Court,
Saanichton, BC. V8M 2K1
(778) 922-4892

"Faith means believing in advance what only makes sense in reverse."  (Philip Yancey)

We Interrupt our regular newsletter

We didn’t receive a lot of mail this month; just Brett’s note and one from Maureen Lafond Bisanti (C64) pointing out a couple of errors in her submission. I corrected the mistakes (sorry Maureen) and promise to do better next time.

Given the dearth of material I decided to indulge my obsession with American politics and in particular with the “would be king Trump” and publish three very meaningful and on point letters sent to be by Jim Baxter and Rob Ellicott.

To say that I am a bit obsessed would be putting it mildly. I am disheartened and extremely worried about how the situation in the US might evolve. Threats against other sovereign nations, including Canada, attacks against all his perceived enemies, disregard of judiciary and any ruling he dislikes and the sellout of Ukraine are just a few examples. The opposition seems unable to do anything to slow down his (and Musk’s) momentum and institution after institution are being ripped apart. Thousands of people are out of work and it is debatable if some of the damage can be repaired. Yes, there have been massive and countless demonstrations and many judges have tried to intervene (despite the peril) but all for naught.

Democrats are hoping that the midterm elections in 2026 will turn things around but what if they don’t happen, what if Trump creates some phony crisis, declares Marshall Law and suspends them? What then, do things degenerate into an armed revolt by the disaffected? I can see that happening.

Being a dual citizen I am almost afraid to cross the border. I use a Canadian passport but it shows that I was born in the US. Maybe I should renew it and get that fact removed. I don’t want some gung ho customs official/border guard questioning my allegiance and putting me through the wringer for a couple of hours.

I long for simpler times like the 50’s and 60’s when all you had to do was tell customs officials where you were going and they waved you through

Here are the three letters:
The first by an embarrassed Florida judge.
The second by an angry Canadian and,
The third by Polish patriot and former President, Lech Wałęsa.

The Florida Judge

An open letter written by a Florida judge about the CANADA/USA relationships & history by Robert Meadows (Circuit Court Judge, Florida). 

"Have you ever stopped to consider how lucky we Americans are to have the neighbors we have? Look around the globe at who some folks have been stuck sharing a border with over the past half century:

North Korea / South Korea
Greece / Turkey
Iran / Iraq
Israel / Palestine
India / Pakistan
China / Russia

We’ve got Canada! Canada. About as inoffensive a neighbor as you could ever hope for. In spite of all our boasts of “American exceptionalism” and chants of “America first,” they just smile, do their thing and go about their business. They are on average more educated, have a higher standard of living, free health care, and almost no gun problems. They treat immigrants respectfully and already took in over 35,000 Syrians in the last two years.

They’re with us in NATO, they fought alongside us in World War I, World War II, Korea, the Gulf War, the Bosnian War, Afghanistan, the Kosovo War and came to our defense after 9/11. There was that one time when Canada took a pass on one of our wars: Vietnam. Turned out to be a good call.

They’ve been steady consumers of American imports, reliable exporters of metals and petroleum products (they are the biggest importer of U.S. products from 37 states), and partnered with NASA in our space missions.

During 9/11 many aircraft were diverted to Newfoundland, an island province off Canada's east coast where Americans were housed in people's homes for two weeks and treated like royalty. In return for their hospitality, this administration slapped a 20% tariff on the products of Newfoundland's only paper mill, thereby threatening it's survival.

And what do Canadians expect of us in return? To be respected for who and what they are: Canadians. That’s what I call a good neighbor.

But the King of Chaos couldn’t leave well enough alone. Based on his delusions of perpetual victimhood, out of the clear blue, he’s declared economic war on Canada. On CANADA! And he did it based on Canada being a national security risk to the US! For no good reason, other than the voices in his head that told him it was a war he could win. So why not do it, then?

Again, we’re talking about Canada. Our closest ally, friend and neighbor.

On behalf of an embarrassed nation, people of Canada, I apologize for this idiotic and wholly unnecessary attack. Please leave the back channels open. We the People of progressive persuasion stand with you

An Angry Canadian

This is a reprint of a facebook post by someone named ”Mugsy” Margarit sent to me by friend Rob Ellicott. A most detailed and interesting chronology covering the last four months No need to wonder why Canadians are so angry.

One thing I've learned over the past few weeks, and it's been a bit of a sobering lesson, is that a lot of Americans I know don't actually know what's going on between the US and Canada right now, and just how seriously Canadians are taking this. So, against my better judgement, here's a timeline to explain why we're here, and why we're angry.

Nov 30th, 2018 - The United States, Canada and Mexico finalize a trade agreement. Trump personally negotiates the terms and signs the document, celebrating it as 'the greatest trade agreement in history". (This is important.)

Nov 29th, 2024 - In a face to face meeting at Mar-a-Lago, Trump threatens the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, that he will be imposing 25% tariffs and that if Canada wants to avoid that, it should join the US as a state.

Nov 30th, 2024 - Trump publicly calls our Prime Minister 'Governor Trudeau' and instructs his staff to only address him as Governor going forward. He again suggests Canada should join the USA.

Dec 3rd, 2024 - Trump remarks that he would split Canada into two states once annexed.

Dec 10th, 2024 - Trump posts that the majority of Canadians support annexation, despite public polling that only 13% of Canadians would consider the idea.

Dec 18th, 2024 - Trump again falsely states that the majority of Canadians support annexation and that one of his lapdogs, Wayne Gretzky, should have a leadership role in that new scenario.

Jan 7th, 2025 - At a press conference, Trump says that he would use economic force to destroy the Canadian economy to annex it.

Jan 14, 2025 - Trump again claims that most Canadians want to be American, despite new polls showing only 10% of us are open to the idea.

Jan 20th, 2025 - During his inaugural address, Trump says that the U.S. will 'expand its territory' during his second term.

Jan 23rd, 2025 - At the World Economic Forum, Trump says that Canada can avoid tariffs and economic collapse if it joins the US. He says this in front of representatives from most countries in the world.

Jan 24th, 2025 - During a press conference in North Carolina, President Trump reiterated his position, stating that Canada "will" become a U.S. state. He claims that under American governance, Canadians would benefit from "lower taxes" and "better health care."

Jan 31st, 2025 - Trump announces a 25% tariff on all Canadian imports to begin the next day.

Feb 2nd, 2025 - Trump refers to Canada as its 'Cherished 51st state' and that it should join the US to avoid tariffs.

Feb 3rd, 2025 - A one month delay is agreed upon. Trump, in a conversation with Trudeau states that he doesn't think existing border treaties with Canada are valid, and need to be revised.

Feb 7th, 2025 - In a closed door meeting with his cabinet, Prime Minister Trudeau is recorded, without his knowledge, telling everyone that he believes very strongly that Trump is serious and that he stated his reason for annexation as Canadian resources.

Feb 9th, 2025 - In a Super Bowl pre-game interview, Trump says that he's serious about his threats, calling it a 'viable consideration for expanding US territory'

Feb 10th, 2025 - Trump announces an additional 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada to come into effect March 12th.

Feb 24th, 2025 - Trump publicly remarks that whoever signed the USMCA agreement is an idiot. He was the one that signed it.

March 4th, 5th, and 6th 2025 - Tariffs come into effect. Canada retaliates with it's own tariffs. Tariffs are again postponed until April 1st after a huge market backlash.

March 4th, 2025 - In an address to a joint session of congress, Trump states that the US will own Greenland 'one way or the other'.

March 5th, 2025 - US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick told Canadian finance minister Dominic LeBlanc that Trump "had come to realize that the relationship between the United States and Canada was governed by a slew of agreements and treaties that were easy to abandon."

March 7th, 2025 - Unconfirmed Memorandum and maps leaked on twitter reveal Trump is allegedly planning to annex the entirety of the great lakes and Southern Ontario, home to 13,491,332 Canadians. This amounts to 35.25% of Canada's total population and includes its largest city, Toronto. This region accounts for 38% of the Canadian economy, and its loss would make Canada's independence functionally impossible. *THIS IS STILL NOT OFFICIALLY VERIFIED*

March 7th, 2025 PT II - Trump claims to reporters that he had Canada’s dairy-tariff situation “well taken care of” at the time he left office the first time, “but under Biden, they just kept raising it.” In fact, Canada did not raise its dairy tariffs during the Biden administration.

March 7th, 2025 PT III - Peter Navarro, a senior trade adviser to Trump, says that Canada has been “taken over” by Mexican cartels. As a result, Canadians across the country laugh until they pass out.

March 8th, 2025 - Canada's foreign minister warns European allies that their government considers Canada to be under existential threat. She emphasized that Canada's current challenges could foreshadow similar threats to other nations, stating, "We are the canary in the coal mine. If the U.S. administration is doing that to Canada, you're next."

March 9th, 2025 - Mark Carney, the new Canadian Prime Minister, in his acceptance speech, states that Trump is seeking to destroy Canada, and its way of life.

March 11, 2025 - President Trump threatens to “permanently shut down the automobile manufacturing business in Canada” if Canada does not drop a 250% to 390% tariff on U.S. dairy products, which he doesn’t state only kicks in after a certain quantity of tariff-free U.S. dairy enters Canada, a quantity that was originally negotiated and agreed to by Trump during the USMCA in 2018. In Trump's own words, "The only thing that makes sense is for Canada to become our cherished Fifty First State. This would make all Tariffs, and everything else, totally disappear. Canadians’ taxes will be very substantially reduced, they will be more secure, militarily and otherwise, than ever before, there would no longer be a Northern Border problem, and the greatest and most powerful nation in the World will be bigger, better and stronger than ever — And Canada will be a big part of that. The artificial line of separation drawn many years ago will finally disappear, and we will have the safest and most beautiful Nation anywhere in the World — And your brilliant anthem, “O Canada,” will continue to play, but now representing a GREAT and POWERFUL STATE within the greatest Nation that the World has ever seen!"

March 11th, 2025 PT. II - Peter Navarro, a Senior Advisor for Trump is interviewed by MSNBC. When asked about the tariffs he responds with "Just tamp it down, please, over there, ok? They're throwing down the hockey gloves. Stop that rhetoric...we're not going to tolerate anything but them stopping killing Americans", insinuating that this situation was caused by Canadians killing Americans. It's assumed he's referencing fentanyl, but he doesn't specify the reason.

March 11th, 2025 PT III - Trump again publicly muses that Canada, Greenland, and the US should be one country, and questions the validity of the Canadian and American border.

March 11th, 2025 PT IV - Canada sells $3.5 Billion dollars of its US Bonds

March 11th, 2025 PT V - Trump claims in a social media post that Canada is “One of the highest tariffing countries in the world.” He also claims the trade deficit between the two nations is '$200 Billion dollars". Official US statistics show the 2024 deficit with Canada in goods and services trade was $35.7 billion. Despite Trump's claims about Canadian tariffs, Canada is the 102nd-highest nation on a World Bank list of 137 countries’ trade-weighted average tariff rates in 2022 – and had a lower average (1.37%) than the United States (1.49%) that year, the most recent for which the data is available. This means the US tariffs more than Canada, with Canada being one of the most tariff free countries in the world.

March 12th, 2025 - Canadian Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc announces tariffs on $29.8B worth of U.S. goods. This includes tariffs on Steel, Aluminum, computers, tools, sporting equipment and cast iron products.

March 12th, 2025 Pt. II - Mark Carney, Canada's incoming prime minister, expresses willingness to meet with Trump to renew economic and security partnerships between the two countries despite the challenges posed by the recent tariffs.

March 12th, 2025 Pt III - Widespread boycotts of American products across Canada and international markets begin making serious impacts on US economy

March 13th, 2025 - Trump claims that “they (Canada) don’t take our agricultural product for the most part”; he mentioned dairy, then said, “A little bit they do, but not much.” This is false even with Trump’s qualifiers. Canada was the world’s second-largest buyer of US agricultural exports in 2024, according to the US Department of Agriculture, purchasing about $28.4 billion worth.

March 13th, 2025 PT II - New polling shows 46% of Canadians are in favor of joining the EU, something that would have been pure fantasy just a few months ago.

March 13th, 2025 PT III - The Group of Seven (G7) ministers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, along with the EU, meet in La Malbaie, Quebec, Canada for two days of meetings.

March 13th, 2025 PT IV - Alaskan state-level politicians introduce resolutions to oppose Donald Trump’s “restrictive trade measures that would harm the unique Canada-U.S. relationship”

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To my American friends, I know most of you are amazing and generous people. You didn't ask for this, and I understand that. I hold no ill will towards you, whatsoever. But I must stress, with as much seriousness as I can, the amount of damage this has done.

We have viewed you as our closest friend and ally for a century. We thought of you as brothers and sisters. We answered the call, again and again, for any support you needed from us. Most of Canadians visit the USA so much that we've seen more of the US than we have the rest of Canada.

American products have been taken off our shelves. Canadians are cancelling travel plans to the US. Photo after photo has been shared on social media of empty flights from Canada to the USA.

This isn't a joke to us. We're not overreacting. We don't think he's just saying this shit to cause chaos or negotiate a deal. We wholeheartedly believe that our closest ally and friend is about to bring violence across our border, economically destroy us, and eliminate our way of life.

The main driver for Canada's creation in 1867 was SPECIFICALLY to not be part of America, and to end America's very public threats and plans to annex our territory.

We're angry. We're really, really f******g angry. Open your eyes to what's happening because we're tired of trying to make you understand why and asking you why it seems like none of you care.

I still hope that there is time to repair this. I still believe that this is the result of one man's plan to burn it all down. But time is running out, and fast.

After the US decision to suspend supplies to Ukraine, if the answer were in my hands, it would be "Let's do our thing", not a step back. AMEN.

A Concerned Lech Wałęsa

Dear Mr. President,

We watched the report of your conversation with the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky with horror and distaste. We consider your expectations regarding showing respect and gratitude for the material assistance provided by the United States to Ukraine fighting against Russia to be offensive. Gratitude is due to the heroic Ukrainian soldiers who shed blood in defense of the values ​​of the free world. They are the ones who have been dying on the front lines for over 11 years in the name of these values ​​and the independence of their homeland attacked by Putin's Russia.

We do not understand how the leader of a country that is a symbol of the free world can not see this.

We were also horrified by the fact that the atmosphere in the Oval Office during this conversation reminded us of the one we remember well from interrogations by the Security Service and from the courtrooms in communist courts. Prosecutors and judges, commissioned by the all-powerful communist political police, also explained to us that they held all the cards and we held none. They demanded that we cease our activities, arguing that thousands of innocent people were suffering because of us. They deprived us of our freedom and civil rights because we did not agree to cooperate with the authorities and did not show them gratitude. We are shocked that you treated President Volodymyr Zelensky in a similar way.

The history of the 20th century shows that every time the United States wanted to maintain a distance from democratic values ​​and its European allies, it ended up being a threat to itself. President Woodrow Wilson understood this, deciding that the United States would enter World War I in 1917. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt understood this, deciding after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 that the war in defense of America would be fought not only in the Pacific, but also in Europe, in alliance with the countries attacked by the Third Reich.

We remember that without President Ronald Reagan and American financial involvement, the collapse of the Soviet Union empire would not have been possible. President Reagan was aware that millions of enslaved people were suffering in Soviet Russia and the countries it conquered, including thousands of political prisoners who paid for their sacrifice in defense of democratic values ​​with their freedom. His greatness consisted, among other things, in the fact that he did not hesitate to call the USSR the "Evil Empire" and gave it a decisive fight. We won, and today a monument to President Ronald Reagan stands in Warsaw opposite the US Embassy.

Mr. President, material aid - military and financial - cannot be an equivalent for the blood shed in the name of independence and freedom of Ukraine, Europe, and the entire free world. Human life is priceless, its value cannot be measured in money. Gratitude is due to those who make the sacrifice of blood and freedom. For us, the people of "Solidarity", former political prisoners of the communist regime serving Soviet Russia, this is obvious.

We call on the United States to honour the guarantees it and Great Britain gave in the Budapest Memorandum in 1994, which explicitly stipulates a commitment to defend the inviolability of Ukraine's borders in exchange for Ukraine's surrender of its nuclear weapons. These guarantees are unconditional: there is not a word about treating such aid as economic exchange

Canadian Resolve

Thanks Harvey. I know I am not alone in saying there will always be a Canada. No amount of bullying will move us. We are fortunate to have alumni around the world, many of whom now live in the U.S.A. We will always be friends, but Canada's sovereignty should never be called into question. Our anger is not towards the American people, but the American administration. And while many Americans remain hoodwinked by the person they helped put in office, Canadian resolve to push back, to fight back if it comes to that, will never be dissuaded. I find it interesting how culture can be used as a powerful voice in times of crises. Here are a few cultural touchstones that demonstrate to all our unwavering resolve to be and remain authentically Canadian.

Robert Thomas Lowe
Class of 1983

Robert, passed away peacefully at home on Saturday, June 29, 2024 from heart complications at the age of 58.

Dear son of the late Wesley and Greta Lowe.

Dear brother of Wesley Lowe, Cheryl Vijh (David), and Beverley Walker (Tom).

Dear uncle of Shaun, Patrick, Adrian, Ashley, Nikki, Taylor, Carter, Stacey, Travis, Calvin and great-uncle to Ryder, Amelia, Sophia and Willow.

Predeceased by his sister Valerie Welburn (Bill) and his brother Brian Lowe.

Robert was a jokester and fun-loving guy who loved to go on many camping and canoe adventures with his best friend Jeremy Megit. He found these trips to be calming, and as Jeremy has said, Robert loved to be on the water (especially in his and Jeremy's new canoe) and waking up camped out on a shore line.

Robert loved his workplace Community Living Guelph Wellington; he took great pride in his work and loved his clients and they loved him. I remember one client saying "I love Bobber".

He was a big guy with a big personality and always had a smile on his face when he saw you. He will be missed by all who knew him.

Robert, give your sister Val and brother Brian a big hug, and while you are at it hug mom and dad too!

Three men are applying for a position as a police detective. They are all being interviewed on the same day.

The chief calls in the first applicant and says, “Before we hire you, you have to pass a little test. I’m going to show you a photograph of a suspect; you tell me something about them based on their photo.”

So the chief hands the first applicant a photo. The applicant studies it for a moment, then says “Easy, the suspect only has one eye!”

The chief, puzzled, looks at the photo, then says “Are you crazy?! This is a profile picture! Of course you can only see one of his eyes! Get out of here!”

So the chief calls in the second applicant and gives him the same photo. The applicant says “The suspect only has one ear!”

The chief blows up “Has nobody ever heard of a profile picture! Get out of here!”

He calls in the third applicant and says “Now, before you say anything, I want you to think very carefully… what can you tell me about this suspect?”

The third applicant studies the photo intensely for a few moments, then says “This man wears contact lenses.”

The chief is taken aback. He excuses himself and goes to look at the suspect’s file, where he is pleasantly surprised to discover that the suspect does wear contact lenses. He returns to the interview room and says “You’re right…but how could you tell from this photo that the suspect wears contact lenses?”

The applicant replies: “Well, he can’t wear regular glasses since he only has one eye
and one ear!”