Comments from Jamie Gillis




Jamie Gillis (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
Fundamental Flaws
I've read over the point on this website. While I am completely convinced that solid cooperation and teamwork should exists between Canada and the US, there are some huge issues that the official arguements fail to address:

#1: French Canada. in your FAQ section, you brush this issue off by essentially just stating that French speakers would be free to speak French. Well, that should be a given. How do you address that in Canadian parliment there is a federal party dedicated to the promotion of French Canadian interests? Will this united North America have your democrats, republicans, and yet your Bloc Quebecois?

#2: I happen to be a married, gay member of the Canadian Forces. So, if Canada were to abandon its social progress, am I to understand that not only would my marriage be no longer recognized, but I'd have to work under a don't ask, don't tell policy (which, on a global level, is a behind the times policy).

#3: In your site's FAQ section, when addressing Canada's ties to the British monarch, you brush it off as dated and pointless. Easy for an American to say. Maybe easy for an uneducated Canadian to say. It speaks volumes of how we as a nation came to be and have run our nation for over 140 years. You can't just disregard this in a quick FAQ paragraph. As a member of the Canadian military, I, as a Canadian officer, hold a commission granted by the Queen. Do you propose I take a new oath to continue in my role in your united NA? An oath to whom?

There are addition, smaller points I could make in direct response to the points argued by this site. I'll conclude by pointing out that you've not fully answered all the questions, have not forseen all the problems, and have a lot more work to do in order to convince your average Canadian that "our system of government and democracy has it wrong - the US had it right all along so off we go".

Jonathan Wheelwright (United North America)


Mr. Gillis,

The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page was never meant to be an exhaustive compilation. However, if you are interested in investing more time, you will find that nearly every question you can imagine has been answered in more detail in our feedback section (http://www.unitednorthamerica.org/viewfeedback.htm), which takes selections dating back 9 years. Ultimately though, this project is really aimed at opening the discussion and getting people on board to the idea that unity is a generally good concept for Canada and the United States of America.

In any case, I'll attempt to address some of the points you brought up the best I can.

1) The Bloq Quebecois. There are two different viewpoints on this. One would argue that a separatist party would not be allowed to hold seats in government, as secession from the Union is not permissible. Another view would say that they could indeed hold seats and thus would continue to be a factor in elections. However, if Quebec became a state, it would only do so if it passed and signed the US Constitution. As I'm sure you are aware, Quebec has to date failed to do so in Canada. Additionally, not only could we end up with Republicans, Democrats and Bloq Quebecois, but we could have the Conservatives, Liberals and NDP as well (or others). There is no law against having multiple parties in the United States.

2) The US military does indeed operate under "Don't Ask Don't Tell". However, I would note that President Obama has indicated that he will repeal this policy (see:
http://change.gov/agenda/civil_rights_agenda/), and polls indicate nearly 80% of USAmericans believe that gays and lesbians should be able to openly serve.

As for gay marriage, it is like many other things in the United States, a state decision. Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut currently allow gay marriages and several others allow civil unions. There is no reason Canadian states could not continue to allow gay marriage, and bolster efforts in other states.

3) While I am uninterested in getting into a debate into the monarchy, I will point out that the vast majority of Canadians care very little about the legal status of the monarchy in Canada. It will remain a short blurb on the FAQ for this reason. Soldiers in the US Military declare an oath to protect the Constitution (http://www.history.army.mil/faq/oaths.htm).

Thanks again for your interest.

Sincerely,
Jonathan Wheelwright