Buoyant blog of septuagenarian (78) Kanadian poet and haikuist Chris Faiers/cricket. People's Poetry in the tradition of Milton Acorn, haiku/haibun, progressive politikal rants, engaged Buddhism and meditation, revitalizing of Callaghan's Rapids Conservation Area, memories of ZenRiver Gardens and Purdy Country LitFests (PurdyFests), events literary and politikal, and pics, amid swirling currents of earth magick and shamanism. Read in 119 countries last week - 43,329 readers in September.
A little while ago, we had Patricia Lane reach out to us about her involvement with the Seniors Climate Caravan, arranged by Seniors Climate Witness. On September 9th East and West Coast Climate Caravans started their journey to Ottawa, connecting with communities and climate supporters along the way.
Starting in Victoria, the Western Climate Caravan was led by David Suzuki in Vancouver on September 9, before travelling east through Kamloops, Calgary, Medicine Hat, Regina, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury, arriving in Ottawa on September 18th. The Eastern Climate Caravan picked up folks in Nova Scotia (CBC Article on Nova Scotia Caravan), Quebec, and Ontario, before arriving in Ottawa.
The mission of Seniors’ Climate Witness is simple; they are bringing together seniors, people of faith, and allies in a national climate witness to call on the Government of Canada to reject new fossil fuel pipelines, uphold its climate commitments, respect Indigenous rights, and invest instead in a safe, clean and livable future for our children, grandchildren, and future generations.
The Seniors Climate Caravan will be outside at the opening of Parliament on September 21st and wrap up on September 24th, but there is still time to support them. Click below to see the schedule, and importantly, please consider donating to their cause; every bit helps cover the many costs of making this act of resistance happen.
David Suzuki on the way to Ottawa with members of the Seniors Climate Caravan and creator Michael Polanyi (Right).
We must protect the land for future generations. Thank you to all of the seniors who are doing their part for Canada.
If any photos or images on this site are under copyright, please let us know, and we will provide appropriate credit. This content is used in accordance with applicable copyright laws, including “fair dealing” under Canadian law and “fair use” under Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act, for purposes such as criticism, comment, and news reporting.
The Resistance is a 100% reader-supported publication. If you enjoy the work as a free subscriber, we hope you’ll consider upgrading to a paid subscription. Thank you.
There are decades where nothing happens and weeks where decades happen. So said Vladimir Lenin. He could have been speaking about Canada in this extraordinary moment in history. It has been less than a month since Canada walked away from the US “negotiating” table, and we are seeing an unprecedented level of movement towards a different future.
In a very real way, walking away from the negotiations on August 21st was a nation-defining moment. Contrary to some of the pundits in the media, this wasn’t a bump in the negotiating road. We had hit a fork. One direction led towards subservience. The other towards sovereignty and national integrity.
Prime Minister Mark Carney speaking to the EU Parliament. Carney now has the highest approval rating of any Prime Minister in Canadian history. (Sept 17th, 2026)
The Prime Minister spoke for all of Canada when he stated,
“Canadians are united that nobody is going to tell us what language to speak. No one is going to dictate our culture, or with whom we can strike agreements.”
The MAGA regime was caught flat-footed. In response, they have come back with heightened threats, insults, and warnings. They seriously believed we would capitulate.
But then came the meeting between Prime Minister Carney and President Zelensky and the plan to increase Canadian drone production to two million units in two years.
Then there was the trillion-dollar summit of investors from all over the world.
Then Canada was welcomed into the EU as the first associate member. In what was a clear repudiation of Trump, EU President Ursula von der Leyen laid out a vision for a new economic and democratic order:
“We believe that power does not belong to the strongest, the richest or the loudest, but to all of us. That democracies have the freedom to choose with whom to work.”
Any of these events on their own would have taken months, if not years, of negotiating. Previously, these would have been mountains that no one government in a single term could dream of climbing.
But we are living decades of change in a matter of weeks.
What does associate EU membership mean? At this point, who knows? What matters is the symbolism of Canada breaking free of the abusive constraints of economic coercion and charting our own path.
It won’t be easy, and the threats have already begun to increase. This is because we are openly repudiating the “Donroe" Doctrine” on which the Republican right has based their entire vision of the global order. In their worldview, Canada had no choice but to be a vassal state.
When Trump learned of the EU meeting, he accused Europe of committing a “hostile act” against the United States. There are two reasons for targeting Europe:
Under the “Donroe Doctrine”, the MAGA administration claims that anything that takes place on the North American continent is under the control of the United States. A Canadian trade agreement with Europe is seen as an outside “intervention” with hostile intent.
Trump telling reporters that Canada joining the EU would be considered a “hostile act” (Sept 16th, 2026 AFP)
Threatening Canada is clearly not working, so Trump is hoping to scare the Europeans back into line. Where that goes remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, there are those like Senator Collins who are warning Canada not to break free of the abusive relationship. But what reason is there to stay?
Former US ambassador to Canada David Cohen was recently interviewed in the Hill Times, telling Canada not to expect any real change on tariffs no matter what happens in the midterms. Cohen, who was Biden’s choice to work with Canada, points out that if the Democrats win the House, they are likely to stick with a number of the protectionist measures Trump has enacted.
Canada is not going back. We are in uncharted territory, and it remains to be seen if our “allies” will journey with us. But no matter how rough it gets, we are going ahead.
In the space of a few weeks, we have moved decades down the road to independence.
True north, strong and free (Charlie Angus 2026)
Here are some thoughts I gave on the morning of Prime Minister Carney’s address to Europe:
If any photos or images on this site are under copyright, please let us know, and we will provide appropriate credit. This content is used in accordance with applicable copyright laws, including “fair dealing” under Canadian law and “fair use” under Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act, for purposes such as criticism, comment, and news reporting.
The Resistance is a 100% reader-supported publication. If you enjoy the work as a free subscriber, we hope you’ll consider upgrading to a paid subscription. Thank you.
