TeledyN: Caribbean Canadian

Caribbean Canadian

Wednesday, July 16, 2003

Author James Bow tips us to MP Peter Goldring's ressurection of the late-80's plan for Canada to annex the Turks and Caicos Islands. James points out quite soberly that the 18,000+ size of the population would only rate territory status and we'd have to extend health-care, education, legal and Coast Guard services, but considering the winter dollars I know my neighbours spend in Mexico, Florida and Belize, keeping all that Snowbird spending within the national economy would more than cover the cost and bother.

Besides, having been a Brit colony, they are already in tune wth our models for government and law, and just as the US uses Puerto Rico as a test-site, our annexing the Islands would give us a low-risk laboratory for testing Canadian projects in third-world development.

Sure, I live in Canada's vacation paradise but that's for what, 8 to 10 weeks plus Groundhog Day? Half my neighbours have flown the coop as soon as the night hours outnumber the day's, so why not give them a Canadian place to be?

Who knows, maybe, since it's all in the national family, our seasonal tourism entrepreneurs could time-share a Caribbean branch, catapulting them from the marginal seasonal into a full-fledged full-time full-year concern!

The CBC article lists a few other perks and cons, but misses out on a few more not to be snubbed: Proximity to Cuba would give us a springboard to Cuban trade, and easier All-Canadian escape route for Cubans tired of Castro, it would give us a base and native expertise in the Caribbean and by extension to the lucrative South American markets, our off-shore oil hounds could explore the great caverns off the gulf reef, and, as the CBC whimses, yes, it would keep wayward senators within cell-phone reach and Paul Martin would have a place to harbour his fine fleet ;)

Eh, mon, g'day, mon

Sounds like a sure-fire win-win-win-win to me, and all for the meagre cost of extending Canadian-style human rights and dignities to a population smaller than Owen Sound, Ontario. It's not like we're deposing anyone to get their natural gas, and there really would be parades in the streets to welcome us in.

What say there, mates? G'wan, you know you waaaannnnnt it: call up your MP and say 'yes' to the Turks and Caicos.

We're not that cash strapped in the National coffers, it could really help boost Air Canada's sagging repetoire, we'd have a place to envy to host our world-class conferences (no more apologizing for the weather on the Country Music Awards), Molsons and Seagrams practically fuel their economy anyway and daggonnblastit, the fine people of the T'n'C need us.

C'mon, eh? Deals like this just don't happen every day. Carpe diem!

Submitted by mrG on Wed, 2003-07-16 11:16.

mrG's blog
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Ok, now, I know you're making

Submitted by mrG on Wed, 2005-10-05 11:57.

Ok, now, I know you're making your snowbirding plans, so don't give me none o' that gotta go Cuba Mexico Florida Balize Jamaica Honduras jazz when you know full darn well that your vacationeering dollars could be very best spent in all our best interests by a simple veering off to this outer edge of the Caribbean Sea, the birthplace of the hurricanes, the edge of The Deep, and the one place where your visit is not just simply a vacation, but a valuable civic reconnaissance for an urgent national initiative. So, like, why not, eh? Go for it. Good on ya.

Most dreams take wing by the effort of many. If the same dream is shared by many people of both countries over several generations, perhaps it is time to bring that dream to reality. What is your view? Call, write or email today, or do what I intend to do- visit the Turks and Caicos this December on a "friendship" vacation, to encourage the islanders to repeat their call for unity with Canada.
[ Peter Goldring: Open Letter to the People of Canada ]

Some further reading ...

Submitted by mrG on Wed, 2005-10-05 12:53.

Some further reading on the T'n'C ...

Wikipedia points out that the 30 islands of the group are low, flat limestone with extensive marshes and swamps, and a primary natural resource is the spiny lobster -- c'mon, now, rock, swamp, marsh and lobster ... how Canadian is that, eh? Bet they dig hockey too.
In A Place in the Sun, TC journalist Stevie Rennie points out how the islands are quite accustomed to changing national flags.

"Discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492, the Turks & Caicos Islands are believed by some to be the explorer's first landfall in the New World. Later re-discovered in 1512 by Juan Ponce De Leon on an expedition from Puerto Rico, the archipelago remained largely uninhabited until salt collectors from Bermuda settled on Grand Turk in 1678. The Bermudians successfully defended their settlement against a Bahamian annexation attempt in 1700, a Spanish invasion in 1710, and a French invasion in 1763. A second invasion attempt by the French in 1764 was successful, however, and the Bermudians were exiled to Haiti.

For the next few decades, Britain continued to fight with France and Spain for ownership before finally gaining control of the Islands and amalgamating them with the Bahamas. The Turks & Caicos Islands separated from the Bahamas in 1848, but were annexed by Jamaica, a British colony, in 1874. After Jamaica gained independence in 1962, the Turks & Caicos Islands once again became a non-aligned British Crown Colony. The Bahamian Governor was also governor of the Turks & Caicos Islands from 1965 to 1973, when the Islands received their own governor. Three years later, the Islands established a new constitution, and have remained a British dependency ever since.

He also reminds us that the idea of annexation goes back to 1917, when Prime Minister Robert Borden first proposed this plan after touring the islands. The man has his picture on our money, he surely must know a thing or two about good value!
Stevie returns on Searching for Sun with news of recent economic development due to major cruiselines building major ports at Grand Turk, but musing over the social impact and underlining the need for the weight of an advocate like Canada to be standing beside them in their negotiations with the mega-corporate developers. He also points out how these new modern ports will also provide Canada with critical infrastructure for any future humanitarian actions in the area such as we encountered with Haiti.
Further on the cruise-ship invasion of the Islands, Caribbean News reports on how the tourism operators in the TC are quite happy to be a 'luxury destination' and while things were tight twenty years ago when the Canadian Plan was picking up steam, the big money in the region now isn't so sure they'd want our brand of social conscience democracy getting in there and telling them they got to build schools and hospitals too. There's a hint in this item that maybe we missed the boat, if you'll pardon the pun, because the big banded wads waved by the likes of Carnival Cruise Lines or the Ritz-Carleton Hotel make the offer of a health card or a hot-lunch program seem a little pale by comparison ...
Back at the postive-action side, Canadians For A Tropical Province offers a petition, news on their lobbying efforts and many other bits of research and argument in favour of a tropical tributary.