Joint Statement of President Biden and Prime Minister Trudeau at the Conclusion of Their Meeting

Roadmap for a Renewed U.S.-Canada Partnership February 23, 2021

Below are excerpts from the Joint Statement with comments in double parentheses.

((During the pandemic, the U.S. has revealed itself as a failed state. It has the dubious distinction of leading the world in COVID-19 infections and deaths. The more than half-a-million deceased from the disease, many of them seniors, could be characterized as genocide or senicide (geronticide). The U.S. and Canada, as modern developed economies have the full potential to meet the health care needs of all but refuse to do so. Health care, as all endeavours are under imperialism, is burdened with the backward aim to make maximum private profit for the global oligarchy. This archaic aim blocks the advance to a modern one to serve the people equally from birth to passing away. For example, instead of producing a COVID-19 vaccine using a human-centred public enterprise, in a most shameful way the vaccines have become a commodity to enrich privately owned and controlled "Big Pharma."))

((Both countries are mired under the control of the global oligarchy where the people are excluded from a say and deciding and controlling those affairs that affect their lives. This control of the rich seeks to deprive the working people of their right of mass political mobilization to build the New through democratic renewal. It also seeks to deprive them of their right to defend their claims and rights at their workplaces and in their communities; to defend themselves from the pandemic; and to solve the mounting social, environmental and other problems. The result during the pandemic has been devastating for many not only from a health perspective but also an economic one with loss of employment and adverse pressure on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

It is particularly disingenuous for the statement to mention "the need to build back better together in a way that addresses the disproportionate impacts on women, youth, underrepresented groups, and Indigenous peoples." How are the imperialists going "to build back better" when their failed states are those that caused these problems in the first place? What are the people to go back to? The same "disproportionate impacts on women, youth, underrepresented groups, and Indigenous peoples" that have always existed. A new direction is required not a "going back" to the same old same old whether better or not in the minds of the neo-liberal elite. Reports indicate that vast areas throughout the United States are cesspools where the poor and vulnerable are sent to die and have been since well before the pandemic. The ruling elite are staunchly opposed to a nation-building project under the leadership of the working people with the aim to serve the people and not the rich oligarchs and their class privilege.))

((Shedding crocodile tears over the plight of many SMEs, which have suffered greatly, is empty liberal chatter full of policy objectives to fool the gullible and divide them from the working class where their future lies. Both countries are focused on paying the rich, which is proved by the fact that the oligarchs have done so well during the pandemic. The global cartels and monopolies and the rich oligarchs have seized upon the pandemic as an opportunity to enlarge their private wealth and ownership of parts of the economy. Many SMEs are in danger of disappearing altogether or being swallowed up by the cartels and monopolies as the imperialist trend of concentration of social wealth and control of the economy in fewer hands accelerates under conditions of the pandemic.)) 

((The global cartels and monopolies, mainly centred in the U.S., do not recognize the sovereignty of nations and the right of peoples everywhere to chart their own nation-building course according to what they decide. The Canada-U.S. supply chain is under the complete control of the cartels and monopolies and serves their interests. The working class of all three north American countries find themselves up against an oligarchy that can move their workplaces in the blink of an eye. This makes the class struggle to defend workers' claims and rights more difficult as the imperialist threat to move work and production looms large.

The supply chain also enforces the demand of the cartels and monopolies that the various administrations pay the rich otherwise a particular entity will locate elsewhere.

"Our deeply interconnected and mutually beneficial economic relationship" is recognized one-sidedly, favouring the cartels and monopolies and not the people. The ruling elite's recognition of a socialized economy does not extend to the view that the current relations of production dominated by private ownership and control by the few is out of whack with what exists objectively. The relations of production should be socialized into cooperative ownership by the many, by those who do the work, in conformity with the objective socialized conditions of the productive forces.

Of great concern for the oligarchy is the security of the current relations of production and their defence against any challenge from the working class. Insecurity or instability of the current relations between those who buy the capacity to work of the working class and the workers who sell their capacity to work arises because of the basic contradiction between a socialized economy, which demands socialized relations, and its private ownership and control. The dominant social relation, which needs to be resolved with a new one, exists between those who buy the capacity to work of the working class, control all aspects of the economy and expropriate the added-value workers produce as private profit.

The ruling oligarchy approaches this problem of insecurity of its relations with the working class with police powers to defend private ownership and control of the economy. Also, the privately-owned and controlled supply chain must be "secure" because the U.S. military depends on Canada supplying it and its war economy with necessary strategic material.))

((For details and comment on the Canada-U.S. Critical Minerals Action Plan see TML Weekly February 1, 2020 and October 24, 2020.))

((The imperialists seize upon every change or development in the productive forces as an opportunity to increase their control and expropriation of the value the working class produces. The "green economy" opens new vistas to expand their ownership, control and expropriation of private profit as the old forces of production are replaced and opportunities for investment in the old forces dry up. The wanton disregard for the environment which exists within the imperialist aim for maximum private profit in the shortest possible time, ironically some would say, creates opportunities for the oligarchs to invest in the new productive forces of the "green economy." The same narrow imperialist aim drives these "green" investments and will cause unforeseen consequences and problems just as the investments in the old productive forces such as the car culture did when it came into being to replace the horse and buggy. Only with a new direction and aim to serve the people and humanize the social and natural environment can the Old and its mounting problems of destruction be overcome with a lasting victory to humanize the social and natural environment.))

Accelerating Climate Ambitions

The President and the Prime Minister expressed their commitment to strengthened implementation of the Paris Agreement, including by working together and with others to increase the scale and speed of action to address the climate crisis and better protect nature. [...]

The President also restated his commitment to holding polluters accountable for their actions. Both the President and the Prime Minister agreed to work together to protect businesses, workers and communities in both countries from unfair trade by countries failing to take strong climate action. [...]

((The statement on "Accelerating Climate Ambitions" reveals the militarization of the oligarchs' green agenda for climate action. Militarized climate action joins militarized human rights and militarized gender equality as yet another one of the "shared values and priorities" that have become a pretext to interfere in the affairs of sovereign nations and bring them under the control of the cartels and monopolies of the U.S.-led imperialist system of states or face destruction through sanctions, blockades and aggressive war.

To advance their campaign to militarize climate action, the two leaders set up a ministerial group to "align policies and regulations" further integrating Canada into the U.S. war economy. The U.S.-led cartels and monopolies want their green productive forces, investments and parasitical financial products such as the cap and trade market of "pollution credits" of fictitious value to dominate the world. An appendix to the statement regarding the formation of a joint ministerial group reads as follows:))

"Policy and Regulatory Alignment. As a result of shared markets, overlapping supply chains, and neighbouring terrestrial and marine territories, the policies and regulations of the United States and Canada are inextricably linked. As a result, policy decisions in one country can materially affect emissions, economic activity, competitiveness, and natural resources in another. Therefore, this work stream will focus on aligning on policy solutions and regulatory approaches to address greenhouse gas emissions and their impacts, while stimulating economic growth, creating jobs, and improving public health. [...]

"The dialogue was launched by President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at their bilateral meeting on February 23 and will be led on the United States side by Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and on the Canadian side by Minister of Environment and Climate Change Jonathan Wilkinson."

Advancing Diversity and Inclusion

The Prime Minister and the President discussed their shared commitment to addressing systemic racism, unconscious bias, gender-based discrimination, barriers for persons with disabilities, and all other forms of discrimination and exclusion.

The two leaders expressed their shared determination to implement more effective, equitable, and inclusive approaches to community safety, criminal justice, and law enforcement.

((The statement presents policy objectives partly in response to the massive demonstrations that erupted in the U.S., Canada and elsewhere to denounce the state-organized police violence against the people in particular African Americans, Black Canadians and Indigenous peoples. The people arose in their millions to express their disgust at state-organized violence following the public brutal police killing of George Floyd. They want the violence to stop now; they do not want to hear empty policy objectives from the cartel parties in power, let alone more police impunity which criminalizes conduct amongst the people called "unconscious bias" while permitting police impunity. They want solutions now to the mounting social problems that the rich oligarchs refuse to address. They want empowerment through democratic renewal so that they can directly address and resolve the social and environmental problems that have arisen with the development of the modern urban society and the transition from an economy of petty production to one of industrial mass production.))

((What a sham and fraud to suggest that members of the self-same oligarchy will bring about change that favours the people. Having Margaret Thatcher, Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris or Chrystia Freeland as dictator representing the oligarchy, spouting neo-liberal policy objectives and acting as gatekeepers to keep the people out of power will not eradicate poverty because they will not touch the issue of ownership and control of the modern socialized economy by the global oligarchs.

Whose economy? The people's economy!

Who decides? The people decide!

Who controls? The people control!

The people empowered through their own efforts at organizing democratic renewal, defending their rights and claims through actions with analysis, and bringing into being a new direction and aim for the economy and new social forms suitable for the twenty-first century are the social force necessary and capable of eradicating the evils of gender inequality and discrimination, racism, poverty, environmental destruction and imperialist war.))

Bolstering Security and Defence/Defense

The President and the Prime Minister agreed that collective security is a shared responsibility.

The leaders agreed on the importance of investment in modern, ready, and capable forces in line with their commitments to NATO under the 2014 Wales Summit Defence/Defense Investment Pledge. Such investments enable effective contributions to NATO, United Nations, and other global missions. The Prime Minister and the President agreed to expand cooperation on continental defence/defense and in the Arctic, including by modernizing the North American Aerospace Defense/Defence Command (NORAD). They directed their Ministers of Foreign Affairs and National Defence and Secretaries of State and Defense to meet in a 2+2 Ministerial format to further coordinate our joint contributions to collective security.

((The leaders declare: All out to defend and extend U.S. military oppression of the entire world and the U.S. war economy with Canada in tow as doting collaborator in war crimes!

They go on to list specifically certain sovereign nations and regions in their crosshairs to control or destroy: China, Russia, Venezuela, Myanmar, Iran, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, indeed the entire west Asia, north Africa, and central America to name a few.

They agreed to stamp out any opposition to imperialism in "social media and on the Internet" and take joint action to deny the people's right to freedom of speech and conscience. The integrating of Canada into the U.S. police powers of Homeland Security will be enhanced.))

((They used the summit "to strengthen cybersecurity, and to confront foreign interference and disinformation." For Trudeau and others of the Canadian ruling elite, integration into the U.S. has come so far as to view U.S. imperialist interference in Canadian affairs as domestic and friendly not foreign and destructive. They believe the only direction possible is further integration into the U.S. economy and war machine. They have given up on Canada and any nation-building project with a new direction for the economy to serve the people and bring into being a bright future. The joint statement issued by Trudeau and Biden deserves serious attention because it spells out the dangerous war path Biden is setting for the U.S. and Canada with which Canada agrees. It is now up to the Canadian people to set a course in unity with the working people of the U.S. and Mexico which does not appease the U.S. imperialists.))