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Passport to the Heart: Reflections on Canada-Caribbean Relations


Carmichael, Trevor A. Passport to the Heart. Reflections on Canada-- Caribbean Relations. Kingston: Ian Randle, 2001. Photographs, bibliography, index, 232 pp.; hardcover $28.95.

The book under review is a very positive, if selective, discussion of Canada-Caribbean relations from a historical perspective. Chapter 1 discusses the off-and-on Caribbean-Canada political union. In the nineteenth century, talks of union emanated from Jamaican parliamentarians and businesspeople and Bahamian politicians. Most recently, in the mid1970s, a group of Canadian members of parliament visited the Turks and Caicos with a view to inviting this island nation to become a province or territory, but the proposal was eventually rejected.

The author explains that although the dialogue about political union has continued for more than one hundred years, it has not taken any clearly ideological form; nor has it been effectively articulated so as to encourage the necessary fundamental constitutional revisions in the respective countries. While this chapter does not analyze whether similar political constituencies were behind the flirtations, the four or five initiatives seem to have been led by business elites and to have lacked broad grassroots support.

Chapter 2 reviews the growth of air and sea connections between Canada and the Caribbean. In the mid-1800s, the Canadian and British governments subsidized Canadian "blue nose" vessels, which carried fish, potatoes, and lumber south and rum, molasses, and sugar north. In 1958, Canada donated two ships to the West Indies Federation to promote the transportation on which economic integration depends. The chapter traces the evolution of cooperation on both political (for example, aid to port and airport development in the Caribbean) and private levels. The cooperation furthered both Caribbean development and regional integration, especially with Canadian help to the regional airlines (LIAT and BWIA); and Canada's national objectives, such as gaining market share in routes and businesses related to air transport (that is, tourism and trade).

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Although the chapter is silent on U.S. policy on these issues, that was driven partly by foreign policy; for example, the U.S. government's adverse reaction to and snubbing of the Maurice Bishop administration's efforts to build a new international airport in Grenada. (Eventually the Bishop government secured Cuban and Canadian assistance.) A comparative treatment of U.S.-Canadian policy, furthermore, would have helped to put this case into a more useful perspective.

Chapter 3 discusses trade, aid, and commerce. As early as 1916, Canadian troops were sent to St. Lucia to defend it against a possible attack by the German navy. Since 1970, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) has concentrated on supporting the infrastructure services, economic and environmental management, human and natural resource development, and the role of women in economic advancement in the Leeward and Windward Islands. The West Indian linkage of trade with Canadian support in related matters, such as immigration, defense, and aid, is adroitly depicted.

Although the U.S.-Canadian competition is discussed in the context of the proposed free trade arrangement between Canada and the West Indies, the influence of the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) in 1983 on the Canadian counterpart, CARIBCAN, in 1986 is neither mentioned nor analyzed. Like the CBI, CARIBCAN's principal focus was trade preferences, but it also included trade facilitation and seminars to stimulate Canadian investment and industrial cooperation. Whereas the United States offered only conventional deductions, and on the condition that the Caribbean Basin beneficiary countries conclude tax information exchange agreements, Canada offered full-blown tax treaties. And whereas the U.S. definition of the Caribbean Basin was based on its Cold War preoccupation with revolutionary turmoil and leftist gains in Central America, as outlined by the Kissinger Commission report (see Erisman 1982), CARIBCAN was limited to the Commonwealth Caribbean and did not have an ideological purpose. It would be useful to compare the U.S. and Canadian policies toward the Caribbean in more detail.

The author's discussion of the Canada Fund Program (CFP), whereby CIDA and the Canadian High Commission would respond quickly to local requests, sheds light on a mechanism that employed beneficial development and political elements. The CFP was created to support locally managed projects in areas such as community development, basic health care, income generation, and environmental protection. The underlying policy was to prioritize the eradication of poverty. The High Commission had authority to fund small projects involving technical, education, economic, or social development assistance.

The Canadian High Commissioner could approve project assistance requests on the basis of written proposals made by the requesting organization and recommended by a Commission-designated committee. The High Commissioner therefore approved a number of community and nongovernmental recipients, such as hospitals, libraries, local and village authorities, agricultural and community cooperatives, conservation, environmental and historical groups, service clubs, organizations, church and school groups, women's groups, and charitable organizations. To qualify, an applicant had to show a local contribution or self-help component, make a worthwhile contribution to the economic or social development of the recipient country or a broad cross-section of the population as a whole, and show clear and measurable goals. The projects had to show the promotion of self-reliance or encourage local management by making the maximum use of local resources and assisting low-income groups. The CFP has proven quite efficient and effective as a development assistance mechanism.

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