Radical in pinstripes

>> Political anomaly Paul Hellyer on corporate conspiracy, the Trialteral Commission and the demise of Canada By JOHN EDMONDS

The Honourable Paul Hellyer, veteran politician, cabinet minister under three different prime ministers, spoke last Tuesday to a thin crowd at the Hotel Europa, trying to whip up some support for his virtually unknown Canadian Action Party. A friendly but serious man with a slightly dated style of charm, his message was as radical as any ring-nostriled college agitator.

"We have about two years left before we reach the point of no return and annexation by the United States becomes inevitable," he said.

This dire threat to Canadian sovereignty comes in the form of the "national treatment clause" in international trade agreements, said Hellyer. The clause, included in the FTA and NAFTA, grants foreign corporations the same status as domestic ones, restricting the power of governments to shut foreign companies out of domestic industries.

"When Canada signed the FTA Mulroney said 'Canada is open for business,'" said Hellyer. "What he should have said was that Canada is up for sale!"

According to Hellyer, big trade agreements are really about investment, not trade. "The aim of the big banks and transnational corporations is to have unfettered global investment. Canada can compete in terms of trade, we've proven that," he said. "But there's no way we can compete on a global scale in terms of investment. The Americans will just buy us.

"Within about two years, we'll see Air Canada being bought by the U.S., Bell being bought, Bombardier being bought. And so on. There'll be nothing left of Canada but an empty shell."

Corporate conspiracy

"The problem is that Canadians are

apathetic--look at the turnout tonight," he said, gesturing to the dozen or so people--many of them party organizers or veteran lefties--

scattered throughout the conference room.

But is the lack of support for the CAP's crusade against globalization caused, as Hellyer asserts, by "brainwashing from newspapers like the National Post," or Hellyer's own somewhat extreme political views?

Prior to the speech, Hellyer told the Mirror that he doesn't believe in conspiracy theories. But when asked about one favourite bogeyman of conspiracy theorists--the Trilateral Commission, a talk-shop of government and corporate leaders from the U.S., Japan and Europe, formed in the 1970s-- he responded oddly.

"The Trilateral commission is the second echelon," he said. When pressed further, he revealed more of his views on the subject. "The Bildebergers are the first echelon. The Council on Foreign Relations is the third echelon." These 'echelons' are groups of elites, he said, "of people who want a world very different than the one I want."

An Internet search with the keyword "bilderberger" turned up a handful of sites, claiming that the group was a secret cabal of power elites intent on undermining the nation state. Jean Chretien and Conrad Black are alleged to have attended meetings, mixing with the likes of British PM Tony Blair, Bill Clinton and Steven Spielberg. The largest site had articles linking the group to the Nazis and Biblical prophecies of the End Times.

Political anomaly

It's not too hard to meet people with Hellyer's beliefs, but it's definitely very odd to hear such radical anti-establishment views from someone of his stature. His claim to be "probably the world's highest-ranking statesman to oppose globalization," may well be true. But while his well-recognized capacities initially bought him power, his maverick opinions eventually marginalized him.

As defence minister under Lester B. Pearson, he recommended that Canada obtain its own nuclear weapons. He also united the branches of Canada's armed forces--a controversial move which affected his career. He lost the leadership contest for the Liberal party to Pierre Trudeau, but was appointed his Deputy Prime Minister. He eventually resigned from power--if not from politics--on a point of principle in 1969 when the recommendations of his Task Force on Housing and Urban Development were rejected by Trudeau's cabinet.

After he left the Liberals, he did a stint in the Progressive Conservative party from 1972-74. Since then, he has not been elected to Parliament, although he has written books and newspaper columns, made money in business, and tried to start new political movements.

"I always pursued my own concerns, which were housing, employment, and other quality of life issues," he said, "I was never really a member of the establishment." :

more news...