 |
Prime Minister John
Diefenbaker |
REGIME CHANGE IN CANADA BY THE U.S.
1962-1963, Canada: 'Knocking Over' "Dief the
Chief"
A Plot "Made in the U.S."
By Richard Sanders, coordinator, Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade. http://coat.ncf.ca/
|
Prime Minister John
Diefenbaker |
In 1962, the U.S. Ambassador to Canada, Livingston Merchant,
and his Second Secretary Charles Kisselyak, fuelled a plot among the Canadian
Air Forces, Canadian journalists and others to dispose of Prime Minister
Diefenbaker.
Kennedy hated Dief largely for his anti-nuclear stance.
Merchant and other U.S. embassy officers with espionage backgrounds, met at
Kissel-yak's home in Ottawa to feed journalists with spaghetti, beer and anti-Diefen-baker/pronuclear
propaganda. Among the many participants in these off-the-record briefings
was Charles Lynch of Southam News. Diefenbaker later denounced these reporters
as "traitors" and "foreign agents." He lashed out
against Lynch on a TV program saying, "You were given briefings as to how
the Canadian government could be attacked on the subject of nuclear
weapons and the failure of the Canadian government to do that which the U.S.
dictated."
Merchant and Kisselyak work-ed with RCAF Wing Commander Bill
Lee and NORAD's number two man, Canadian Air Marshall Roy Slemon. Air
Marshall Hugh Campbell and the chair of Canada's chiefs of staff, Air Marshall
Frank Miller also approved Lee's campaign. Diefenbaker's avidly pronuclear
Defence Minister, Douglas Harkness, also knew of Lee's effort.
As head of RCAF public relations, Lee went to Washington
twice a month to confer with U.S. authorities. "It was a flat-out
campaign," he later said. "We identified key journalists,
business and labour, key Tory hitters, and...Liberals.... We wanted people with
influence on members of cabinet. In the end the pressure paid off."
In 1962, new U.S. ambassador, William Butterworth,
continued the "flat-out campaign" by holding discrete meetings at the
U.S. embassy to exert influence on Canadian journalists.
Lester Pearson was the President's choice. Kennedy gave
the go-ahead to his friend and America's leading pollster, Lou Harris, to become
the Liberal's secret campaign advisor in the 1962 election. Diefenbaker
survived with a minority government.
The plot to bring down Canada's government came to a head in
January, 1963. On Jan.3, top U.S. Air Force General Lauris Norstad held an
Ottawa press conference. Prompted by questions from Lynch, and other
reporters briefed by U.S. intelligence, Norstad criticized Canada's antinuclear
stance. On Jan. 12, Pearson announced his new policy of supporting U.S.
nuclear weapons in Canada. In protest, Pierre Trudeau called Pearson the
"defrocked priest of peace" and refused to run for the Liberals.
| President J.F.Kennedy (during his TV address concerning the “Cuban Missile Crisis” October 1962.) | 
|
The coup's final blow came when the U.S. State Department
issued a press release which called Diefenbaker a liar on nuclear issues (Jan.
30). This tactic was suggested by Willis Armstrong, head of the State
Department's Canada Desk in Washington. Butterworth added his suggestions
and sent his senior embassy advisor, Rufus Smith, to Washington to draft it.
"With Armstrong chairing, half a dozen officials from State, the White
House and the Pentagon...shaped...the rebuke." The draft was polished
by Under Secretary of State George McGhee and approved by acting Secretary of
State, George Ball, and national security advisor, McGeorge Bundy.
The Canadian media had a heyday attacking Diefenbaker. Fights
broke out in Cabinet. Diefenbaker recalled Canada's ambassador from the
U.S. On Feb. 5, Defence Minister Harkness announced his resignation and
Pearson called for a non-confidence vote. Dief's minority government fell,
or rather, it was 'knocked over.'
Kisselyak was the U.S. embassy's contact to Pearson's
election campaign. The Liberals had the strong advantages of a friendly media
and Harris' state-of-the-art, computerized polling tactics. Diefenbaker,
facing a primed hostile media, ran a stridently anti-U.S. campaign.
Pearson's victory was hailed by newspapers across North America. Within
days, the new External Affairs Minister, Paul Martin Sr., was approached by
Butterworth to negotiate the acceptance of U.S. nuclear weapons. The
warheads were deployed in Canada on New Year's Eve and there was partying in
Washington.
Sources: Knowlton Nash, Kennedy and Diefenbaker, 1990 and Floyd
Rudmin "Is the Sky Falling, or What?," Feb. 20, 1995
For more material relating to the US role subverting Canadian democracy,
refer to these excellent articles by Prof. Floyd Rudmin: http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~ucurrent/uc5/5-rudmin.html
http://www.jdkoftinoff.com/canal70.html
http://www.jdkoftinoff.com/canal57.html
http://www.jdkoftinoff.com/canal79.html
=======================================================================
Key Quotations on the events of January 1963
President John F. Kennedy said the U.S. would take a stronger leadership role in
NATO "even at the risk of offending sensitive allies."
(AP interview, Jan.2)
On General Norstad's Media conference, Jan. 3
"[Norstad's] purpose was to establish a basis for Pearson's conversion
to U.S. nuclear policy."
(Diefenbaker)
"Kennedy sent Norstad to do this hatchet job on us. It was American
imperialism of the highest order."
(Alvin Hamilton, Agriculture minister)
"This was another American turn of the screw to bring down the Conservative
government."
(Charles Ritchie, Canada's ambassador to the U.S.)
On Pearson decision to reverse Liberal Policy and accept U.S. nuclear
warheads into Canada (if elected), Jan. 12
"Kennedy achieved his dearest Canadian wish. Pearson progressed... to
embracing the U.S. position on arming with nuclear weapons the Bomarcs and, no
doubt, yielding to U.S. demands for storage of all manner of nuclear devices in
Canada."
(Diefenbaker)
"A pure example of Pearson's willingness to accept the leadership of the
U.S. on any vital matter."
(Hamilton)
Liberal policies were "made in the U.S."
(Tommy Douglas, NDP Leader)
On the U.S. press release, Jan. 30
"It was as deliberate an attempt as ever made to bring down a foreign
government."
(Ed Ritchie, former under secretary of state for external affairs)
"This action by the State Department of the U.S. is unprecedented...it
constitutes an unwarranted intrusion in Canadian affairs... [Canada] will not be
pushed around or accept external domination or interference in making its
decisions." "President Kennedy was going to obliterate us. I dared to
say to him that Canada's policies would be made in Canada by Canadians."
(Diefenbaker)
"An absolute outrage, the most blatant, heavy-handed, intolerable piece of
bullying."
(Charles Ritchie)
"Like a bombshell"
(a Diefenbaker aide)
"Brazen interference."
(Howard Green, External Affairs Minister)
"The U.S. should know from this Parliament that they are not dealing with
Guatemala...or Cuba."
(Douglas)
"Kennedy decided the government had to go...[I] wouldn't put it past him
to say, 'Get rid of the bastards.'"
(R.Bell, Immigration Minister)
"Very useful. Highly beneficial in advancing U.S. interests by introducing
realism into a government which has made anti-Americanism... practically its
entire stock in trade."
(William Butterworth, U.S. ambassador to Canada)
"For God's sake, it was like tossing a match into dried hay."
(Rufus Smith, senior advisor to Will Butterworth)
Trudeau's summary of the events of January 1963
"Do you think General Norstad... came to Ottawa as a tourist?... Do you
think it was by chance that Pearson... quoted the authority of Norstad? Do
you think it was inadvertant that on January 30 the state department gave a
statement to journalists reinforcing Pearson's claims and crudely accusing
Diefenbaker of lying? You think it was by chance that this press release
provided the Leader of the Opposition with the arguments he used abundantly?
You believe it was coincidence? Why [should] the U.S. treat Canada
differently from Guatemala when reason of state requires it and circumstances
permit?"
(Pierre E. Trudeau)
Source: From K.Nash, Kennedy and Diefenbaker: Fear and Loathing Across
the Undefended Border, 1990.
==================================================================
John Diefenbaker's "Made in Canada" Policies
"Diefenbaker promoted Canadian independence with evangelical zeal... 'We
are a power, not a puppet,' the Chief thundered during the controversy over the
placement of U.S. nuclear warheads in Canada. 'His rampant nationalism alienated
the entire ruling class: Bay Street, Wall Street, his civil service and
politicians from all parties. [George] Grant credited the Chief with the
strongest stance against satellite status ever attempted by a Canadian.
This stance came at a high price."
Source: Laurence Martin, Pledge of Allegiance, The Americanization of Canada in the Mulroney Years, 1993.
Cuban Missile Crisis:
When U.S. spy planes showed missile sites being constructed in Cuba,
Kennedy decided to blockade Russian ships en route to Cuba. Despite NORAD,
the Canada-U.S. Permanent Joint Board on Defense and NATO, Kennedy neither
consulted nor informed the Canadian government until [two hours] before his TV
speech on Oct. 22, 1962.
The U.S. asked the Canadian government to move our military to an advanced state
of readiness. Diefenbaker did not comply. Nonetheless, Canada's
military moved immediately to advanced readiness without the Prime Minister's
authorization. Canada's chief of naval staff ordered the Atlantic fleet to
sea. Canada's Minister of Defense ordered the military's Chiefs of Staff
to special preparedness.
General McNaughton's 1941 remark is painfully relevant: "The acid test of
sovereignty is control of the armed forces."1 Howard
Green, Canada's anti-nuclear External Affairs minister, pleaded that cabinet
reconsider "blindly following the U.S. lead, particularly since the
President had not kept the commitment to consult Canada over the impending
[missile] crisis.
'If we go along with the U.S. now, we'll be their vassal forever.'"2
Footnotes:
1. C.P. Stacey, Canada and the Age of Conflict, Vol.2, p.349.
2. Peter Newman, Renegade in Power: The Diefenbaker Years, p.337, p.337.
Source: Robin Mathews, Canadian Foundations web site www.ola.bc.ca/online/cf/module-4/usrel.html
The Avro and the Bomarcs:
Diefenbaker cancelled the Avro Arrow fighter plane program (1959) because the
U.S. wouldn't buy any of them. Although then expected to arm Canada's
Bomarc missiles with U.S. nuclear warheads, Diefenbaker refused.
Operation Sky Hawk:
Dief cancelled a U.S. nuclear war-related training exercise over Canada (1959).
Cuba:
Diefenbaker refused U.S. demands to stop trading with Cuba, and instead
increased Canada's trade (1960).
Apartheid:
At a Commonwealth conference (1961), Diefenbaker was the only white leader to
support the African and Asian members against allowing South African membership.
Immigration:
After Diefenbaker's Bill of Rights (1960), the government reduced immigration
restrictions based on racial grounds and began to accept more Asian and black
immigrants.
Women:
Dief appointed the first women cabinet minister and senator.
First Nations:
Native people allowed to vote for the first time (1960).
OAS:
Dief resented JFK's speech to Parliament urging Canada to join the Organization
of American States, because Dief had already refused (1961).
China:
Diefenbaker refused U.S. requests to cut off wheat supplies to China if they
continued supporting Vietnamese independence efforts (1962).
Nuclear Test Ban:
Kennedy pushed for opposition to the treaty, but Canada voted for it (1962). The
U.S. and most NATO countries abstained.
Sources: Knowlton Nash, Kennedy and Diefenbaker, 1990 and www.canschool.org/relation/history/7turbu-e.asp
=============================================================
1964: Knocking Over Lester B. Pearson
.
from http://www.christopher-plummer.com/aagentofinfluence.html
:
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March 29, 2003 Calgary Herald / CanWest News Service By Jamie Portman
CIA was out to get Pearson, film says:
Plot centres on mysterious death of diplomat
The CTV network is about to unveil a controversial new movie that suggests the
U.S. Central Intelligence Agency was prepared to go to any lengths -- even
murder -- four decades ago to destroy Canadian Prime Minister Lester
Pearson and bring down his Liberal government.
Pearson's offence? He offended Washington by pursuing an independent foreign
policy and by being too friendly toward the Soviets when the Cold War was at its
peak.
The movie, Agent of Influence, is scheduled to premiere April 13 on CTV (Ch. 3)
and threatens to lob another grenade into the already troubled terrain of
Canada-U.S. relationships.
Ian Adams, who wrote the original 1999 book on which the film is based and
co-authored the script with his son Riley, admits it contains parallels to the
present situation, which sees Prime Minister Jean Chretien in trouble
with the Americans for refusing to bring Canada into the war against Iraq.
"They hoped to get Pearson because they were convinced he was a KGB agent
himself," Adam told CanWest News Service. "They saw his diplomatic
activities in the United Nations and his opposition to the war in Vietnam as the
activities of someone who was a Soviet agent or acting in the interests of the
Soviet Union. It's exactly the same kind of thinking that's going on today --
and it's somewhat eerie."
The Alberta-Quebec co-production focuses on a troubling event in Cold War
history -- the mysterious 1964 death of Canadian diplomat John Watkins in a
Montreal hotel room. Watkins, a close friend of Pearson and former Canadian
ambassador to Moscow, was picked up by RCMP special agents in Montreal and taken
to a hotel room for interrogation. A few days later, he was dead.
The official story was that he had died of a heart attack during a farewell
dinner with friends in a Montreal restaurant before returning to Europe.
Adams thinks otherwise. His thesis is that Watkins, who is portrayed in the
movie by Christopher Plummer, became an innocent pawn in a plot to discredit
Pearson. Watkins himself was deemed a security risk by the Americans because of
his homosexuality and his access to the Kremlin's inner circles, and the film
speculates that the aim of his interrogation was to force a confession that he
had been recruited by the KGB to influence Canadian foreign policy.
Adams, who has written several books on covert intelligence activities, was
researching an earlier book when he began hearing "whispers that Watkins
had not died according to the official story. These whispers came from former
RCMP intelligence officers and a couple of people at the deputy minister level
in the bureaucracy."
Adams went to Quebec's provincial archives to examine Watkins's death
certificate and recognized one of the witness signatures as that of an RCMP
security officer.
"I recognized right away that he had not died among friends. John Watkins
was not the kind of man to spend his last day in Canada with RCMP
officers."
Adams then checked with the provincial coroner, who told him that the men who
signed the certificate had not revealed their police connections.
"When you die in this country in police custody, you immediately get an
inquest and an autopsy, and Watkins was denied both," Adams points out.
After Adams published his initial findings in 1980, the Parti Quebecois
government swiftly ordered an inquest into Watkins's 1964 death. The RCMP
refused to hand over the full report, claiming it would damage national
security, but finally admitted Watkins had died under police interrogation in
the Montreal hotel room and that he had not given into Soviet blackmailing
tactics and was not a traitor. But Adams wasn't satisfied, sensing Canadians had
only heard part of the truth. Watkins's fate continued to haunt him.
"I carried the story around in my head for 20 years, gradually piecing it
together. It's a fascinating story. I couldn't understand why they wanted to get
to Watkins, and it was only after more digging and talking to more people that I
realized they were really after Pearson and wanted to extract a confession from
Watkins that would incriminate Pearson in some way."
Adams concedes that portions of the story are speculative and stresses that
apart from Watkins, all the characters are "fictional composites." But
he says everything that happens in the movie is consistent with what he knows
about the Central Intelligence Agency.
Among the more inflammatory ingredients: a vicious, homophobic CIA agent (Ted
Whitthall) -- who controls the interrogation and refuses medication to the
angina-stricken Watkins; a Paris sequence involving the torture and
murder of one of Watkins's closest male friends.
"I've seen enough documentation about the way the CIA works around the
world in various situations like that," Adams says bluntly.
"Look at CIA activities around the world and this is the least of things
you would accuse the CIA of doing."
GRAPHIC: Photo: Courtesy, CTV; Christopher Plummer stars in Agent of
Influence as Canadian diplomat John Watkins, who died mysteriously in a
Montreal hotel room in 1964.
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