Wow. Two major news items that make me proud to be Canadian this week. The first was the Civil Marriage Act and now this…

Paul Martin, showing extreme common sense, has opted out of the US “Missile Defense System” as reported in this article in the Star.

I really don’t care if the US wants to create this “shield.” My current US taxes are unfortunately helping fund this effort, but I don’t have any long-term interest in how US tax money is spent (aside from if it’s used to kill someone.) But considering the billions that have been spent on this as-yet-unproven holdover from cold-war mentality, I really think this project is like financial aid to the defense sector. To be honest, I don’t necessarily think Republicans like war so much as they like spending on defense. The wars then become the justification for spending on defense.

Good job to Martin, and the statement is even non-confrontational in that it’s not saying he disagrees with what the US is doing, they just don’t want to spend their money on it.