Recent events in Haiti have starkly revealed the Canadian government’s complicity in George Bush’s imperial plans. It is now clear, having cut off aid to the government of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, that the Bush crew were funding his right-wing opponents, effectively allied themselves with former death squad leaders, in an effort to force the Haitian president from office. As pressure mounted at the beginning of March, US security forces then effectively forced Aristide to flee the country in a carefully orchestrated coup. In subsequent interviews, Aristide has referred to being abducted by US forces.

Eager to play junior partner to American imperialism, the government of Paul Martin jumped forward, announcing that it would send 450 troops to Haiti. In so doing, it put Canadian armed forces loudly and clearly on the side of yet-another cynical, neo-colonial intervention. There should be no surprise in this. For all the talk about having “stayed out” of the US war on Iraq, Canadian military forces were deeply involved, both through the use of Canadian naval destroyers in the Persian Gulf and the involvement of Canadian military advisers at US Central Command in Qatar. Then there’s Afghanistan, where the Martin government continues the Chretien policy of using thousands of troops to support the US occupation of that country.

Even mainstream commentators in the United States are acknowledging that there has been no move towards democracy in Afghanistan. A recent article in the New York Times magazine, for instance, pointed out that “America promised Afghanistan safety, money and democracy. But the real power is back in the hands of feudal chiefs.” And the Canadian government is propping up precisely those arrangements. Once again, the Afghan people have been betrayed by foreign occupiers, Canada among them.

It speaks volumes that all of this is happening at a time when a comprehensive opinion poll reveals that two-thirds of Canadians believe George Bush lied to justify war on Iraq. Meanwhile, the evidence overwhelmingly suggests US policymakers have similarly lied about events in Haiti and Afghanistan. And the Canadian government, collaborators in the imperial game, have fully participated in the campaign of misinformation.

The Bush policy of imperial intervention and wars of aggression is escalating. Washington may also have its sights on future coups and military intervention against Venezuela and Cuba. Will Canada also lend cover to these efforts at regime change? While the mainstream media concentrates on the sponsorship scandal involving the Department of Public Works, a scandal that is costing thousands of human lives in Iraq, Afghanistan and Haiti continues to unfold. And since the mainstream media are not going to do anything about the scandal of empire, it is up to the Left to do everything it can to mobilize around this issue.

With the prospect of a spring or early summer federal election still very much in the air, we need to use an election campaign to campaign against imperialism. That will require action by unions, the anti-war movement and social justice organizations. It will also involve pressuring the NDP to take up the cause. And all of this requires taking up the effects of the imperial agenda on refugees and immigrants in Canada, a theme we again take up in this issue.

With a possible federal election looming, New Socialist also opens up in this issue a debate around how radicals on the left should relate to the development of the NDP under the leadership of Jack Layton. This ongoing debate is crucially important to clarifying how the anti-capitalist left is to move forward in the years ahead.