Pentagon Tells Recruiters To Stay Out Of Canada

According to a report prepared for John McCallum, the Defence Minister, the Americans were operating on the belief that under a treaty signed in 1794 between the United States and Britain, they were allowed to recruit Canadian natives for their armed forces.

American recruiters were also under the impression that many of the aboriginals held dual U.S.-Canadian citizenship.

The recruiting attempts sparked a high-level meeting in February between Justice, Foreign Affairs, Defence Department and Privy Council officials, at which time it was decided to let the United States know that Canada did not support such efforts.

"As a result of our interaction with the U.S. embassy, a letter was sent from the director, Joint Chiefs of Staff, in Washington to the vice-chiefs of the U.S. military services, reminding them that their recruiters are to refrain from entering Canadian territory," Reynald Doiron, a Foreign Affairs spokesman, said in an interview.

That prohibition covers all activities in Canada, including recruiting at high school and university job fairs and on native reserves, Mr. Doiron said.

The U.S. embassy has also given assurances that there was no ongoing policy of active recruitment in Canada, he added.

"Quite obviously, Canadian native people are free to join U.S. military forces," Mr. Doiron said. "For that matter, they would cross the border."

With ongoing combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Pentagon has found itself in need of more troops. One method being used to increase the ranks has been to recruit so-called "green-card soldiers," individuals who are legal, permanent U.S. residents but do not yet have citizenship.

Last year, George W. Bush, the U.S. President, signed an order significantly reducing the time that such military members have to wait before becoming American citizens. Those efforts have sparked some concern in the Hispanic community in the U.S. that overzealous recruiters have been specifically targeting Latinos holding green cards.

Currently, there are about 37,000 non-Americans serving in the U.S. forces.

An ageing population and strong economy have contributed to ongoing problems in attracting recruits.

As well, over the years the size of the American military has been reduced as a cost-cutting measure. At the height of the Cold War there were some 2.5 million Americans in the regular forces, but by this year that had dropped to 1.4 million.

Alain Pellerin, a Canadian defence analyst, said the U.S. is facing a major problem finding enough personnel for duty in Iraq. Some units that took part in the invasion of that country and have since returned to the U.S. have now been told they are heading back to the Middle East, he added.

Mr. Pellerin noted that in some native communities along the American-Canadian border there has been a tradition among young people to serve with the U.S. military. "The Mohawks have in the past joined up, in particular with the U.S. Marines," he said.

The Americans were relying on what is known as the Jay Treaty to justify their recruitment of natives in Canada. But according to Canadian government officials, that treaty was a commercial agreement between the British and American governments.

"We did remind the U.S. authorities that even though they can refer to the Jay Treaty, we do not recognize the treaty and therefore recruitment activities on reserves in Canada was not exactly corresponding to our views on the matter," Mr. Doiron said.

According to Justice Department officials, the 1937 Foreign Enlistments Act prohibits foreign agents from recruiting in Canada. But they say there has never been a prosecution under that legislation.

(Ottawa Citizen)

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