Thank goodness for Santa Claus

I never thought I would be counting on Santa Claus for the military protection of North America, but that appears to be just the situation U.S. President Donald Trump has put us in.

The American President has threatened the existence of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization with implicit threats to defy Article Five of the NATO Constitution if the other members don't increase their financial contributions.

It doesn't seem to matter to the President that NATO allies still have several years to meet the suggested level of military spending according to their agreement.

His NATO tirade follows hot on the heels of a similar upbraiding of the members of the G7, particularly our Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “There is a special place in hell” one Trump apologist suggested for the prime minister because he dared to stand up to the president's bullying on tariffs.

So I can only presume it is only a matter of time before the American leader threatens to pull out of NORAD because we Canadians are not pulling our fair share or because the NAFTA talks are going so poorly.

NORAD is the joint military defence system which protects North America from foreign attack.  Effectively it allows for the joint protection of air space over North America by either American or Canadian Forces. Their jets can fly in our airspace in protective missions; ours can fly in theirs.

But if that alliance should crumble, either country would be in the right to shoot down any aircraft which invades its airspace. That's a consequence I'm not sure the American President understands.

So, thank goodness for Santa Claus. I'm convinced the only thing Trump knows about NORAD is its annual “tracking” of Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, and he would never do anything to interfere with that.

Frank Likely is a retired Anglican minister and past president of the Springhill and Area Chamber of Commerce.