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Canada, the second largest country after Russia, is on the north border of the U.S., with the Pacific Ocean to the west, Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. The capital city is Ottawa and the population is 32.2 million, about a tenth of the U.S.[1]


The BBC says of the country's media:

Canada has a long history of public broadcasting. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) was set up in the 1930s in response to the growing influence of American radio. The Canadian media are free to present a wide range of views and opinions. The broadcasting regulator rules that quotas of Canadian material - usually 30-35% - must be carried by TV and radio stations.[2]

U.S. on/off torture watch list

On January 17, 2008, Canada put the U.S. and Israel on a torture watch list - a list of countries where prisoners can be tortured. Reuters reported that this was likely to embarass the Conservative minority government of Canada. [3]

Two days later, on January 19, Reuters reported that Canada, responding to pressure from allies, said that it would remove the U.S. and Israel from this same list, the U.S. and Israel expressing unhappiness at being put on the list. Amnesty International Canada (AIC) said that is has a lot of evidence that torture is going on in U.S. and Israeli prisons and AIC was disappointed in the removal. [4]

Canadian military bases overseas

Canada has the military base Camp Mirage at the Minhad Air Force Base in the country of United Arab Emirates. The base is a staging area for Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan and for a Canadian warship when one is assigned to a U.S. battle group. U.S. soldiers are also stationed at the base. [5]



Related SourceWatch articles


  1. Canada, National Geographic, accessed March 2008.
  2. Country profile: Canada, BBC, accessed March 2008.
  3. "Canada puts U.S., Israel on torture watchlist", Reuters, January 17, 2008.
  4. "Canada removes U.S., Israel from torture watchlist", Reuters, January 19, 2008.
  5. Paul Koring and Borzou Daragahi, "The worst-kept secret in the Persian Gulf", Persian Gulf/Globe and Mail, May 21, 2005.

External articles

External resources