Islands pursue Canada ties

The chief minister of the islands plans to travel to Ottawa to discuss a merger.
LOS ANGELES TIMES
PROVIDENCIALES, Turks & amp; Caicos Islands -- This 40-island archipelago is surrounded by the aqua-blue waters of the Caribbean, but some leaders here and in Canada see a brighter future as part of the Great White North.
In pursuit of a winter escape, Canadians have been eyeing this sun-drenched diving paradise for decades. Some politicians looking for new markets think the Turks & amp; Caicos would make a fine regional springboard.
Never mind that the world's most powerful country stands between Canada and the Caribbean or that with no direct flights from Ottawa to Grand Turk, the island chain's capital, the journey can take the better part of a day. Year-round sunshine for the northerners and First World government services for the far-flung islanders have both sides warming to the notion of a federation.
No polls have been taken and no referendum has been held, but talk about becoming an outpost of Canada, an idea that dates to 1917, has become more animated since a new government took power here a year ago.
Is pursuing the proposal
"It certainly is still an issue we are interested in pursuing with the Canadians," says Chief Minister Michael Misick, leader of this colony, one of the British Empire's last footholds in the Caribbean. He planned to travel to Ottawa during the parliamentary session to discuss the possibility of merging the islands with Canada.
Misick says Turks Islanders -- TIs for short -- want to be equal partners.
"We're certainly not interested in trading one colonial master for another," says Misick, who dismisses the notion of the islands' becoming a mere province. Examples abound, he insists, of two independent states loosely linked for mutual benefit but able to retain their unique identities. He cites Serbia and Montenegro.
Ralph Higgs, deputy director of the Turks & amp; Caicos Tourism Board, is among those who are more enthusiastic about becoming part of North America.
"We envision the benefits to be enormous. Having a G8 country as a partner would be a tremendous help in moving us forward," says Higgs, referring to the Group of Eight industrialized countries, the club of the world's richest nations that includes Canada.
Beyond tourism
"We believe Canadians will invest in the Turks & amp; Caicos and visit in even bigger numbers than they do already and we would have access to Canadian colleges and universities. It would give our people the possibility to qualify themselves in every possible way."
Canada's national health-care system, pension program and modern security forces would also enhance the islands' public services.
Turks & amp; Caicos became a crown colony of Britain when it was detached from Jamaica and the Bahamas -- after those Caribbean states gained independence, respectively, in 1962 and 1973. In the last decade, Turks & amp; Caicos, with a population of 25,000, has grown from a tropical backwater to a leading tourist destination.
With pristine coral reefs and some of the world's best diving venues, hotels and condominiums have sprung up by the dozens across Providenciales, the most developed of the islands. The growth boom provides jobs to support not only working-age TIs but also about 5,000 Haitians who have made their way here illegally to find work in the construction bonanza.
Britain neither pays subsidies to nor receives tax revenue from the islands, Misick notes. Although British courts and defenses extend to overseas territories, the absence of any financial pressure to shed or keep these islands makes it easier to unhitch from Britain.
Offer of independence
Britain offered Turks & amp; Caicos independence in the 1980s, when it was little more than a string of fishing villages among the low-lying mangroves and mossy bogs. TIs then approached Ottawa with a proposal for annexation, which the Canadian government spurned after a Foreign Ministry study decided that the prospect would be more drain than gain for its taxpayers.
"Nobody likes to be told 'no,' so there is some hesitancy now," says Peter Goldring, the Edmonton lawmaker driving the latest campaign for alliance. "What we are doing is building a case for the benefits for all concerned. It has to be a win-win situation or it's not going to fly."
Goldring insists that Canadians will get more out of the venture than escape from the winter doldrums, despite the campaign's slogan and Web address, www.aplaceinthesun.ca.
"It's not just about sun and sand. It's about creating a better platform for transshipping our products," says the opposition lawmaker. He notes that Canadians make up as much as 40 percent of annual visitors to Caribbean countries stretching from Trinidad and Tobago to Cuba, yet Canada accounts for less than 2 percent of the region's imports.