Would such a political transition be simply a shift of the colony from a distant Commonwealth colonial power (United Kingdom) to a geographically closer one (Canada)? Or would this constitute a genuine progression from the present British colonial status to a political arrangement where the province would actually be integrated into Canada under equal terms, and where the people of the Islands would have full political, economic and social rights as other Canadian citizens - unlike the absence of these rights under the present British dependency status? Most importantly, would the international right to self-determination for the people of the colony be respected so that such a transfer would be only as a result of the will of the people? And of course, if the people of the territory express their desire for such a change, would their interest be respected?The words of Frederick Douglass are instructive:
"Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never has, and it never will." OTR
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Washington Post
On the face of it, Canada and the Turks and Caicos Islands do not have much in common.
One country is a continental behemoth of snow-capped mountains, ice-clogged bays and frost-covered plains. The other is a small cluster of sun-kissed islands and not even a country at all, but rather a territory still under the suzerainty of the British crown.
But they are united by a curious dream--that the Caribbean archipelago may one day actually join Canada as the North American nation's newest province.
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