Frank McKenna is the next ambassador to Washington, and made these comments as he appeared before the Commons foreign affairs committee this week.

Canadians shouldn’t worry about their sovereignty because in many ways this country and the United States have never been further apart, says the next ambassador to Washington.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen the countries, in many ways, more different,” McKenna told the committee.

“We’re going in a very different direction from the United States of America.”

By example, he cited legislative measures such as same-sex marriage, gun control and pot decriminalization.

And he said Canada’s “whole approach with respect to preserving the social structure, social security in Canada, is dramatically different from the direction of the United States of America.

“We just seem to be much further apart than we’ve ever been before. So my view is Canadians have done a good job of protecting our cultural integrity and our sovereignty.”

It has been suggested if Canada decriminalizes pot, it could cause problems at border crossings. McKenna said Americans should examine their own lax gun laws first.

“One of the biggest problems Canada faces is with respect to guns from the United States coming across the border and being used in crimes in Canada. So we could make the argument that each of us should be entitled to our own domestic policy, even though it has some implications for the other country.”

Americans, said McKenna, “are largely indifferent to Canadians” and need to be constantly reminded of the importance of Canada’s import and export markets.

And Canadians don’t appreciate the psychological impact the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks had on American society.

Do Canadians “truly understand the sense to which the United States was traumatized and the sense to which that has driven their public policy since then?” McKenna asked.

“No. I don’t think our citizenry overall have understood that.”

Yes, he is correct. I don’t think we’ve fully appreciated what the events of September 11, 2001 did to the American people, and what it has done to their country and it’s policies since.