Canada,s Future Was at Stake Sir John Slid his hand into his breast pocket. It came out brandishing the proofs, the evidence itself, and from it he read aloud about the punitive measures that the United States could use to bring Canadian business to its knees and thus soften up the country for annexation. There were also disparaging remarks about the Canadian political system. Farrer described it-and by extension, the people and the country-as corrupt, pathetic, and held together only by the cleverness of the prime minister. Book jacket.