August 2, 2011
So, another Canadian foreign minister has visited China, presumably to sell more Canadian raw materials – as if that were a problem. The media seems satisfied that John Baird mentioned human rights – though what he said is left to conjecture. And who might care is another matter entirely. There was also the ritual nod to Canadian values, whatever those might be these days.
In a hawkish July 5 Maclean’s interview, Stephen Harper did talk a bit about Canadian ...
Continue Reading →June 12, 2011
A recent 60 Minutes investigation found that best-selling author and philanthropist, Greg Mortenson, may not be all he has cracked himself up to be. The ex-mountain climber has told the story many times of being rescued by Pakistani villagers and discovering how terrible their educational facilities were. One thing led to another and he eventually built them a school, and that school led to hundreds more around the country. His books, Three Cups of Tea and Stones into Schools have sold millions, and his ...
Continue Reading →May 11, 2011
On April 6th, the Canadian International Council hosted a “conversation” on the “three D’s” among two senior Conservatives, Derek Burney, former Ambassador to the US and Chief of Staff to the PM, Senator Hugh Segal, former Chief of Staff to the PM, and Paul Heinbecker, former Foreign Policy Advisor to the PM and Ambassador to the UN on the subject of Diplomacy, Defence and Development.
What was disturbing about the session was that the two senior Conservatives equated international ...
Continue Reading →May 2, 2011
The Globe’s John Ibbitson is not alone in cutting the Harper government some slack in the realm of foreign affairs when it comes to the maternal and child health “initiative”. He says that Mr. Harper “convinced the major developed nations to sign on.” (“Harper Abroad…” Oct 22.) This has now passed into the realm of urban myth, where announcements often take the place of action.
In fact the entire MCH “initiative” was little more than smoke and mirrors. The ...
Continue Reading →April 27, 2011
For many years CIDA was a proud beacon of Canadian vision and values in international development. In the early 1990’s the Official Development Assistance budget became one of the few federal pots for discretionary funding. Canada’s use of those funds as a tool for creating a better, more secure world unraveled into a tool for the domestic policy agenda. It became a constituency builder for the party in power. With the Harper government, it got worse. He tested ...
Continue Reading →March 22, 2011
The Oda affair has dominated the attention of Parliament and the media in recent weeks. The mysterious insertion of the word “not” in a document and the contempt charge against CIDA Minister Bev Oda have been the focus of considerable media interest. The McLeod Group weighed in on this matter in a letter to Speaker Milliken. (That letter can be found on this website.) Experts, such as David Dacherty of Sir Wilfrid Laurier University and Ned Franks of ...
Continue Reading →December 12, 2010
Moving to the centre in order to get elected is a time-honoured tradition in Canadian politics. That’s basically what Stephen Harper did recently when he addressed the United Nations General Assembly in October in an attempt to shore up Canada’s bid for a seat on the Security Council.
His speech was, well, almost Pearsonian, replete with references to “the sovereign equality of countries,” justice and human rights, and its affirmation of Canada’s role in UN peacekeeping and aid efforts. ...
Continue Reading →November 22, 2010
The Second Report to Parliament on Canada’s Official Development Assistance 2009-2010
Lost amidst the welter of recent government announcements about the wonderful things Canada is planning to do with its aid budget was the tabling in the House of Commons of the second Report to Parliament on the Government of Canada’s Official Development Assistance (ODA), 2009-2010. You would think that a government which places great store in action and principles – if we are to believe the Prime Minister’s explanation ...
Continue Reading →October 15, 2010
There is no question that Haiti is a difficult place for external actors to work. Nation-building has eluded the best, most well-intentioned aid donors for decades. Treating the country as a basket case worth considering only as an international trusteeship candidate is not the path to follow for sustainable development. When disaster strikes Haiti – hurricanes in 2008, an earthquake in January this year – Canada responds, lots of ministerial and media attention (are those related?) and talk ...
Continue Reading →October 4, 2010
Canada is lobbying hard to win a seat on the UN Security Council for a two year 2011-2012 term. The competition for this non-permanent seat on the Council comes from two member countries of the European Union, namely Germany and Portugal, and Germany is all but confirmed. It has been a decade since Canada was last a member of the Council.
With its spotty record of late in international affairs, should Canada be taken seriously as a helpful, responsible ...
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