We are supposed to appreciate how the Hair helped Michaëlle Jean become the new head of la Francophonie. While not outwardly supporting Canada’s former governor general, the Hair reminded everyone at the summit of the $500 million Canada will be providing over the next five years to vaccinate children in poorer countries. Could the countries of the other five contenders match that?
Jean, by the way, is the governor general who allowed the Hair to prorogue parliament in December 2008 to keep the Conservative minority government from being defeated by a coalition of the Liberals, New Democrats and Bloc Quebecois. She allowed the prorogation to save the Conservatives not the country.
La Francophonie job is likely Jean’s payoff for saving the Hair and his government back then. With African nations making up the majority of the organization of French-speaking nations, Jean would not have come out on top if the African nations had not been divided in their choice. Her being black, attractive, personable and originally from Haiti was also of some help.
If the Hair had come out openly to support Jean, she probably would have lost. He had to work behind the scenes. That was something he did not do four years ago when the United Nations refused Canada a seat on the Security Council where Canada had served so well in the past. The facts are that the Hair and his Conservative government have trashed Canada’s reputation around the world.
Travel anywhere in the world today and compare our country’s reputation with just 15 years ago and there is a serious difference. We used to be peacekeepers and today we are mercenaries for the Americans. We used to be a safe haven and we now put up signs for refugees saying Do Not Come Here. We used to welcome some foreign workers on temporary visas and now we exploit them. We used to fly the Canadian flag proudly all over the world and today we are closing consulates and hiding in British facilities.
Some pundits are betting that the Hair will be increasingly soft and fuzzy as the time of the election approaches. There is a deadline of October 2015 that he cannot go past. He has no choice but to face the electorate. He will need a miracle.
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Copyright 2014 © Peter Lowry
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