They are displeased with Canada in Ramallah. Palestinians threw eggs, shoes and insults at Canada’s foreign minister the other day in the acting capital of the Palestinian State in the West Bank. And this Bobbsey twin deserved every curse, epithet and derisive comment that he received. And he should get the same treatment in Canada for the damage he is doing to Canada’s reputation.
Foreign Minister John Baird along with his boss Prime Minister Stephen Harper has brought shame on Canada. By pandering to the Israelis to win votes from Jews in Canada, they have only angered the Muslim world and brought shame on us. This is not what Canadians expect nor want from its foreign affairs. Our ancestors came to this country to live in peace and harmony with all. Ours is a country where tolerance is treasured and respect for the individual is a right.
And someone such as Baird goes to the Middle East to stir the flames of intolerance and allow individual rights to be trampled. If he does not know how to act properly when representing us, he should be denied a passport.
It took many years of patient and thoughtful work at the United Nations and around the world for Canada to earn respect and admiration for its being an honest broker. It no longer has the respect nor is it an honest broker. With Harper and Baird manipulating foreign affairs, Canada is now known as a toady for the Americans, a panderer for domestic votes in Israel and the Ukraine and subservient subjects of the British Royals. It is embarrassing for Canadians who used to be able to be proud of their country no matter where they might travel in the world.
When Prime Minister Harper virtually bribed African countries with Canadian aid money to make Former Governor General Michaëlle Jean Secretary-General of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (assembly of French-speaking nations), it was an embarrassment. It was not the easy approval that one would expect.
It is why Canada has been repeatedly denied a seat on the United Nations Security Council where our country once served with honour. And while Canadians have already tired of the way the Conservatives are running the country and embarrassing us around the world, it will take many years for the next government to repair the damage the Conservatives have done.
-30-
Copyright 2015 © Peter Lowry
Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to [email protected]