The media and politicians across the political spectrum are celebrating Marc Garneau. But the famed astronaut oversaw an imperialistic foreign policy and was deeply anti-Palestinian.
Garneau died of cancer Wednesday at the age of 76. The former military officer was Canada’s transport minister from 2015 to 2021 and foreign affairs minister for ten months in 2021.
As government spokesperson in Parliament and during meetings in his riding, Garneau justified Canada’s controversial $15 billion Light Armoured Vehicle sale to Saudi Arabia. When he was foreign minister Garneau okayed permits for a $74 million arms deal to the highly repressive, US aligned, monarchy.
Garneau backed the right-wing Ivan Duque government during a national strike in which security forces killed 50. After numerous Canadian rallies were held in solidarity with protesters in Colombia, Garneau released a statement ten days into the strike. Garneau criticized the security forces’ deadly violence in equal measure to protestors’ purported vandalism and also praised the Duque government, which had issued several menacing statements.
His opposition to popular forces challenging an unconstitutional and repressive government in Haiti was substantially more active and significant. Amidst mass demonstrations against Jovenel Moïse’s bid to illegally extend an already questionable term as president, Garneau spoke with Haiti’s de facto foreign minister and announced plans to co-host a conference with that country. The statement made no mention, however, of Moïse extending his mandate, illegally firing Supreme Court judges, ruling by decree or criminalizing protests.
During huge protests in Haiti a public letter was delivered to Garneau’s office that was signed by three sitting MPs and three former MPs, as well as Noam Chomsky, David Suzuki, Naomi Klein and 500 others, criticizing Ottawa’s “support for a repressive, corrupt Haitian president devoid of constitutional legitimacy.” Soon after, a coalition of 30 Haitian Canadian groups, as well as the Canadian Labour Congress and Council of Global Unions, also expressed opposition to Canadian and US policy in Haiti.
Instead of listening to voices from Haiti or Canadian civil society, Garneau met with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to deepen support for Moïse. As part of the influential US, France, OAS, UN, Spain “Core Group” of foreign ambassadors in Port-au-Prince, Garneau offered Moïse important diplomatic support.
Garneau was a staunch Israel supporter, actively deepening Canada’s ties to the apartheid state. Before becoming a minister, he justified Israel’s 2014 slaughter in Gaza, which left 2,200 Palestinians dead. Garneau was close to apartheid lobby groups, representing a Montreal riding with a significant Jewish population. Before becoming a minister he visited Israel multiple times with lobby organizations. During a 2018 trip as transport minister Garneau toured and praised an Israeli drone factory. He also concluded a transport agreement with Israel that year.
As foreign affairs minister Garneau defended Israel killing over 200 in Gaza, including 58 children, in May 2021. In a statement he said, “the indiscriminate barrage of rocket attacks fired by Hamas into populated areas of Israel is absolutely unacceptable and must cease immediately. Canada supports Israel’s right to live in peace with its neighbors within secure boundaries and recognizes Israel’s right to assure its own security.”
Garneau pressed the International Criminal Court (ICC) not to investigate Israel’s war crimes. When the ICC ruled in 2021 it had jurisdiction over Israeli war crimes committed in the Palestinian territories, paving the way to investigate its officials, Garneau released a statement criticizing the ICC decision. A year earlier the Trudeau government sent a letter to the ICC saying it didn’t believe the court had jurisdiction over Palestine and implied it might sever its funding to the ICC if it investigated Israel.
At his book launch in Montreal six months ago I asked Garneau if he regretted his 2021 move to pressure the ICC against investigating Israel’s war crimes now that its committing genocide in Gaza. The former minister refused to answer me and sought my removal from the event.
While the dominant media is full of praise for a dead astronaut, it remains important to hold politicians accountable for their actions.
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