Canadian Author and Activist
Militarists, warmongers and arms dealers are riding a wave of momentum and they’re organizing to profit as much as possible. Yesterday the Canadian Global Affairs Institute (CGAI) hosted a conference titled “Putting Canadian Defence Procurement on a War Footing”. The military put up $50,000 for the conference and likely spent tens of thousands of dollars... Continue Reading →
A military funded academic, working at a school launched by Condoleezza Rice, claims leftist journalists engage in Russian disinformation. His report doesn’t provide any evidence or refute anyone’s argument, but the mainstream media laps it up. On Thursday the University of Calgary School of Public Policy released “Disinformation and Russia-Ukrainian war on Canadian social media”.... Continue Reading →
“Propaganda is to a democracy what the bludgeon is to a totalitarian state.” Noam Chomsky Propaganda isn’t a euphemism for how the other side controls information. Nor is it simply about jailing journalists or shuttering media outlets. A serious discussion of the matter must look at the broader forces shaping information dissemination and suppression.... Continue Reading →
The notion of ‘worthy’ and ‘unworthy’ victims is important to understanding Canada’s propaganda system and foreign policy. A common form of bias is for media outlets to concentrate on the victims of enemy states while largely ignoring those victimized by friendly governments. Contrasting Russia’s two-month-old invasion of Ukraine with the war in Yemen or the... Continue Reading →
Militarists are trying to present their long-standing requests for ever more arms spending as simply a response to Russia’s brutal actions in Ukraine. Yesterday the Canadian Press reported, “One of Canada’s most influential business lobby groups is making an unprecedented request for increased defence spending in Thursday’s federal budget because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.... Continue Reading →
The Russians were responsible for the “freedom convoy”, claims a purportedly progressive media outlet. The Tyee’s promotion of this conspiracy theory demonstrates the ideological grip of US imperialism. Recently Andrew Nikiforuk argued that the trucker convoy in Ottawa was the by-product of Russian propaganda, specifically RT. This spinoff from some Democrats’ explanation for Donald Trump’s election... Continue Reading →
The Liberals plan to purchase 88 fighter jets lacks transparency. Even worse, new warplanes will empower a secretive branch of an institution not known for its democratic ethos. Canada’s second largest ever government procurement is set to be made without the public knowing the likely climate impacts or lifecycle cost of the jets. Additionally, the... Continue Reading →
In no area of coverage is Canadian media more biased than in international affairs. Send more weapons to fight Russia, Canada is helping Haiti and don’t allow China to buy our strategic minerals — in Argentina — are just some of the messages promoted in recent days. According to the leading newspapers, radio, TV and... Continue Reading →
The dominant media permit only a narrow spectrum of opinion regarding Canadian foreign policy. Their refusal to report critical information about this country’s foreign policy can be startling. Even journalists who uncover illuminating internal government files put the information down the memory hole. Recently Canadian Press journalist Lee Berthiaume reported on Canada’s military mission... Continue Reading →
Not satisfied with Canada’s largest public relations machine, the Canadian Forces also employ various “arm’s-length” institutions to push their influence over the discussion of military and international affairs. For example, the Conference of Defence Associations (CDA) Institute recently published a half-page ad in the Globe and Mail to announce its Conference on Security and Defence.... Continue Reading →
More politically dependent than almost all other industries, arms manufacturers play for keeps in the nation’s capital. They target ads and events sponsorships at decision makers while hiring insiders and military stars to lobby on their behalf. Activist and academic Tamara Lorincz recently posted a photo of an F35 ad in a bus shelter in... Continue Reading →
Media coverage of Canadian foreign policy is uniquely one-sided and biased. It’s so bad that few readers, listeners or viewers will have ever seen or heard an honest analysis of this country’s past, let alone current role around the world. A recent Maclean’s story titled “The long history of ‘go back to where you came... Continue Reading →
Wouldn’t you think the corporate media would be interested in the US embassy’s reaction to the appointment of a new Canadian foreign minister? Especially if that reaction was to claim Ottawa had decided to adopt an “America First” foreign policy? Wouldn’t some big newspaper or TV station, dedicated to telling the truth about what our... Continue Reading →
Aside from government officials the dominant media is fond of quoting “experts” from foreign policy think tanks when discussing Canada’s role in the world. While presented as neutral specialists, these opinion shapers are generally entangled with powerful, wealthy, elites. Take the case of Venezuela and Canada’s leading foreign policy ‘ideas organization’. Recently Canadian International Council... Continue Reading →
While the Justin Trudeau government’s interference in the prosecution of SNC Lavalin highlights corporate influence over politics, it is also a story about a firm at the centre of Canadian foreign policy. In a recent story titled “Canada’s Corrupt Foreign Policy Comes Home to Roost” I detailed some of SNC’s controversial international undertakings, corruption and... Continue Reading →
Hypocrisy, lying, disdain for the victims of ‘our’ policies and other forms of rot run deep in Canadian political culture. The latest example is former prime minister Paul Martin nominating Irwin Cotler for the Nobel Peace Prize, which has been applauded by the likes of Bernie Farber, Michael Levitt and Anthony Housefather. This supposed promoter... Continue Reading →
Canadian diplomats abroad seek to shape coverage of their work. And the more nefarious their actions the harder they toil to “spin” what they’re doing as something positive. During a recent interview Real News Network founder Paul Jay described how Canadian officials in Caracas attempted to shape his views of the country’s politics. Jay noted:... Continue Reading →
If more people understood that “aid” often goes hand in hand with military intervention there would be less uncritical support for it. An important, though little acknowledged, principle of Canadian ‘aid’ policy is that military intervention elicits international assistance. Or, in the case of Venezuela ‘aid’ is a tool being used to stoke military conflict.... Continue Reading →
US presidents have bombed or invaded places like Grenada, Panama, Iraq and Sudan to distract from domestic scandals or to gain a quick boost in popularity. But, do Canadian politicians also pursue regime change abroad to be cheered on by the dominant media as decisive leaders? In a discussion on regime change in Venezuela after... Continue Reading →
Now that November 11 and the official “remembering” of our “heroes”, their “bravery” and “greatness” is over, it is a good time to take a deeper, more critical look at Canada’s participation in wars. While on Remembrance Day we are told to “thank a soldier for your freedoms” and the commemorations talk about “defending democracy”,... Continue Reading →
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