Canadian Author and Activist
While protecting Africa’s worst killer from prosecution is a stepping stone to becoming governor general, challenging Canada’s role in enabling ‘Africa’s Hitler’ is a death knell in left establishment politics. The system rewards those who assist power, which is particularly evident in international affairs. Louise Arbour became a Supreme Court justice after guaranteeing impunity for... Continue Reading →
Ottawa is once again backing colonialism in Africa. It recently endorsed Morocco’s “autonomy” proposal for occupied Western Sahara. A sparsely populated territory in north-western Africa, Western Sahara was ruled by Spain until 1975. Moroccan troops moved in when the Spanish departed and a bloody 15-year war drove tens of thousands of Sahrawi into neighbouring Algeria,... Continue Reading →
Canada’s odious vote on a UN resolution condemning slavery reflects this country’s historic contribution to African enslavement. Wednesday Canada abstained on a General Assembly resolution condemning the transatlantic slave trade and slavery as “among the gravest violations of human rights in human history.” The resolution recognized that reparations represent a concrete step towards remedying the... Continue Reading →
Donald Trump’s anti-Somali racism is ugly. US violence there, with Canadian support, is uglier. The US president recently declared (repeatedly) that Somali immigrants are “garbage.” He’s also claimed they “contribute nothing” to the US and “have taken billions of dollars’’ to Somalia. One of Trump’s Canadian acolytes took up their anti-Black, Islamophobic anti-Somali rhetoric. Yesterday... Continue Reading →
Romeo Dallaire has greatly enabled the “Butcher of Africa’s Great Lakes” region. The Canadian general’s fairy tale has repeatedly justified Rwandan dictator Paul Kagame who has once again unleashed horrible violence in Congo. Two months ago a man in front of me at Salon du livre de Montréal asked Dallaire if his “opinion of Rwanda... Continue Reading →
Military coups are generally bad. Foreign invasions even more so. What then to think of the situation in Niger? While the political situation in the west African country is fluid, some facts are incontrovertible. An (at least nominally) elected president was ousted by the presidential guard after demoting its leader. The pro US/French President Mohamed... Continue Reading →
If a famed Canadian ‘humanitarian’ participated in a government-sponsored conference in Moscow there would be howls of outrage. But Romeo Dallaire boosting Africa’s most bloodstained regime will likely be ignored. Later in the month Dallaire is scheduled to speak at the 20th anniversary festival of the Giants of Africa basketball initiative. The Kigali event is... Continue Reading →
Canada said their war in Libya was to defend human rights and enable democracy. But, NATO’s 2011 assault has unleashed a decade of instability and violence as well as deteriorating social and economic indicators. And they still haven’t held presidential elections. Since the start of the month there has been an uprising against living conditions... Continue Reading →
The Justin Trudeau government threw its diplomatic weight behind Canada’s most controversial mining company in the country where it’s committed its worst abuses. Canadian officials threatened to cut off aid to Tanzania and justified Barrick Gold’s killings, according to newly released internal government documents. Barrick Gold’s African subsidiary, Acacia Mining, was embroiled in a... Continue Reading →
Eight miners in Burkina Faso have been stuck underground for nearly a month. Unlike other mining disasters, it’s received little attention outside West Africa. Over the weekend K. Diallo tweeted, “for 20 days, 8 African miners have been stranded more than 500 meters deep in a zinc mine operated by a Canadian company in Burkina... Continue Reading →
Another election postponement in Libya is a reminder that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a threat to Africans. Last month, Libyan presidential elections were postponed partly out of fear that Saif al-Islam Gaddafi would win. He is the son of former strongman Muammar Gaddafi who was overthrown and killed in the 2011 NATO-led... Continue Reading →
At the English language election debate Conservative leader Erin O’Toole claimed Canada “led the fight against apartheid” in South Africa. The absurd statement has gone largely uncontested, reflecting a racist, mythologized, view of Canada’s place in the world. Does anyone believe that Canada was a stronger opponent of White minority rule in South Africa than... Continue Reading →
Canadian imperialism in Africa has had a rare social media moment. On Twitter K. Diallo recently posted a map of the continent with the sum of Canadian mining investment in each African country under the words “75% of mining companies globally are now Canadian. Canada is a great source of corporate neocolonialism expansion.” The tweet received 25,000... Continue Reading →
Which is more believable as motivation to send soldiers to other countries, altruism or self-interest? Canadian forces don’t train their African counterparts out of a commitment to professionalism or democracy but to extend this country’s influence. Recently the Ottawa Citizen reported that Canadian special forces will continue to participate in “U.S.-led training exercises despite links... Continue Reading →
Justin Trudeau understands that his path to a UN Security Council seat runs through Africa. The continent shouldn’t give it to him. As part of his bid for a two-year seat on the UN’s most powerful decision-making body Canada’s prime minister has called the leaders of Ghana, Sudan, Rwanda, Namibia, Liberia, Botswana, Mozambique and Uganda... Continue Reading →
Despite the prime minister’s show of visiting a place where thousands of people were sold as commodities, the point of his trip was not to acknowledge the great wrong done to Africa during the slave trade but rather for Canadian companies to get their hands on Senegal’s resources. During Justin Trudeau’s expedition to Senegal last... Continue Reading →
The Federal government wants Canadian corporations to profit from Ethiopia’s minerals. During his recent trip to the Horn of Africa country Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced negotiations on a Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA). As I detailed in this article, bilateral investment treaties with African countries are overwhelmingly designed to solidify the... Continue Reading →
The Trudeau government, just like the Harper Conservatives, has used Canadian foreign policy to protect the profits of wealthy mining companies against ordinary Africans desire to benefit from resource extraction. During a recent visit Justin Trudeau announced negotiations on a Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA) with Ethiopia. FIPAs empower international investors by giving... Continue Reading →
Justin Trudeau wants us to know he’s buddies with Africa’s most ruthless dictator. At the recent African Union Summit in Ethiopia Trudeau met Paul Kagame. The Prime Minister’s press people released a photo of him laughing with the Rwandan President and announced that the two discussed the upcoming Commonwealth summit Trudeau is set to attend... Continue Reading →
If the New Democratic Party wants to be part of the solution and not a barrier to creating a better foreign policy it needs to start telling the truth. Stephen Lewis is a liberal imperialist who largely ignores Canada’s contribution to African subjugation. Just before the election Svend Robinson for Burnaby North-Seymour published an endorsement... Continue Reading →
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