Why is the Trudeau government supporting Africa's most ruthless dictator? After amending the constitution to be able to run indefinitely Paul Kagame recently won 98.63 per cent of votes in Rwanda's presidential election. In response, Canada's High Commissioner Sara Hradecky tweeted "Congratulations to Rwandans for voting in peaceful presidential election" and "Canada congratulates Paul Kagame on his inauguration... Continue Reading →
Do Canadians really want monuments to racist colonialists?
Some good might come in Canada from neo-fascists marching in Charlottesville, Virginia. Taking advantage of media interest in protests over monuments to historical figures with racist views activists in Halifax are pushing to removecommemorations to two individuals who helped conquer Africa. And there’s no lack of other such memorials to target across the Great White... Continue Reading →
Aid and exploitation: Canada in Congo
Imagine if the media only reported the good news that governments and corporations wanted you to see, hear and read about. Unfortunately, that is not far from the reality of reporting about Canada's role internationally. The dominant media almost exclusively covers stories that portray this country positively while ignoring or downplaying information that contradicts this... Continue Reading →
Canada’s contribution to the Belgian Congo holocaust
Canada’s 150th anniversary offers a unique opportunity to shed light on some darker corners of Canadian history. One of the dustier chapters is our contribution to one of the most barbarous regimes of the last century and a half. In a bid to extract rubber and other commodities from his personal colony, Belgian King Léopold... Continue Reading →
Banro’s quest for Congo gold yields deaths, kidnapping
When one Canadian mining company goes, violence seems to follow. Last week a police officer and soldier were killed at a Banro Corporation-run mine in the east of the Congo. One "assailant" was also killed at the Toronto-based company's Namoya mine. In February three police were killed at another Banro mine about 200km to the... Continue Reading →
Globe story ignores Bata’s (and Canada’s) colonialist past
An elitist, nationalist, bias dominates all areas of Canada’s paper of record. On the front of last weekend’s Style section the Globe and Mail profiled Sonja Bata on turning 90. Business partner and wife of the deceased Thomas Bata, the Globe lauded Sonja for the “many contributions she has made to Canada”, including the Bata Shoe Museum and... Continue Reading →
Toronto mining firm gives Canada a bad name
The ‘Ugly Canadian’ strikes again. Toronto-based Kinross Gold recently suspended work at its Tasiast mine to protest an order from Mauritania’s government that unpermitted ‘expatriates’ stop working on the massive project. The lead foreign firm in the sparsely populated West African nation has been embroiled in a series of power struggles with its Mauritanian workforce.... Continue Reading →
The fairy tale about a brave Canadian general in Rwanda
Like children’s fairy tales, foreign policy myths are created, told and retold for a purpose. The Boy Who Cried Wolf imparts a life lesson while entertaining your five year-old niece. Unfortunately foreign policy myths are seldom so benign. The tale told about Romeo Dallaire illustrates the problem. While the former Canadian General rose to prominence... Continue Reading →
Let us also remember the victims of Canada’s wars
Trudeau “unveils most diverse Cabinet in Canada’s history”, was how one media outlet described the new Liberal cabinet. It includes a Muslim woman, four Sikhs, an indigenous woman, two differently abled individuals and an equal number of women and men. Half even refused any reference to God at Wednesday’s swearing in ceremony. But in one respect there was... Continue Reading →
Canada in Africa book tour begins this week
Stephen Harper is not The Problem but getting rid of him is a necessary first step in changing Canada’s militaristic, pro-corporate international posture that focuses on what’s best for business rather than helping the world’s poorest. This will be one of the messages during a 20-city pre-election tour for the just-released Canada in Africa: 300... Continue Reading →
Canadian military ‘aid’ no help to Africans
Unlike the US or France, Canada is not a leading military force in Africa. But Ottawa exerts influence through a variety of means including training initiatives. Canadian Forces have trained hundreds of African soldiers at the Canadian Army Doctrine and Training Centre in Kingston Ontario and Lester B. Pearson Centre in Nova Scotia. Canadian forces... Continue Reading →
Corporate profits the point of Harper’s Africa policy
Despite rhetoric about providing aid to the poorest, the Harper Conservatives have worked assiduously to ensure that Canadian corporations profit from Africa’s vast mineral resources, rather than the continent’s people. Even widespread criticism of their operations has failed to dampen the Conservatives’ support for Canada’s many mining interests in Africa. Canadian mining companies have been... Continue Reading →
Canadian crimes against humanity in Africa
Should Africans pursue Stephen Harper for crimes against humanity? The Africa Progress Report 2015 suggests they may have a solid moral, if not necessarily legal, case. Led by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, the Africa Progress Panel highlights Canada and Australia as two countries that “have withdrawn entirely from constructive international engagement on climate.”... Continue Reading →
Canada undermines democracy in Burkina Faso
With flagrant disregard for democracy, the Harper Conservatives recently signed a deal with a transition regime to circumscribe future governments’ capacity to regulate Canadian miners. But, those victimized are impoverished Africans so the move elicited little reaction. In April Harper’s Conservatives signed a Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA) with the interim government of... Continue Reading →
Good for business, bad for Africans
Sometimes what is good for business can be bad for people. Most Canadians understand this and cherish their right to protest “bad deals” and to elect new governments willing to reverse so-called “business-friendly” policies. This is called democracy. So what do we call it when Ottawa signs a deal with an unelected regime that would... Continue Reading →
New book provides real understanding of Rwandan tragedy
The Rwandan genocide -- think you know the story? Deep-seated ethic enmity erupted in a 100-day genocidal rampage by Hutus killing Tutsis, which was only stopped by the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). A noble Canadian general tried to end the bloodletting but a dysfunctional UN refused resources. Washington was caught off guard by the slaughter,... Continue Reading →
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