Why would an alternative media website that questions government and corporate policies about climate change and the environment have so much trouble understanding that the same sort of skepticism is necessary regarding Canadian foreign policy? Imagine a self-declared progressive media outlet saying they don’t cover racism, patriarchy or the dispossession of First Nations because they... Continue Reading →
When journalists rely on diplomats Ottawa ‘spins’ the news
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 →
Canadian ‘aid’ to Venezuela part of plan to overthrow government
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 →
Lessons learned from ‘Republic of NGOs’
Imagine living in a country where the entire social services sector is privatized, run by “charities” that are based in other countries and staffed by foreigners who get to decide whether or not you qualify for assistance. Welcome to Haiti, the “Republic of NGOs.” As salacious details about Oxfam officials hiring Haitian girls for sex... Continue Reading →
The lies told to justify Canadian foreign policy
Lies, distortions and self-serving obfuscations are to be expected when political and business leaders discuss far away places. In a recent Toronto Star column Rick Salutin observed that “foreign policy is a truth-free, fact-free zone. When leaders speak on domestic issues, citizens at least have points of reference to check them against. On foreign affairs... Continue Reading →
Message to reporters: Do you enjoy being duped?
When reading wild propaganda about Canada’s role in Haiti I often wonder if the reporter is a sycophant or whether they’ve been duped. With the Caribbean nation set to hold its most credible presidential election in sixteen years Ottawa announced it was withdrawing support for the October 9poll. The Trudeau government’s decision to follow Washington in seeking to undermine the... Continue Reading →
Where seeking mainstream media attention leads
Do Black (Haitian) lives matter to Canada’s leading ‘left-wing’ foreign-policy think tank? Apparently not as much as having the corporate media mention their work by getting in bed with militarism disguised as peacekeeping. At the start of Black History Month the Ottawa-based Rideau Institute co-published Unprepared for Peace?: The decline of Canadian peacekeeping training (and what to do about... Continue Reading →
Canada in Haiti: Is this how friends act?
Reading the comments below a recent Toronto Star op-edreminded me of an important, if rarely mentioned, rule of Canadian foreign policy: the more impoverished a nation, the greater the gap is likely to be between what Canadian officials say and do. In a rare corporate daily breakthrough, solidarity activist Mark Phillips detailed a decade of antidemocratic Canadian policy... Continue Reading →
Suggestions for real organizing during elections
By Dru Oja Jay and Yves Engler Election season can be the worst time to be a radical. Which is to say, it's tough to be someone who believes that fundamental systemic change is needed when the parties that have our democratic imagination in a sleeper hold are sucking the air out of the living... Continue Reading →
Why did Canada help overthrow Haiti’s government?
This is the last in a four part series leading up to the 10th anniversary of the February 29 2004 overthrow of Jean-Bertrand Aristide’s government in Haiti. Why did Canada help overthrow Haiti’s elected government? That’s a question I heard over and over when speaking about Canada in Haiti: Waging War on the Poor Majority,... Continue Reading →
The Haiti occupation continues
Those who forget the past are often condemned to repeat its mistakes. On February 29, 2004 the US, France and Canada overthrew Haiti’s elected government. The foreign military intervention led to an unmitigated human rights disaster. In the three weeks after the coup at least 1,000 bodies were buried in a mass grave by the... Continue Reading →
When Canada plotted to overthrow Haiti’s government
Eleven years ago this weekend Canada organized an international gathering to discuss overthrowing Haiti’s elected government. The conference was reported in a major magazine at the time, but since the coup actually happened the dominant media has refused to investigate or even mention the meeting. On Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, 2003, Jean Chrétien’s Liberal... Continue Reading →
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