Ottawa’s foreign policy swamp an unhealthy quagmire

Drain the swamp’ was a popular Donald Trump campaign slogan that referred to reducing the influence of Washington lobbyists. While the three words reflect an extreme lack of ecological consciousness — wetlands need to be protected and recreated, not destroyed — the image of politicians slogging their way through lobbyist infected, tangled, dense vegetation and... Continue Reading →

Canada a settler state helping pull imperial strings, not a colony

Colony or settler state? Recently foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland dismissed concerns that Canada was seeking "regime change" in Venezuela by saying "Canada has never been an imperialist power. It's even almost funny to say that phrase: we've been the colony." As I detailed in an initial response, Ottawa has passively or actively supported numerous U.S.-backed military coups against progressive... Continue Reading →

Time for Canada to withdraw from NATO

Ottawa should withdraw from NATO before the alliance draws Canada into an even more destructive conflict. This instrument of US-led imperialism has become more belligerent as its Cold War pretext fades further from view. In 1948 US, British and Canadian officials met secretly to lay the basis for NATO, which was established the following year.... Continue Reading →

Undermining Venezuela’s socialist government nothing new for Canada

Alongside Washington and Venezuela’s elite, the Trudeau government is seeking to oust President Nicolás Maduro. While Ottawa’s campaign has recently grown, official Canada has long opposed the pro-poor, pro-working class Bolivarian Revolution, which has won 19 of 21 elections since 1998. Following a similar move by the Trump Administration, Global Affairs Canada sanctioned 40 Venezuelans... Continue Reading →

‘Free trade’ has come to mean powerful interests get whatever they want

"Free trade" has become a euphemism for "whatever power wants," no matter how tangentially tied to transfering goods across international borders. In an extreme example, Ottawa recently said its Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Israel trumps Canada’s Food and Drugs Act since accurately labelling two wines might undermine a half-century long, illegal, military occupation. Of little connection... Continue Reading →

Canada enables Barrick’s bad corporate behaviour

Will the Canadian government continue to support Barrick Gold’s exploitation of mineral resources in Tanzania no matter what abuses the company commits? Would the Trudeau government stop backing the Toronto-based firm if it bilked the impoverished nation out of $10 billion? Or, what if one thousand people were raped and seriously injured by Barrick security?... 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 no friend of Haiti or rest of Caribbean

Can cute Canadian Caribbean dreams about enchanted islands come true? Or is reality more complicated and Canada a far less benign actor than we imagine ourselves to be? In a recent Boston Globe opinion titled “Haiti should relinquish its sovereignty”, Boston College professor Richard Albert writes, “the new Haitian Constitution should do something virtually unprecedented:... Continue Reading →

The plunder of Africa: A Canadian connection

As Black History Month draws to an end it is important to reflect on the European conquest of Africa. Is there a connection between colonial rule and the continent’s impoverishment today? Should the beneficiaries of European imperialism pay reparations or at least acknowledge the injustices committed? When thinking about these questions it’s important to look... Continue Reading →

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