ENGLER: The Ugly Canadian - Stephen Harper’s Foreign Policy

[Oscar]

The Ugly Canadian - Stephen Harper’s Foreign Policy

http://www.fernwoodpublishing.ca/The-U/

Yves Engler

Stephen Harper’s foreign policy documents the sordid story of the Canadian government’s sabotage of international environmental efforts, a government totally committed to tar sands producers and a mining industry widely criticized for abuses. Furthermore, this sweeping critique details Harper’s opposition to the “Arab Spring” democracy movement and his backing of repressive Middle East monarchies, as well as his support for a military coup in Honduras and indifference to suffering of Haitians following the earthquake that devastated their country. The book explores Canada’s extensive military campaign in Libya, opposition to social transformation in Latin America and support for a right-wing Israeli government. With an eye to Canada’s growing international isolation, The Ugly Canadian is a must read for those who would like to see Canada adopt a more just foreign policy.

Praise for the book...

”Stephen Harpers’ government has fundamentally changed Canada’s foreign policy in a way most Canadians do not understand. The notion of the Ugly Canadian may be hard to accept but it is true and I for one am deeply grateful to Yves Engler for this important book.”- Maud Barlow, National Chairperson of the The Council of Canadians

”A damning chronicle of Stephen Harper’s international misdeeds.”–Michael Byers, Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law, University of British Columbia

”Ugly Canadian is a well written, thoroughly researched, powerful indictment of the Harper government’s radical shift to the right in foreign policy. Whether it is demonstating callous indifference to global eco-issues, taking an absolutist pro-Israel Middle East stance, meddling militarily in Libya, Haiti and Afghanistan, or rebirthing the notion of a warrior spirit, Canada can no longer be considered a peace loving middle power. This book is more than a wakeup call, it is a call to arms for Canadians to take note of where we are headed on the international stage–before it is too late.”–Scott Taylor, Editor Esprit de Corps Magazine

”One of Yves Engler’s previous books helped give me the idea to hold a Stop Harper sign in Parliament. This book provides rich evidence why Harper must be stopped.”–Brigette Depape (rogue Senate Page)

Contents

Introduction • Tar Sands Diplomacy • Mining the World • Against the Arab Spring • Bombing Libya • Best Friend of the Israeli Right • At War with Iran and Lebanon • Canadian Warrior • Lying About Afghanistan • Militarizing Post-earthquake Haiti • Stopping Social Change in Latin America • Conclusion: Making Foreign Policy an Election Issue

About the Author

Former Vice President of the Concordia Student Union, Yves Engler has been dubbed “one of the most important voices on the Canadian Left today” (Briarpatch), “in the mould of I.F. Stone” (Globe and Mail), “ever-insightful” (rabble.ca) and a “Leftist gadfly” (Ottawa Citizen). His six books have been praised by Noam Chomsky, Naomi Klein, William Blum, Rick Salutin and many others.

”Yves became a foreign-policy expert by working as a night doorman in Montreal...He’s in the mould of I. F. Stone, who wasted no time with politicians, who all have an agenda, but went instead straight to the public record.” -Rick Salutin, Globe and Mail

Reviews

Engler’s eye-opener documents Harper’s multiple ‘crimes against humanity’

For the first time in 60 years, Canada embarrassingly lost its 2010 bid for a seat at the United Nations Security Council. We lost because African, Arab and Muslim countries voted against us.

Our country was also denied participation in the newly formed Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, an economic and political bloc of more than 30 countries of Central and South America.

At the annual international climate change conferences, delegates have repeatedly voted to give Canada the Fossil Fool award because of our obstruction of the negotiations.

These are some of the many examples that Montreal author Yves Engler cites in his new book, The Ugly Canadian: Stephen Harper’s Foreign Policy.

Engler explains that it is the “Harper-led Conservative government’s militaristic and corporate-oriented foreign policy” that has led to Canada’s worsening international reputation since 2006.

The Ugly Canadian is an important update and expansion of Engler’s earlier work, The Black Book of Canadian Foreign Policy (Fernwood Publishing, 2009).

Using documents retrieved through access to information laws, embassy cables from WikiLeaks, scholarly articles and media sources, he pieces together a more complete and current picture of Canada’s foreign policy.

His thorough research reveals the pernicious political and economic motives behind the federal government’s actions around the world.

For example, in 2009, Canada delayed the debt forgiveness of Congo, one of the poorest countries on the African continent, to force it to give concessions to Canadian mining companies, such as Vancouver-based First Quantum Minerals.

On behalf of Barrick Gold and Bear Creek Mining, the federal government lobbied for the reform of mining laws in Chile and Peru to be more favourable to Canadian mining interests.

However, Engler explains how Canadian mining operations continuously displace communities, destroy ecosystems and provoke violence.

In 2009, indigenous people were killed protesting Canadian mine sites in Mexico and El Salvador. Yet, a year later, the federal government refused to pass the Act Respecting Corporate Accountability for the Activities of Mining, Oil or Gas Corporations in Developing Countries.

Last year, protesters in England presented Canada’s natural resource minister with an award for “greenwash propagandist of the year” after the minister gave a lecture promoting the Alberta oilsands at the London School of Economics.

Europeans are rightfully angry that Canadian officials have been lobbying to weaken their environmental regulations like the European Union Fuel Quality Directive.

With irony, Engler describes the double standards of Canada’s rebuke of Iran for its alleged nuclear program and our acceptance of Israel’s known nuclear arsenal. Our pro-Israeli stance led Canada to shamefully vote against allowing Palestine to become a member of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization last year. Over 100 countries voted to permit Palestine in UNESCO; Canada was one of only 14 to reject its membership.

The author further exposes the duplicity in our international policy. He explains how Canada’s claim to champion democracy internationally is made disingenuous by our support for the right-wing coups in Haiti, Honduras and Paraguay that overthrew populist leaders, and our arming of authoritarian regimes in Jordan, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia against mass uprisings.

Engler is especially critical of Canada’s combat mission in Afghanistan and our bombing of Libya that led to the death of innocent civilians and destruction of critical infrastructure. “We should be clear that foreign military interventions kill and that the Conservatives’ climate policy is devastating many of the world’s most vulnerable,” Engler writes.

The Ugly Canadian is an eye-opening account of how our country is no longer a respected middle power that truly values democracy, the environment and peace abroad.

To clean up our image and change course on our foreign policy, Engler believes that Canadians need to unite and take action. Engler proposes a countrywide campaign to “stop Harper’s crimes against humanity” and urges Canadians to get involved in local anti-war, green and solidarity organizations.

He concludes: “We absolutely need to shake Canadians from their complacency.”

Tamara Lorincz is a member of the Halifax Peace Coalition and the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace.


BOOK LAUNCH AND SIGNING: Thursday, 7-8:30 p.m., Burke Building Theatre B, Saint Mary’s University, 5932 Inglis St., Halifax; Friday, noon-1:30 p.m., Room 104, Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University, 6061 University Ave., Halifax; Friday, 7-8:30 p.m., Fables Club, 259 Main St., Tatamagouche.

For more information, visit www.cjmpe.org.

—The Chronicle Herald, Nov. 11, 2012
—by Tamara Lorincz
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The Ugly Canadian in Halifax Media Co-op

K’jipuktuk (Halifax)–Yves Engler’s latest book, The Ugly Canadian: Stephen Harper’s Foreign Policy, deals with a broad swath of Canadian foreign policy topics.
Chapter by chapter, Engler methodically and in detail documents the state of Canadian foreign policy as it has unfolded over roughly the last 10 years. There are chapters on Canada’s foreign policy as it relates to Libya, Israel, Lebanon, Iran, Haiti, Afghanistan, arms sales and militarism. Not always immediately associated with foreign policy, but no less relevant to Canada’s global agenda, is Engler’s chapter on Canadian efforts to influence US and European public opinion on the tar sands. To build his case, Engler frequently relies on information found in mainstream media and public domain government sources.
Reading the book, a couple of things become clear. First of all, Canada’s foreign policy is an ugly thing indeed, catering to an interplay of corporate greed (mining, arms trade, tar sands oil exports), born-again Christian ideologies (Israel), and an eagerness to align with US interests (Libya, Syria, and the list goes on and on). Engler argues that getting people to see this ugliness is difficult, but absolutely crucial. And Engler is optimistic that it can be done.
Three weeks into a book tour that will find him in Nova Scotia by the middle of next week, the Halifax Media Co-op caught up with Yves Engler in Nanaimo, BC, and spoke of a variety of topics.
On the failure of traditional Canadian political parties to effectuate positive change in Canada’s foreign policy:
“The tendency of the NDP is by and large to go along with the government’s foreign policy. Only when grassroots are organizing and pressuring the party will you see a more effective opposition in parliament.
“The abduction of Jim Manley and 30 others in international waters by by the Israeli military and the absolute silence from the NDP really illustrate this. Think about it. The NDP does not even speak up when a former NDP parliamentarian is affected.”
On the failure of mainstream media:
“It is true that I find a lot of my information at CBC.ca or the Ottawa Citizen, whatever. And once in a while there will be a critical article buried somewhere, but mostly what is missing is the proper context.
“For instance, mainstream media will provide an article on carbon emission, but what you typically don’t hear is that people are already dying as a result of climate change. Climate change is contributing to the death of 400,000 people annually. You don’t hear about this because these are the very poorest people, far away in developing countries.”
On Canadians’ lackadaisical attitude towards foreign policy:
“It is true that most people don’t see foreign policy as important. It is also understandable, people focus on what is immediate, their day-to-day life. But the situation isn’t portrayed correctly in that consequences aren’t fully exposed. Harper’s tar sand lobby feels like something happening far away but will directly affect us as it results in accelerated global warning. We need to break through that barrier. Talk, rallies, demonstrations, whatever it takes.
“And then you will find that you can make a difference. When Pierre Pettigrew, Minister of Foreign Affairs, ran for re-election in 2006 we very aggressively pursued him, constantly reminding the public of his role in Haiti. He lost, and most agree that our actions contributed to his electoral loss.”
On Ships Start Here, and the emphasis placed on good jobs in Nova Scotia, rather than the reality of building warships and their intended purpose:
”First of all, it is understandable that this is how people react. People need to live, and they need the sense of purpose work often provides. But there is no reason why that kind of money couldn’t buy jobs that are much more productive. Canadian combat ships have been used to perform provocative manoeuvres along the Iranian coast, have been doing questionable patrols along Libya’s coast in the past. Is that what we really want?”
On the need for foreign policy activists to take a different approach to get their message heard:
“We really need to get to something like a foreign policy network. Right now we see many different groups with a focus on different aspects of foreign policy. Anti-war groups, supporters of the Palestinian cause, critics of Canadian mining corporations, Haiti activists, environmentalists, they need to see their commonalities. We can have a real impact and our voice can be amplified if united.”
“There are lots of reasons why it is difficult to become more like a network. There is the specialized expertise that people have build up, there are structural obstacles, funding ... For some it is difficult to even see what it is that we have in common. But this is the point of the book tour. Hopefully there will be traction. People certainly get it at the book events, but that is the abstract part, that is easy. I am hoping.”
Yves Engler will be in Halifax on Nov. 15 and 16, and in Tatamagouche on Nov. 16. Visit his website for details.

The Ugly Canadian: Stephen Harper’s Foreign Policy is published by Fernwood Publishing, co-published with Red Publishing. Paperback price $19.95 CAD.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
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New Catholic Times Review of The Ugly Canadian

[Oscar]

Yves Engler writes in his book 'The Ugly Canadian: Stephen Harper's Foreign Policy' about Harper's endless campaign for mining profits.

An excerpt has just been published in the Tyee.

[ http://canadians.org/node/9590 ]

He notes various actions the Harper government has taken to foster Canadian corporate interests in Latin America:

CHILE: Canada-based Barrick Gold Corporation, the world’s largest gold producer, gained important support for its Pascua Lama operations... The prime minister visited the company's Chilean office and said: "Barrick follows Canadian standards of corporate social responsibility."

ECUADOR: Canadian officials took a keen interest in the country's mining debate after large-scale mining was suspended for 180 days while a new mining law was written in 2009. ...Along with a number of mining representatives, Canada's ambassador to Ecuador, Christian LaPointe, discussed mining regulations with Ecuador's president in April 2008. ...The Conservatives' lobbying was successful. Canadian businessmen were granted a privileged position during mining law negotiations and key Canadian holdings escaped Ecuador's mining mandate.

PERU: The Conservatives signed a free trade agreement largely to protect $5 billion in Canadian mining investment in Peru from the type of legislative changes Ecuador implemented. ...In 2008 CIDA gave $4 million to the Mineral Resources Reform Project to provide technical assistance and technological support to Peru's Ministry of Mines and Energy.

BOLIVIA: The Conservatives immediately went to bat for (Vancouver-based South American Silver after it was announced that the Bolivian government might nationalize its mine). ...This included visits with officials in La Paz and Bolivia's ambassador to Canada.