Canadian postage stamp celebrating the vastness of the British empire, December 25, 1898. Imperialism is not only instantiated in military force and unilateral sanctions deployed to influence the sovereign political and economic affairs of a state for the benefit of an external one (usually the United States). Imperialism, far from
Continue readingAuthor: Owen Schalk
Canadian Dimension: Is the fight for the Kumtor gold mine drawing to a close?
The Kumtor mine in northern Kyrgyzstan, run by the Canadian Centerra Gold company since 1997, is one of the largest gold mines in Central Asia. Photo by Silvia Sorana. On December 11, the Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan, Akylbek Japarov, revealed that he hopes to conclude negotiations
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: As UN recognizes Maduro, Canada increasingly isolated on world stage
In this UNTV image, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro speaks in a pre-recorded video message during the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Wednesday, September 23, 2020, at UN headquarters in New York. Still image courtesy UNTV. This month, there were two important developments at the United Nations that,
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Xiomara Castro’s victory in Honduras is a win over imperialism
Honduran President-elect Xiomara Castro of the left-wing Liberty and Refoundation Party. Photo by El Periódico. In the November 28 elections in Honduras, voters granted a resounding victory to Xiomara Castro of the left-wing Liberty and Refoundation Party, also known as “Libre.” Castro campaigned on a platform of “democratic socialism” which
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Canada’s nuclear legacy
Entrance to the uranium mine at Port Radium in the Northwest Territories in 1947. The ore mined at Port Radium ended up in the United States for use in the Manhattan Project. Photo courtesy NWT Archives. In 1930, Great Bear Lake in the Northwest Territories was the site of one
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Barrick, Falcondo, and Canadian imperialism in the Dominican Republic
Barrick Gold’s Pueblo Viejo mine in the Dominican Republic. Photo by Ben Depp. “The Dominican Republic is not a country which makes its own history. Others have always been making our history for us. First the Spaniards; later the English, the French, the Dutch, the Haitians; still later the North
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: The roots of Trudeau’s embarrassing Venezuela policy
Venezuela opposition leader Juan Guaidó meets with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as part of an international tour aimed at bolstering support for his challenge to Nicolas Maduro, January 27, 2020. Photo from Twitter. On November 21, Venezuelans will go to the polls to vote in important regional and municipal elections—and
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Centerra’s battle for the Kumtor gold mine rages on
Dump trucks carrying extracted gold ore from the mine site to the processing plant at the Kumtor gold mine, one of the largest mines in Central Asia. Photo by Vladimir Voronin/AFP. On September 16, former Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Djoomart Otorbaev (2014-2015) was detained by the country’s State Committee for
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Canada’s unhoused crisis: Where government cruelty meets police repression
Increases in unhoused populations in Canada are not only compounded by financial insecurity relating to COVID, but also the rising costs of housing across the country. Photo from Flickr. On August 18, the Halifax Regional Police (HRP) forcibly removed a series of crisis shelters and temporary dwellings for unhoused people
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: How Canadian ‘aid’ is stifling development and prosperity in West Africa
Canadian aid programs in West Africa have failed to move the needle on poverty reduction, highlighting the need for a new rights-based development policy in the region, writes Owen Schalk. Photo from Shutterstock. The International Monetary Fund frequently writes poverty reduction strategy papers (PRSPs) about underdeveloped countries in which it
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Canadian imperialism and the underdevelopment of Burkina Faso
A soldier patrols the streets of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, October 2018. Photo by Issouf Sanogo. In April 2021, a military court in Burkina Faso indicted former president Blaise Compaoré and thirteen co-conspirators for the murder of Thomas Sankara, the country’s revolutionary socialist leader from 1983 to 1987. Sankara was a
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Peru’s Pedro Castillo represents a challenge to the Canadian mining industry
Peru’s socialist presidential candidate Pedro Castillo, the favourite to win the runoff vote on June 6, will serve as a challenge to the Canadian mineral industry in Latin America. Photo from Twitter. The June 6 presidential election in Peru will offer voters two candidates of starkly different backgrounds, political orientations,
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Nuclear colonialism and the Marshall Islands
The second atomic bomb test at Bikini Atoll in the South Pacific on July 25, 1946. This was the fifth detonation of a nuclear weapon in history. Photo courtesy the United States Department of Energy. I weave through book after article after website all on how the US military once
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Ecuador’s election could be a turning point for Latin America
Renowned radical economist and Ecuadorian presidential candidate Andrés Arauz. The country’s highly anticipated runoff election is slated to take place on April 11. Photo from Twitter. Nobody likes Ecuadorian President Lenín Moreno, and he’s fine with that. When he was elected in 2017 as the successor to Rafael Correa (2007-2017),
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Trudeau’s silence on Lula reveals Canada’s hypocrisy
Last week, the Brazilian Supreme Court overturned graft convinctions against ex-president Lula da Silva, which could clear his name ahead of a possible 2022 presidential election if he decides to run. Image by hafteh7/Pixabay. On April 5, 2018, former Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was arrested and jailed
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Biden and Trudeau continue Trump-era aggression against Cuba
Recently, the Biden administration signaled that it will continue Trump’s aggressive approach to Cuba, and Canada seems to be going along for the ride. Photo by Enrico Strocchi/Flickr. Progressives have long understood that when the Republicans move right, the Democrats always scamper deferentially after them. It has been this way
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Luis Arce’s Bolivia and the new regionalism in Latin America
Bolivian President Luis Arce speaks during the 2015 International Economic Forum on Latin America and the Caribbean. Photo courtesy the OECD Development Centre/Flickr. “Our movement is unique in the world,” said former Bolivian president and leader of the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) Evo Morales upon his return from exile on
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Canadian mining companies and the making of modern Colombia
In February 2011, thousands of activists marched in several Colombian cities against the controversial Angostura project proposed by Canadian mining junior Greystar Resources. The International Finance Corporation, the private lending arm of the World Bank, was pressured to divest from the project in 2017. Photo by Óscar Sampayo. Although there
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Long live the old flesh! Biden’s foreign policy picks signal a return of the ‘Blob’
Illustration by Canadian Dimension As the brash, Trumpian brand of politics bloviates its way through the remainder of the year, the world is preparing to get reacquainted with a more familiar style of rule in the incoming Biden administration. Make no mistake: while the in-your-face moral depravity of people like
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Prop 22 portends dismal future for gig workers in America
Prop 22, a ballot measure that exempts gig and ride-sharing companies like Uber from having to treat their drivers like employees, could serve as model for future laws. Photo from Flickr. Last week, all the richest liberals in California were celebrating—and not just Joe Biden’s victory. On November 3, Golden
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