An artist’s rendering of the new Canadian Surface Combatant. Image courtesy of BAE Systems. The job of the opposition in Parliament is to hold the government accountable, in part by asking hard questions. The role of an NDP critic should be to criticize the government from the left. So why
Continue readingAuthor: Yves Engler
Canadian Dimension: Winning social justice victories means bringing power to the table
Activists mobilize to prohibit nuclear weapons, October 22, 2020. Photo by Aude Catimel/ICAN. “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.” ―Frederick Douglass To win any social justice victory of import you will invariably ruffle some feathers. The individuals who dominate Canada’s main nuclear disarmament
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Canada is choosing corporate property rights over the health of billions
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned recently that ‘vaccine nationalism’ is moving at full speed, threatening the health of billions in the Global South. Photo from Shutterstock. The World Trade Organization (WTO) is currently discussing a proposal by India and South Africa calling for a waiver of certain rules on
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Canadian media’s double standard on ‘foreign influence’ has become painfully clear
Flag of the People’s Republic of China during the Olympic opening ceremony in Beijing, August 7, 2008. Photo by Philip McMaster/Flickr. According to the Globe and Mail, foreign influence in Canada is bad if it comes from China, but it’s barely worth mentioning when Israel is involved. Lately, Canada’s ‘paper
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: The red poppy is not a commitment to peace—it is a celebration of militarism
Millions of Canadians wear red poppy pins in the weeks leading up to Remembrance Day. Photo from Pixabay. As we approach the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month to mark the signing of the armistice that ended the First World War, our political, media and military
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Canadian military support for nukes must be met with popular resistance
No nuclear weapons have been based in Canada since 1984, but we actively participate in the nuclear defense of North America not only through membership in NATO, but also in NORAD. Photo from Flickr. “Why hasn’t Canada signed the UN Nuclear Ban Treaty?” is the title of an upcoming webinar
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Bolivia’s election result is a major blow to Trudeau’s foreign policy
A supporter of Bolivian President Evo Morales outside the presidential palace in La Paz, Bolivia, after a first round presidential election, Sunday, October 20, 2019. Photo by Juan Karita. The recent victory of Bolivia’s left-wing Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party on October 18 was a rejection of last year’s Canadian-backed
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Why is the Israeli military still recruiting in Canada?
The Canadian Embassy in Tel Aviv hosted a party with Canadian “lone soldiers” in the Israel Defense Forces on January 16, 2020. Photo from the Embassy of Canada to Israel/Twitter. There’s a Canadian law that makes it illegal for the armed forces of any foreign state to recruit soldiers within
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Canada’s military footprint in Africa is an extension of US imperialism
Nigerien troops stand in formation prior to the start of the opening ceremony of Flintlock 2018 in Niamey, Niger, April 11, 2018. United States Army Photo by Sgt. Heather Doppke/Flickr. Which is more believable as motivation to send soldiers to other countries, altruism or self-interest? The Canadian Forces do not
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Why a reset of Canada-China relations is more urgent than ever
Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China, speaks at a United Nations office in Geneva, January 18, 2017. United Nations Photo by Jean-Marc Ferré/Flickr. On September 9, Georgia Straight editor Charlie Smith published an opinion piece arguing that the candidates in the current race for the leadership of
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: The hidden history of Canada’s influence and interference in Guyana
Components of a wheel excavator used to move sand onto conveyor belts at one of Alcan’s bauxite mines near MacKenzie, British Guyana. Photo by Henry Hamilton/Flickr. Reflecting an extreme imbalance in power, people in Guyana are well informed about Canadian activity in their country, but our media seldom mentions the
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Liberal’s ‘feminist’ foreign policy supports repressive Haitian police forces
Haitian police officers handcuff lawbreakers in Port-au-Prince’s severely damaged downtown area, January 19, 2010. Photo by Logan Abassi/United Nations/Flickr. An important component of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s international branding has been his government’s widely touted “feminist foreign policy.” A recent aid contract to Haiti highlights the hollowness of this claim.
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Canada’s regime change efforts in Nicaragua rife with hypocrisy
A woman stands near a burning barricade holding the national flag of Nicaragua, April 20, 2018. Photo by Voice of America/Wikimedia Commons. Which side is Canada on? In Central America, it is clear that the Trudeau government is actively serving US interests in the region. A recently leaked United States
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Trudeau’s Venezuela policy is a stain on Canada’s global reputation
A mural depicting Simon Bolivar painted by Carlos Zerpa, 26, of the Guerrilla Communications Collective in Catia, a slum in Caracas, Venezuela. Photo from VenezuelaSolidarity.ca. Justin Trudeau requires an intervention. Somebody needs to tell him his obsession with Venezuela has led him down a path of misery, destruction and failure.
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Our treatment of Venezuela shows Canada is long overdue for a foreign policy restart
President Donald Trump introduces State of the Union gallery guest Juan Guaidó (pictured), Venezuela’s self-declared interim president, Tuesday, February 4, 2020. Photo from Wikimedia Commons. Join the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute (CFPI) on Thursday, August 20, for an historic event featuring Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza, who will speak directly
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: The scandal is us, not WE
Demi Lovato at We Day 2012, Vancouver. Photo from Wikimedia Commons. The most concerning element of the WE Charity scandal is not that Justin Trudeau and his finance minister, Bill Morneau, aided an organization with ties to their families, but rather the broad backing of an organization that is a
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Trudeau government remains silent on corruption and repression in Haiti
Police station in Cité Soleil, located in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area in Haiti. Photo by James Emery/Flickr. One way to evaluate the seriousness of the Trudeau government’s stated objectives in seeking to oust Venezuela’s elected government is to examine their policies elsewhere in the region. While the Liberals talk about
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Remembering the US invasion of Haiti—105 years later
US troops oversee a marching band within the Haitian Gendarmerie. Image taken from Monograph of Haiti, assembled by United States Marines during the US occupation of that country, 1915-1934. Courtesy of Duke University Libraries. While remembering their past has not prevented history from repeating itself, it is not possible for
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Canada’s relationship with China rooted in a century-old tradition of imperial violence
The Meridian Gate, front entrance to the Forbidden City, Beijing. Photo from Wikimedia Commons. Canada is locked in a hostage standoff with China that doesn’t look likely to end anytime soon. As relations with the world’s most populous nation deteriorate, it is important to consider some history that is shaping
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Israel lobby waging campaign to silence progressive, pro-Palestinian restaurant
Toronto eatery Foodbenders has courted significant controversy from pro-Israel advocates and lobby groups for denouncing Zionism and standing up for Palestinian rights and racial justice. Photo courtesy of Foodbenders. The Israel lobby has waged a remarkably successful campaign to bankrupt a small left-wing Toronto restaurant. Despite claiming to fight bigotry,
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