Hundreds of thousands of Haitians take to the streets in February, 2019 to demonstrate in response to the economic crisis sweeping the Caribbean nation. Photo courtesy of the Associated Press. Justin Trudeau recently apologized for dressing up in blackface. He acknowledged that it was a racist act. But he has
Continue readingAuthor: Yves Engler
Canadian Dimension: Is Justin Trudeau really a climate criminal?
Justin Trudeau addresses a crowd at the United Nations headquarters in New York City. Photo by UN Women/Ryan Brown (Flickr). During a federal election campaign rally before the September 27 climate strike in Montréal, a friend interrupted Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau to label him a “climate criminal”. When Trudeau
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Liberals use RCMP in attempt to silence critics of their foreign policy
Yves Engler and Dimitri Lascaris were blocked from attending a talk by the prime minister at the Bonaventure Hotel in Montreal. Still image from YouTube. On Tuesday two RCMP agents came to my house. Two large men in suits asked for me and when my partner said I wasn’t there
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Elizabeth May accepts right-wing billionaire’s debate
Photo by Munk Debates It is great that Elizabeth May wants to debate foreign policy issues, but why would the Green Party leader want to participate in an event designed and controlled by an organization funded by right-wing capitalists who profit from the super exploitation of poor people and countries
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Unifor aligns with Liberal foreign policy instead of international solidarity
Chrystia Freeland and Unifor President Jerry Dias Inviting Chrystia Freeland to address this week’s Unifor convention undermines the union’s claims of international solidarity. As Foreign Affairs Minister, Freeland has pursued staunchly pro-corporate and pro-US policies. She has been bad for workers and their families around the world. Let us count
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Raptors President embraces bloodstained dictator
Paul Kagame with Masai Ujiri at the NBA Africa Summit (Flickr) Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri claims to be an ambassador for Africa, but his embrace of the most bloodstained African leader makes a mockery of any pan-Africanist pretenses. On July 26 Ujiri traveled to Kigali to visit Rwandan president
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Anti-racist organizations remain silent on the JNF
Parliament will soon hear a petition criticizing the only explicitly racist registered Canadian charity. Oddly, this important event will occur without help from self-declared anti-racist organizations. Recently Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) launched a parliamentary e-petition that begins by noting that the Jewish National Fund (JNF) “engages in discriminatory practices as
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: NDP Suppresses Palestinian Solidarity Again
Photo by John Geoffrey Walker One side is playing for keeps. They oust elected representatives and block members from voting on efforts to challenge a brutal occupation. On the other side, members defending a morally righteous cause twist themselves in knots to avoid directly criticizing nakedly authoritarian party leaders. Recently,
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Liberals use ‘human rights’ to push coup in Venezuela
Photo by Joseph Morris The modern way to overthrow a government the capitalist world doesn’t like is by claiming to do it in the name of supporting ‘human rights’. This requires that the target be portrayed as a rights violator. As part of their effort to overthrow Nicolas Maduro’s government,
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Ugly Canadian supports status quo in original banana republic
Porfirio Lobo • Photo by Eduardo Verdugo In 1901, US author O. Henry coined the term “banana republic” to describe Honduras, which was dominated by the US-based United Fruit Company. According to Wikipedia: “Typically a banana republic has a society of extremely stratified social classes, usually a large impoverished working
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Meet the hired gun Ottawa is using to overthrow the Venezuelan government
Allan Culham, Permanent Representative of Canada to the OAS The brazenness of Ottawa’s intervention in the South American country’s affairs is remarkable. Recently Global Affairs Canada tendered a contract for an individual to coordinate its bid to oust President Nicolás Maduro. According to buyandsell.gc.ca, the Special Advisor on Venezuela needs
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Trudeau government squeezes Cuba
Chrystia Freeland and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Ottawa faces a dilemma. How far are Trudeau’s Liberals prepared to go in squeezing Cuba? Can Canadian corporations with interests on the island restrain the most pro-US, anti-socialist, elements of the ruling class? Recently, the Canadian Embassy in Havana closed its Immigration,
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Why is Ottawa aligning itself with Venezuela’s most anti-democratic elements?
Photo by Natacha Pisarenko Not only has Canada financed and otherwise supported opposition parties in Venezuela, Ottawa has allied itself with some of its most anti-democratic, hardline elements. While the Liberal government has openly backed Voluntad Popular’s bid to seize power since January, Ottawa has supported the electorally marginal party
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Green leader May supports same old pro-imperialist foreign policies
Elizabeth May and Irwin Cotler Does Elizabeth May hate Palestinians? Does the Green Party leader want the Trump administration to attack Iran? Does she support efforts to overthrow Venezuela’s government? I’ve been asking myself these questions since reading a Canadian Jewish News story about Paul Manly’s recent victory in the
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Canada’s defence minister promoting arms sales to anti-democratic, repressive regimes
Photo by Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Last Friday, members of Mouvement Québécois pour la Paix interrupted a $135-a-plate luncheon to confront defence minister Harjit Sajjan. At the event sponsored by SNC Lavalin, Bombardier, Rio Tinto, etc., we called for cutting military spending, for Canada to withdraw from NATO and
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Canada gets cozy with repressive Middle East monarchies
Photo by U.S. Department of State While Justin Trudeau’s government embraces repressive Middle East monarchies, they want us to believe their campaign to oust Venezuela’s government is motivated by support for democracy and human rights. On a tour of the Middle East last week Defence Minister Harjit Singh Sajjan met
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: No golden era in Canada’s foreign policy
Photo by Presidencia de la República Mexicana Some people on the left seem keen to perpetuate Canadian foreign policy mythology. In a December Ricochet article headlined “Trudeau lags behind allies in taking action on Saudi Arabia’s grisly crimes,” Brian McLaughlin claims that former prime minister Brian Mulroney “is still revered
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: As Israel’s racism grows more Canadian Jews turn against it
Jewish Home leader Michael Ben Ari (left) speaks during a ceremony honouring the late Jewish extremist leader Meir Kahane. The anti-Palestinianism of Canada’s establishment Jewish organizations is extreme. Fortunately, a growing number of Canadian Jews appear to be rejecting their racism and support for Israeli violence. According to a recent
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Canada’s corrupt foreign policy practices come home to roost on Parliament Hill
Photo by Olivier Zuida (Le Devoir) Justin Trudeau’s government is engulfed in a major political scandal that lays bare the role of corporate power in Ottawa. But SNC Lavalin’s important role in Canadian foreign policy has largely been ignored in discussion of the controversy. The Prime Minister’s Office has been
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Corporate Canada Behind Slow Motion Coup Attempt in Venezuela
Photo by Marcos Salgado It’s convenient but incorrect to simply blame the USA for Ottawa’s nefarious role in the slow motion attempted coup currently underway in Venezuela. Critics of the Liberal government’s push for regime change in Venezuela generally focus on their deference to Washington. But, Ottawa’s hostility to Caracas
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