DOGGED BY TRIVIAL CONTROVERSIES, MACKAY IS DISTRACTED FROM VITAL WORK
by Mike Blanchfield, The Ottawa Citizen

Ottawa Citizen, Canada
October 30, 2006 Monday
Final Edition

Foreign policy experts lament time spent on petty squabbles in House

The night before he allegedly called his ex-girlfriend, Liberal MP
Belinda Stronach, a dog in the House of Commons, Foreign Affairs
Minister Peter MacKay was doing something one would more closely
associate with his job — he was offering up bon mots to polite
applause at an embassy soiree.

No slurs were hurled on the evening of Oct. 18, as Mr. MacKay spoke
for several minutes at the Turkish Embassy in Ottawa. He expressed
thanks for "the warm embrace that Canadians received from the Turkish
people" when their ports welcomed ships carrying stranded Canadians
from war-torn Lebanon last summer.

The nights of foreign ministers around the world are filled with
such events, and most of them are mundane and attract little, if any
attention. But in the wake of Dog-Gate, the serious business of how
Canada conducts its relations with the world has now been pushed even
further to the backburner.

The daily assault in question period has included calls for
Mr. MacKay’s resignation.

The noise has drowned out serious discussion of Canadian foreign
policy at a time when Canada is fighting a war in Afghanistan, and the
nuclear brinkmanship on the Korean Peninsula has reached new heights,
to name just a couple of crises.

But when Canadians hear about Mr. MacKay, more often than not, it
appears it is in the context of his failed relationship with Ms.

Stronach, or unsubstantiated speculation that there are romantic
sparks with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice — a level of
discourse that seems more in keeping with a high school cafeteria
than the halls of international diplomacy.

"He should concentrate more on the international agenda. There’s
not so much about his visits, or his activities as a real foreign
minister. There is much more on this issue with the dog and Belinda.

For us, it is not very encouraging," said a western diplomat, who
offered that assessment on the condition of anonymity.

Douglas Goold, president of the Canadian Institute of International
Affairs, said it really doesn’t matter who is responsible for
diverting the public’s attention from the global agenda — whether
it is opposition politicians, the media, or Mr. MacKay himself —
it is Mr. MacKay who will suffer in the long run, if it continues.

"Who the hell knows whether he actually made the comment? But if
he did, I guess he brought it on himself. … Whether he deserves
this reputation or not, there has been that list of things. It does
definitely detract from the things the government is trying to say,"
Mr. Goold said.

David Bercuson, a University of Calgary defence and foreign affairs
analyst, said he doubts the dog fixation will hurt Mr. MacKay in the
eyes of the U.S., the European Union, China or any country watching
Canada.

"It reflects not only the state of politics, but the state of mind
of a lot of people in the country today that when we’re facing some
really serious issues — and I don’t think anything is more serious
than a war in Afghanistan — that this is the sort of thing that gets
the attention," he said.

As Canada’s No. 1 diplomat, the ability to choose words carefully is
one of the top priorities for Mr. MacKay.

On Oct. 19, a Liberal apparently shouted to Mr. MacKay "what about your
dog?" during a boisterous exchange on climate change in the Commons. On
tape, a voice that could be Mr. MacKay’s responds: "you have her." The
Liberals say he gestured toward Ms. Stronach’s empty seat.

Mr. MacKay’s trip to the Turkish embassy the night before the dog
drama flared had a serious intent. He had welcomed the Armenian
foreign minister the same day. The Turks and Armenians are at polar
opposites in interpreting the killing of 1.5 million Armenians in 1915
by Ottoman Turks. Canada and two dozen countries call it genocide,
while Turkey flatly rejects that.

So Mr. MacKay offered an olive branch to the Turks: "The Canadian
government supports the Turkish government’s practical proposal
to establish a joint committee composed of Turkish and Armenian
historians, as well as historians from a third country, to look
into the events of 1915 and encourages the government of Armenia to
participate in this committee."

Mr. Goold said he has no doubt Mr. MacKay is doing other valuable work
on the diplomatic front, but until he learns to watch what he says,
he won’t be seen as an effective minister.

"He’s got to approach his portfolio with a degree of seriousness that
is important to anyone who is managing Canada’s external relations,"
he said.