Calgary Herald , Canada
June 14 2009
Catering to minorities puts pressure on foreign policy
By Peter O’Neil
Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s feather-ruffling approach to foreign
policy, particularly as it relates to issues that resonate with
certain Canadian ethnic groups, could jeopardize Canada’s national
interests, say analysts and former senior diplomats.
Harper’s government has, since 2006, sparked angry reactions from
Russia, China, Turkey, Greece, and Israel’s critics in the Muslim
world with outspoken positions, particularly in the touchy area of
human rights.
The federal government is frequently supported by opposition MPs in
some of the decisions, such as the Canadian government’s recognition
of alleged genocides committed against Ukrainians by the old Soviet
Union, and against Armenians by Turkey.
It is all part of a growing ‘ and some say risky ‘ political
competition by all parties to win key battlegrounds in Canada’s
cosmopolitan big cities, which become increasingly more diverse as a
quarter of a million immigrants and refugees arrive in Canada each
year.
`The attempt to win over minority groups (is) a very active policy,
and it’s one that is legitimate enough so long as it doesn’t start to
hamper our international relations and affect our national interests,’
said Paul Heinbecker, Canada’s former ambassador to the United
Nations.
But he said the Harper government has gone overboard in several
instances, annoying so many countries that Canada might not beat out
Germany and Portugal in the 2010 vote for the two available United
Nations Security Council seats.
`My guess is that we’re still going to get elected, but there is an
argument to be made that there’s a limit to the number of people you
can disappoint.’
Canadian military historian David Bercuson said Canada’s frequent
criticisms of Russia on human rights, on its treatment of its
neighbours, and on Arctic sovereignty ‘ criticisms always popular
among several politically important Canadian ethnic groups according
to one Ukrainian-Canadian commentator ‘ could impair Canada’s efforts
in Afghanistan.
`At some point, we need to let it go,’ said Bercuson, director of the
University of Calgary’s Centre for Military and Strategic Studies, of
Harper’s Cold War-style rhetoric directed at the Kremlin.
He said Canada and its allies in Afghanistan rely on Russian goodwill
and assistance to get equipment and supplies crucial in fighting the
Taliban and al-Qaida.
`At what point are you defeating your own cause by being a so-called
hardliner when you really don’t have a lot of impact on the whole
situation anyway?’
Bercuson and Carleton University’s David Carment co-edited the book
The World in Canada: Diaspora, Demography and Domestic Politics, a
2008 collection of essays that examine the growing influence of
Canada’s multicultural communities on foreign policy during eras of
both Tory and Liberal rule.
The authors argued that various ethnic groups can sway decisions on
everything from foreign aid allocations to where Canada sends the
military’s costly, and not necessarily efficient, DART disaster
assistance team.
Diaspora politics was also cited as a crucial factor in issues
relating to domestic terrorism concerns as well as big-city gang crime
and violence.
Former prime minister Paul Martin was long accused of being too close
to Canadian Tamils who helped fund the Tamil Tigers, a brutal
terrorist organization that was banned after Harper took power in
2006.
Diaspora influence on foreign aid decisions is also evident. Canada
recently created a Top-20 list of `countries of focus’ for development
spending. The list, which shifted spending away from Africa and toward
the Americas, included 18 countries plus the West Bank and Gaza in the
Middle East, and the various countries that are part of the so-called
Caribbean Regional Program.
Among the targets were countries with large, if not always
influential, Canadian diasporas ‘ Haiti, Jamaica, Sudan, Pakistan and
Vietnam.
One of the most curious inclusions was Ukraine, the only European
country identified and a country ranked a relatively healthy 78th out
of 177 countries measured by the 2005 United Nations human development
index, which assesses factors such as life expectancy, school
enrolment, literacy and income.
But Canadians of Ukrainian heritage number more than 1.2 million,
according to Statistics Canada, and are a politically important
constituency particularly in Manitoba, Alberta and Ontario.
`We’re only beginning to fully grasp the situation,’ Carment said in
an interview. `Diaspora politics is the number-one issue that Canada
will have to confront in the 21st century.’
The Harper government has consistently argued that its foreign policy
positions are driven by principle. On China, in particular, one Tory
insider, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the government’s
criticism of Beijing has been driven by the personal convictions of
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, rather than any political
calculation.
A government spokeswoman echoed the argument that Harper’s policy is
driven by political principles, not pandering.
`We make foreign policy decisions based on all Canadians’ interests,
supporting our common values of freedom, democracy, human rights and
the rule of law,’ Catherine Loubier, spokeswoman for Foreign Affairs
Minister Lawrence Cannon, wrote in an e-mailed statement.
Conservatives acknowledge they are aware criticism of Moscow resonates
positively with many Canadians of eastern European ancestry, who still
have bitter memories of Russian dominance during the Soviet Union’s
Communist empire.
They also acknowledge that many Canadian Jews appreciate Harper’s
unwavering support for Israel.
But they said current policy positions relating to Russia, eastern
Europe and the Middle East would have been taken regardless of
political considerations.
One Ukrainian-Canadian said his community, and others originally from
eastern Europe and the Baltic region, enjoy hearing Harper bash
Moscow.
`The Ukrainian community is supportive of such statements; they are
concerned about Russian reviving its imperial past,’ said Marco
Levytsky, publisher of the Edmonton-based Ukrainian News.
`I’m sure the Balts (Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians) and Poles
feel the same way as do the Ukrainians and everyone that suffered
under Russian imperialism and Soviet imperialism.’
He said the Harper Conservatives `are quite aware of how the Ukrainian
community feels about the Russian threat, so no doubt they are doing
this for political reasons. But it’s part of their philosophy too.’
The Tory government’s use of foreign policy to win favour in Canada’s
multicultural communities was evident in a 2007 presentation to Tory
workers made by Kenney that was leaked to a Toronto newspaper.
The front page of the PowerPoint presentation showed a published
declaration of Armenian-Canadian gratitude for the decision to
recognize the Turkish genocide. Kenney, according to the document,
noted that the party was seeking both to win ridings as well as to
dispel ongoing Liberal arguments that the party is anti-immigrant.
Other examples:
¢ The Conservatives, in addition to angering North Atlantic Treaty
Organization ally Turkey over the Armenian genocide, also upset
another NATO partner, Greece, by currying favour with
Macedonian-Canadians after taking power in 2006. The government
formally adopted early that year the motion passed by the House of
Commons in 2004 recognizing Macedonia as the `Republic of Macedonia’
rather than the `Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia’ as it is
referred to by many of Canada’s allies.
Greece has held up Macedonia’s bid to join NATO and the European Union
due to the name dispute, which is sparked by Greek fears that
Macedonia will make territorial claims to the adjacent Greek
territory, also called Macedonia.
¢ In the Middle East, critics say Harper blew apart the attempts of
previous Canadian governments to take a balanced approach to the
ongoing conflict when he said in 2006 that Israel’s bombing of targets
in Lebanon, in response to Hezbollah’s abduction of two Israeli
soldiers, was `measured’ despite the resulting civilian deaths.
The Kenney 2007 presentation doesn’t mention Israel, but said a Tory
goal was to `target growth in the Jewish community.’ Some Tory
defenders have noted that Muslims and Arabs outnumber Jews in Canada,
which suggests that political opportunists would not be inclined to
support Israel.
But the University of Western Ontario’s Elizabeth Riddell-Dixon,
writing in The World in Canada, argued that the Jewish community has
been `very effective in speaking with a united voice,’ while Arab
Canadians are more disparate and, therefore, less likely to agree on
policy goals, `especially those toward the Middle East.’
¢ The Harper government’s criticism of China on human rights, which
has been toned down after ongoing objections from both big business
and the Chinese-Canadian community, doesn’t qualify as an example of
pandering, said the Tory insider.
He said Kenney has made clear to party members he has pushed an
outspoken position based on personal principles even though many
Chinese-Canadians, regardless of their views on communism, have
resented the public criticism of their `mother country’ ‘ especially
during the 2008 Olympics that Harper refused to attend.
Former senior Canadian diplomat Jeremy Kinsman, Canada’s former top
representative to Russia, the United Kingdom and the European Union,
shares Heinbecker’s concern about a diaspora-driven policy threatening
Canadian interests.
Kinsman said federal political parties, by adopting foreign policy
positions advocated by diaspora groups, are effectively encouraging
new Canadians to bring their homeland disputes to Canada.
`Our tradition had always been that foreign politics stops at the
water’s edge when you come into Canada,’ Kinsman told Canwest News
Service.
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