Once upon a time Canada was seen as a force for good in this world. We were peace-keepers and honest brokers.
Those were the days when young Americans sewed a maple leaf to their backpacks before setting out on their international adventures.
They don't do that anymore. The ascent of the Harper gang has been a game changer.
Last year Canada entered into free trade agreements with Honduras and Columbia. Those are the kind of free trade partners that the Harperites are willing to court.
According to Amnesty International Colombia "suffers a dire human rights situation." Oh well then, that would be the kind of partner we want to cultivate.
Writing in Counterpunch today, Nick Alexandrov paints an even bleaker picture of Honduras. Since the coup that toppled their democratically elected government just before Harper inked that free trade agreement, the situation there for workers, union organizers, and human rights activists has grown desperate indeed.
Again, this seems to be the kind of partner Harper is comfortable cosying up with for a free trade agreement.
Nevermind that we have now had 25 years to realize that the granddaddy of free trade agreements, the one Reagan and Mulroney signed back in 1987, was the beginning of the end for Canada's industrial sector.
And while Canada has always had a good relationship with Israel, the wholesale sucking up to the Likud crowd by the Harper gang has undermined Canada's credibility throughout the Middle East and beyond.
It's not enough that Foreign Minister Baird travels the world with his "personal" Chabad Lubovitch Rabbi in tow. Both Baird and Harper have gone out of their way to claim that no country in the world is a better friend to Israel than Canada.
Forget the occupation, nevermind the settlements, Canada will out-do even the AIPAC-addled US Senate and Congress to claim slavish adherence to the Likud party line.
It's as if Peace Now and the 70% of the Israeli population who want peace with the Palestinians don't exist.
Friends don't let friends build illegal settlements.
So forget all that peace-and-love Trudeau-era stuff. We're not peace-keepers anymore. We're not honest brokers.
And if you're planning to travel abroad, sew a Quebec flag to your backpack instead.
The Canadian one doesn't cut it anymore.
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