Maple Syrup Diplomacy

Tough times.  Canada’s delegation entered the UN General Assembly this morning under obvious tension.  Rumors behind the scenes were confirming that this country’s much sought-after seat on the UN Security Council was, in fact, in jeopardy.  Canadian representatives raced around to each table, handing out maple syrup souvenirs and pressing for last-minute advantage.  Two of the three countries – Portugal, Canada, Germany – would win the coveted seats, but when the first round of balloting closed, Germany took the top spot and Canada was in last place.  The second round had Portugal well ahead of Canada for the second slot.Suddenly, it was over.  Canada pulled out to save itself further embarrassment and for the first time in our history we have failed to secure a Security Council seat and, more importantly, a vital role in shaping world events.  Many of us were hoping for the best, but with the results of today, silent prayers went unanswered.And now the fallout.  The Harper Conservatives, in what must be a moment of humiliation, have chosen to look across the aisle instead of in the mirror to lay blame.  Michael Ignatieff is at fault they say, for his earlier comment that he worried this country had lost its historic clout in international arenas, therefore defaulting on its natural advantage for the Security Council seat.The truth is that it was other voices that likely turned that tide against Canada.  It was the 17 African ambassadors who descended on Parliament over a year ago, decrying Canada’s abandonment of Africa.  It was the voices of numerous other nations who expressed deep disappointment at this country’s lack of political leadership on the environmental file at the Copenhagen summit.  There were those voiced sentiments coming from various UN panels concerning Canada’s poor treatment of its own aboriginal people.  Recently, it was the steady stream of international development experts who bemoaned Canada’s lack of leadership in the international aid file at the Millennium Development Summit at the UN itself.  It was the appointed voices of the United Arab Emirates, who, rightly or wrongly, ordered the removal of Canada’s Camp Mirage from the region.  And, in what had to be a lesson on how to send a signal at the absolute worst time, it was the government’s own declaration yesterday that it was enhancing its trade with Israel, thereby upsetting even further this country’s historic balancing act in that Middle East and clearly losing Arab support for the Security Council seat.These voices are the ones that made the difference.  Stephen Harper’s admirable constancy to the mission in Afghanistan shouldn’t be denied, nor his commitment to security worldwide.  Our hosting of the successful Olympic games falls to his credit as well.  Yet when all these other instances are added up, our blemished record in other international venues has now stained us more than we can imagine.  Instead of maple syrup, the Conservative government would have been better to offer acknowledgement of its global blunders and promise to do better.  This is a hard blow to accept.  We have lost our way in international waters.  Now that our troops are coming home from Afghanistan, it’s time to rebuild our global reputation.  And that will take humility and vision, both of which are in short supply these days.