Paradise Lost

It was just the kind of move that confirmed for many countries why they couldn't opt for Canada to claim a seat on the United Nations Security Council. No sooner had the strategic vote been lost than the Harper government began ruminating about the prospect of closing even more embassies on the African continent. When the story first broke, I received a number of calls from African ambassadors wondering whether I had any information on whether their own country would become one of the casualties. Naturally enough, I didn't, but the concern and sense of abandonment by this country was palpable.The move to close institutions of Canadian diplomatic identity in Africa has increased of late, with Gabon, Guinea, Malawi, and Cape Town falling under the executioner's axe. With only 21 embassies left in a continent that will soon house one billion people, we are destined to become a minor player where we were once viewed as a compassionate and strategic friend.The Globe and Mail's Geoffrey York quotes the president of the Canadian Council on Africa, Lucien Bradet, who laments: "No doubt that we are witnessing an 'out of Africa' strategy. We'd be cutting more and more of the bridges between Africa and ourselves." Bradet's group represents a broad coalition of businesses and others important players, keen to expand opportunities on the African continent. With young populations, growing infrastructure and massive natural resources, the African continent represents one of the most lucrative regions of investment that Canada could pioneer, given our lengthy history in Africa. Increasingly, investment firms are putting down stakes on the continent, recognizing that better governance, improved fiscal management, reduced levels of corruption, lowered debt loads, and human resources keen to enter the marketplace are strategic advantages. These very realities are leading to an African renaissance that will propel the continent into trading superpower status in the coming century, if the World Bank has it right.The emerging economic giants - China, India, Brazil - recognize the potential for their own economies in Africa at the same time as Canada is shutting the door. These countries are in the process of opening up partnerships, consulates, trade centres and embassies in preparation for what surely will become staple parts of their respective economies over the next 100 years. Claiming to leave Africa for lucrative fields of economic enhancement in Latin America, the Canadians are turning their backs to a region which the World Bank and IMF conclude will be a trading giant soon enough. The United Nations has concluded that Africa is the richest continent in terms of natural resources, and yet the Canadian sails can be discerned receding over the horizon. There is no other region in the world with such a vast, open market, and yet we are holding fire sales across the continent.For too long we have viewed Africa as a land steeped in remarkable history but oppressive poverty. But, increasingly, through initiatives like the Millennium Development Goals and financial investments, the continent is emerging from centuries of darkness to embrace societal reforms that will prepare it for imminent liberation. But it is specifically in the area of economic potential for Canada that Africa holds out its great promise. Inevitably, our economic future will depend on our ability to win contracts and expand cultures. But how can that be accomplished when we have walked away from friendships that go back to the days immediately following the Second World War?It is our own political willingness to abandon historic commitments that put us in direct risk of losing the Security Council opportunity. The developing world, with its significant voting strength at the UN, had witnessed a compassionate Western country abandon decades of work in a troubled region just at the time when Africa was seizing its potential and it decided it had no advocate in Canada. Our influence was lost like scrap strips of film on the editing floor. The price paid to our reputation was immediate and embarrassing. The economic opportunities lost over the coming years, however, will cause Canadian companies to lobby Ottawa hard for the opening of embassies in Africa and the expansion of our diplomatic clout to enhance relationships. It will be inevitable that these recent years will be viewed as a dark period of great loss in economic opportunity. It's one thing to lose a Security Council seat, it's quite another to lose our future prosperity over amateur diplomacy and the lack of economic vision.