The Government of Canada’s foreign policy review

By SANDRA L. SMITH*

SINCE JANUARY, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) has been on the road with what it calls public consultations to get input of Canadians on the direction which Canada’s foreign policy should take. Staff at the constituency office of Foreign Minister Bill Graham mentioned that the Minister was somewhat frustrated because everywhere he goes, Canadians are only concerned with discussing the Iraq war and current affairs, specifically denouncing Canada’s duplicity as concerns the U.S. aggression against Iraq and the violation of international law. They are not addressing the questions DFAIT is posing in its review, they said. This is very revealing because it goes to the heart of the matter of this review.

Canada’s announcement that it will not participate in U.S. military action

Commentary, The Marxist-Leninist Daily, 18 March 2003

Protest against the deployment to the Persian Gulf of the HMCS Iroquois, Halifax, on February 24, 2003

SPEAKING in the House of Commons as it reconvened March 17 after a two week break, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien stated that “Canada will not participate” in the U.S.-led aggression against Iraq. At the same time Chrétien stated that Canada will be part of “rebuilding” a post-war Iraq. He stated that Canada will not pull its three ships out of the region saying they are needed to fulfill this country’s commitment to the war on terror. They are essentially protecting ships of the U.S., its allies and other powers in the area, he said. He also stated that 31 Canadian soldiers on exchange with British and American units in the Gulf region will be allowed to remain with their units, but would be unlikely to see battle in Iraq.

‘Dialogue on Foreign Policy’: Atlantic Canadians denounce Canada’s conciliation with Iraq war

By TONY SEED

(Halifax, March 6, 2003) – THROUGHOUT ATLANTIC CANADA between March 4-6, hundreds of Canadians spoke out against the national “dialogue on foreign policy” launched by the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs in January and denounced Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham for Canada’s conciliation with Iraq war preparations. So-called “town hall meetings” have been held in St. John’s, Charlottetown, Halifax and Saint John. Yet the much-advertised “dialogue” is in crisis. The indignation with and the credibility of the “Canadian position” is such that promised reports on the meetings have not appeared on the department’s own web site – despite repeated claims of “interactivity” to promote citizen involvement – since the inaugural meeting in Winnipeg in February. Similarly, reports on the “dialogue” have evaporated from the monopoly media, while the local media emphasizes Mr Graham’s arrogant lecturing and haranguing of participants as the main content of the “dialogue.”