Thursday, December 30, 2010

How others see us

The Gulf News is pretty brutal in its take on the “new” Canada under the Harper Cons.

Beginning with the statement “Prime minister's authoritarian approach has damaged its progressive outlook”, the opinion piece goes on:

Canada had rightly earned a status in the international community as a fair and open-minded country, willing to open its doors to all, willing to assist the needy, willing to embrace the downtrodden. It was always viewed as a nation willing to accept those fleeing political, religious and ethnic strife; its fabric enriched by the fact that one-in-three of its people were born elsewhere.

Sadly, this progressive outlook has changed.

Ever since Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his right-wing Conservative government came to power, the veneer of civility has slipped. Politics in Ottawa has become polarised — it is Harper's way or the highway. Independent institutions such as Statistics Canada or the Atomic Energy Control Board have suffered from political interference from the Prime Minister's Office.

This is followed by references to Canada’s protectionism, stance on the Middle East, and even Omar Khadr.

And ends with, “That's why Canada's citizens need a visa.”

Pretty hard to argue…

6 comments:

Mr. Lorne said...

Good! Any reduction in "progressivism" is a good thing.

thwap said...

Why do you say that troll?

Skinny Dipper said...

While the landing rights issue have irked the Emirates, I think the UAE was upset when Canada kept low key its arrest of someone who may have been involved in the murder of a Hamas leader in the Emirates.

http://gulfnews.com/opinions/editorials/canada-isn-t-doing-favours-to-the-uae-1.699402

Fred from BC said...

Oh, please. Like we should care that a middle-eastern dictatorship that tried to coerce us into giving their national airline more landing rights in Canada is disappointed in us?

"In other news, dictators and tyrants all over the world expressed their displeasure with Canada's recent foreign policies, saying we were much easier to get along with under Liberal rule..."

Canajun said...

Fred - Just because you don't like the messenger doesn't make the message any less true.

Fred from BC said...

Canajun said...

Fred - Just because you don't like the messenger doesn't make the message any less true.


True. But in this case the messenger has no credibility and the message itself is ridiculously biased. We don't give in to blackmail or extortion in the same way that we don't bow to terrorism.

Our reputation is just fine among the nations that matter.