In foreign policy, Canadians have a proud tradition and worldwide reputation for being a champion of human rights. This status has been achieved through support for programs to protect the downtrodden and the oppressed.
Canada Fought for Human Rights Observance
Under Progressive Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney (in power 1984-1993), Canada took a lead role in the battle to stop South Africa’s racist apartheid policies. Mr. Mulroney was also heavily engaged in promoting the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). This legally binding United Nations document sets out, among other things, that child soldiers be given special protection from prosecution as war criminals. This is done in the well-documented belief that child soldiers are forced to take up arms against their will.
Responsibility to Protect a Canadian Initiative
When the Liberal government of Jean Chretien came to power in 1993, this tradition of advocacy for human rights continued. Canada pressed for nations to adopt the concept of the “Responsibility to Protect.” Embodied in the notion is that every government’s primary focus should be to shelter all its citizens from exploitation and abuse.
Canada was also at the forefront of campaigns for the Treaty to Ban Landmines (1999), and the setting up of the International Criminal Court (2002).
Diplomatic Language Changes under Conservatives
Now, reports Embassy magazine (July 29, 2009), the course has altered, “as a result, bringing subtle but sweeping changes to traditional Canadian foreign policy.”
What’s happened is that a ban has been placed on using certain language in Canada’s foreign service. “Child soldiers” may no longer be spoken of: they are now “children in armed conflict.” The phrase “international humanitarian law” is now just “international law.”
The term “gender equality” has been replaced with “equality of men and women.”
These changes may not seem enough to cause a fuss, but in the world of diplomacy they signal a significant change.
As Michelle Collins writes in Embassy, “For many observers of Canada’s foreign policy, these are distressing language changes that water down many of the very international human rights obligations Canada once fought to have adopted in conventions at the United Nations.”
Criticism for Canadian Foreign Policy under Harper
Errol Mendes is a professor of international law at the University of Ottawa. Speaking on the CBC Radio program The Current (August 26, 2009), he said the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper is “changing foreign policy by stealth.”
Professor Mendes said some of our allies, such as the Scandinavian countries are amazed that Canada is turning its back on its longstanding traditions.
Harper Playing to Right Wing Base Support
Historian Desmond Morton, on the same program, made the point that Mr. Harper is making these changes in an effort to appeal to his narrow and very conservative base of support.
“It’s not a majority base,” he said. “But, there are people who don’t like Canada to be a leading humanitarian...[They view] foreigners as people who are not like us and are not important that way.
“That ended with the Second World War and the discovery of what these attitudes could actually lead to.”
Mr. Morton said he doesn’t, “think a lot of Canadians like this very much.”
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