There’s not enough maple syrup in the world…

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By Elizabeth May on 12 October 2010 - 5:03pm

It was reported on CBC this morning that in a last ditch effort to win over votes for a seat on the U.N. Security Council, Canadian diplomats were giving out maple-leaf shaped bottles of maple syrup. 

Maybe our government’s grasp of the concerns of the world’s nations is a bit lacking in substance.  Maybe it would have won some votes if the Harper government had sent any member of federal cabinet to the emergency meeting on the food crisis in Rome in June 2008.  Instead, we let our Ambassador to Italy sit there without instructions, speaking volumes about Canada’s concern for the world’s poor and hungry.

Maybe it would have helped if we answered the call for peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  We were once the world’s number 1 contributor to peace-keeping.  Now we are 56th.  From over 3,000 soldiers deployed in the past to 2009’s compliment – 57.

Maybe it would have helped if we had lived up to our commitments to fight poverty in Africa.  Or maybe it would have worked better than maple syrup if Prime Minister Harper had not ignored the special meeting on climate at the General Assembly, leaving for an event at Tim Horton’s instead of staying to deliver a speech. 

I remember once, a long time ago, when I was at Sierra Club, speaking to a Conservative MP when Stephen Harper was Leader of the Opposition.  I won’t use his or her name.  I wouldn’t want her (or him) to feel the PM’s wrath. 

I was pushing for any kind of commitment that, in power, the Conservatives would reduce Greenhouse gases.  The answer stayed with me.  Regardless of how achievable Kyoto would be, the MP saw no chance of the Conservatives being able to support action, because Stephen Harper would “always see Kyoto as one of those U.N. things.”

So, no matter how much we give out last minute bottles of maple syrup, and no matter how sincere the pitch for membership from the PM to the General Assembly seemed two months ago, actions speak louder than words.  The actions of the Harper government led to this outcome  --  not their words, nor the words of Michael Ignatieff in saying what everyone knew, that our reputation in the world was tarnished after four and a half years of Harper government policies. 

You reap what you sow.  Let us hope that this is the nadir in Canada’s world reputation.  Let us commit to be the country we once were, with a Prime Minister and a House of Commons that understands what it takes to be a constructive member of the family of nations.

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Not a surprise...

Submitted by Don Rawls on 13 October 2010 - 9:10am.

The loss of that seat should come as no surprise, the first clue should be the empty room as Harper made his pitch for membership to the General Assembly two months ago.

Check out exactly what the world (or more particularly the UN) thinks of our PM as he addresses an empty room!!. How far we have fallen in recent years …….

 

How UN Delegates Boycotted Harper's Address

 

Democracy requires dialog, please join us at http://democracyunderfire.blogspot.com/

Related blog post

Submitted by Matthew Chisholm on 13 October 2010 - 12:34pm.

United Nations Security Council Vote: Just Another Symptom of a Sick Canadian Democracy

Matthew Chisholm

What would Dubya do?

Submitted by David Parker on 13 October 2010 - 5:40pm.

To accurately assess whatever initiative Mr. Harper might choose to act on first ask what G.W. Bush would have done (or perhaps more accurately his brain, Dick Cheney).

BTW, old joke:

Question: What would happen if Dick Cheney died?

Answer: George Bush would have become president.

The Bush administration detested everything the UN stood for and labelled their actions an attempt at world government. Bush sent a UN ambassador (Brown??) whose mission was to make it fail, he later became ambassador to Canada.

Harper has always shown himself to be a Bush clone/UN baiter. He naively expected that the UN wouldn't notice such things as his preference for donuts to serious debate on critcal issues. He assumed that previous, on record, statements wouldn't be noticed - after all he was an opposition member then wasn't he?

Just like Dubya the chickens are coming home to roost and his past misdemeanors are finally sinking in to a wider audience. Call me a cock-eyed-optimist but I believe he will finally begin to lose his core support, although where they will go is anyones guess. Perhaps the Greens, since the other major parties are flailing almost as bad.

Our UNSC

Submitted by Bram Kivenko on 16 October 2010 - 8:11am.

FYI, in opposition to all the griping here, it has been suggested, and there has been a culpable lack of clarification, that the Obama administration actively thwarted our attempt at the UNSC.

Such treatment is unbecoming.

In any event, we have seemingly lost out because EU countries voted as a bloc for EU countries.  African countries who no longer receive funding are angry with us, and the UAE certainly didn't help get any AL country support, nor seemingly did the US lobby on our behalf.  But since I agree with out decision in the UAE matter, I can find little to blame Canada for.  I also think targetted funding for African nations in the long run will pan out to be the best policy.

In fact, if anything, our stance (deplorable as it is) regarding climate change had no meaningful impact on how nations voted.  If anything, it should have garnered some AL nation support.

I also question why we really care what despot countries think of Canada.  Perhaps someone could do us the favour of shwoing how many of the UNGA's members are under despotic rule.  To diminish our behaviour to meet the standards of these countries is offensive.  Cutting aid to African nations is appropriate when the leadership of those countries have consistently used our aid to line their pockets.  Under such a scenario, we are merely propping up despots.  And perhaps if we weren't critical of Iran we'd get more support.  Whenever the UN achieves a level of disappointment in me, I review the membership of the UNHRC and I remember why I stopped caring about the UN a few years yet.

The largest mistake I find Harper to have made, especially if you look at it through a Conservative lens is that he should have withdrawn Canada immediately, once nominated for a seat, instead of subjecting ourselves to the judgement of crazies.