Joly can prove critics wrong, rebrand Canada, and make her mark on foreign policy

The recent appointment of Mélanie Joly as Canada’s latest foreign affairs minister has been derided and ridiculed by many commentators. This is not fair. Her appointment, in fact, is both good news and bad news. First, the bad news. Joly is indeed the fifth minister to hold this portfolio in the six years since prime minister Justin Trudeau has been in power. This is not her fault. It simply means that foreign policy is not a top priority for the PM. It also means that if the past is any indication, Joly can expect to last just a little over a year in this portfolio. This would be a shame because Joly is a smart, well-educated woman with a sound track record of ministerial achievements from Canadian Heritage to La Francophonie. Many also see her as a strong contender in a post-Trudeau Liberal Party leadership race. But there is also good news for Mélanie Joly. Canada’s foreign policy is quite frankly in shambles. It is incoherent, mostly reactive, and without any legible framework or openly articulated agenda. Notwithstanding the annual G7 shindigs of relatively little consequence, Canada has been playing fast and loose on the world stage and paying a price for it: Trudeau's 2018 India trip, the mess made with China, losing the seat on the UN Security Council, standstill diplomacy with Venezuela, Iran, Russia, and China, just to name a few. It is exactly in these chaotic conditions that Joly can seize the opportunity and shine. She may wish to begin her tenure, for instance, by formulating a comprehensive foreign policy framework. Her predecessor Marc Garneau had started thinking about it somewhat: the four-fold approach of the four Cs with China, for example: coexist, compete, co-operate, and challenge. It had a catchy alliterative zing to it, but it was hardly wide-ranging or holistic as an overarching policy outline. Joly can take a broader, long-term view of Canada’s role in the world. Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, pictured on Oct. 26, 2021, arriving for the cabinet swearing-in at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade She could start by shedding the image of Canada as a junior partner to the United States hegemony. This unfortunately is how Canada is being viewed, at least in the developing world, especially in Africa, South America, and the Caribbean. Joly can rebrand Canada. She can steer Canada away from the pressures to pick sides in the great powers competition between the U.S. and China and other wannabe actors like the United Kingdom; and make multilateralism as the core central pillar of her foreign policy framework. This would bring Canada back to where it has traditionally been most comfortable, independent, and arguably most successful. Next, the lessons learned from the Canadian policy disasters in Afghanistan, Ukraine, Haiti, Peru, Bolivia, and Guyana, would suggest that it is high time for Canada to start favouring diplomacy and negotiation, over regime changes and sanctions. Six decades of United States sanctions against Cuba have proven that sanctions don’t choke the targeted regimes, they only punish and starve ordinary citizens. All this to say, non-interference in the domestic politics of developing nations should be the second pillar of Joly’s framework. Not only would this bring Canada back as a quiet power, it would also position Canada as a neutral third-party, an adept diplomat and negotiator, that the world looks to for arbitration and dispute resolution, just like it currently does with countries like Norway and Ireland. Finally, whatever stance Joly takes, she will have to mindful of her boss’s expectations. During the detention of Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei, Trudeau made the case that Canada was following a rules-based paradigm of international law. Maybe this could be the third pillar of Joly’s policy framework: clear rules adhered to by all the signatories, enforced uniformly, fairly and justly by the respective administrative bodies: the World Trade Organization, United Nations Human Rights Council, International Criminal Court, and the like. Canada should advocate a world order that favours multilateralism over bipolarism; diplomacy and negotiations over sanctions and regime change programs; and rules-based behaviour over arbitrary gunslinging. Speaking of the latter, Joly has an immediate opportunity to make her mark. A week before she was sworn in as minister, Alex Saab, a Venezuelan diplomat was arrested and extradited by the United States government while sojourning in Cape Verde on his way to a diplomatic mission. According to experts, this arrest contravenes all international rules including the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Worst yet, it has abruptly stalled the long-awaited negotiations between rival political parties trying to bring stability to Venezuela. Joly could exercise her philosophy of “humility and audacity" to help mediate this predicament with Washington, quietly, softly, and behind the scenes. Because, believe it or not, it is only a matter of time before countries like Norway and Ireland take up the mantle and come out yet again as the stalwarts of multilateralism, international diplomacy, and the rule of law. Wouldn’t it be great if, for once, Canada beat them to it. Bhagwant Sandhu is a recently retired director-general with the federal government and former president of the Community of Federal Visible Minorities. He has a keen interest in Canadian politics and is currently writing a book about political management. The Hill Times

Joly can prove critics wrong, rebrand Canada, and make her mark on foreign policy

Canada’s foreign policy is frankly in shambles. It is incoherent, mostly reactive, and without any legible framework or openly articulated agenda. In these chaotic conditions, Mélanie Joly can seize the opportunity and shine.

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Joly can prove critics wrong, rebrand Canada, and make her mark on foreign policy

Canada’s foreign policy is frankly in shambles. It is incoherent, mostly reactive, and without any legible framework or openly articulated agenda. In these chaotic conditions, Mélanie Joly can seize the opportunity and shine.

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