Canada is not a mere ‘convenor’ and never was

MONTREAL—Mélanie Joly is a disgrace. When she was chosen as foreign minister in October, bumping the calm and unflappable Marc Garneau, the response was astonishment, bordering on shock. In her previous post in charge of Canada’s economic development agencies, official languages, and tourism, she had hardly shone. Her major “oeuvre” was a new Official Languages Act that was widely panned and died on the Order Paper. The Globe and Mail described her as “vaulting” into the post once reserved for cabinet heavyweights like Chrystia Freeland, Lloyd Axworthy, Barbara McDougall, Joe Clark, Flora MacDonald, Allan MacEachen, and of course, Lester B. Pearson. The reasons for appointing experienced ministers are threefold. First, the assignment is complex and stressful, as there are always crises unfolding in the world. Second, there is the balance between the focus on bilateral relations with the U.S. and our other allies. Third, Canada has to work multilaterally within the UN, NATO, NORAD, the Commonwealth and a range of global organizations. Beyond that, there is a strong connection between domestic policy and foreign policy. And the minister represents some very smart people in the Pearson building and abroad; the person leading them should be at least as intelligent as they are. So, the comment by the minister of foreign affairs last week was astonishing for its lack of insight. Joly told CTV’s Power Play, “We all know that Canada is not a nuclear power, it’s not a military power, we’re a middle-sized power, and what we’re good at is convening, and making sure that diplomacy is happening, and meanwhile convincing other countries to do more.” What errant nonsense. Who is this “we” she is talking about? Certainly, no historians. We were a signatory to the Treaty of Versailles because of our sacrifice in the First War, and Pearson's Nobel Prize was possible because Canada contributed a battalion of UN peacekeepers to Suez. As knowledgeable Canadians are aware, as a contributor to the Manhattan Project, Canada was offered the bomb in the 1940s but refused it. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Bomarc nuclear missiles were on our soil. Our current military budget is $24-billion, or 14th in the world. It was not that long ago 158 Canadian soldiers died in Afghanistan. For our proud soldiers, sailors, and aircrew, Joly’s comments were a slap in the face. There is a truism pragmatists grasp: you can't have a foreign policy without a defence policy. Joseph Nye, who coined the concept of “soft power” (political values, culture, and foreign policy used to co-opt rather than coerce) admitted it was necessary to have some “hard power” for “soft power” to be effective. As the father, son, grandson, and great-grandson of soldiers, I am a believer in a robust military. As a diplomat, I often emphasized this point and watched in dismay as our military spending declined and our equipment aged. Then it seemed the Trudeau government understood, when it released its new defence policy, Strong, Secure, Engaged, in 2017. But the spending has stalled. While Minister Joly has yet to recant her comments, others in government have been quick to respond. Chief of Defence Staff Wayne Eyre praised his troops on CBC, while admitting we are short 10,000 Forces members and need to boost our strength and defence budget, given the current climate. As many observers have suggested, we may already be fighting the Third World War. It may prove to be a bloody war of attrition that begins in Ukraine, involving conventional, not nuclear weapons. If we are called upon to support NATO, we will need to spend wisely and recruit Canadians willing to fight for the cause of freedom. This means purchasing new weapons systems, tanks, planes and ships, training thousands, possibly deploying abroad, while ensuring Canada's sovereignty on our coasts and on our northern border with Russia. The bill won’t be cheap, but we have avoided paying it for so long as we lived in denial of the dangers in the world outside. The last few weeks have been proof we have been living in a fool’s paradise. It’s time the minister of foreign affairs acknowledged that fact, or stepped aside for someone willing to do more than “convene.” Andrew Caddell is retired from Global Affairs Canada, where he was a senior policy adviser. He previously worked as an adviser to Liberal governments. He is a fellow with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute and a town councillor in Kamouraska, Que. He can be reached at pipson52@hotmail.com. The Hill Times