Joly unveils astute policy framework, but must bridge gaps between words and action

OTTAWA—Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly has finally unveiled her foreign policy framework. It is astute and perceptive. She deserves to be congratulated. All she has to do now is to bridge the gap that exits between the words of her framework and the actions of her government. The framework stands on two planks: defending Canadian sovereignty and using pragmatic diplomacy to prevent international conflicts. Speaking at the Economic Club of Canada on Oct. 30, Joly described the framework in detail, demonstrating that she has thought through all the pressing issues from multilateralism to geopolitical rebalancing. Canada, she concluded, “cannot afford to close ourselves off from those with whom we do not agree.” To prove that she means business, Joly needs to chalk up a few quick wins. She could arbitrate, for example, an end to the skirmishes between Rwanda and Congo, or she could partner with, say, Qatar in its negotiations between Israel and Hamas. There is no shortage of opportunities. As Joly herself noted about a year ago, the world needs a Canada that is “good at convening.” The unfortunate part is that Joly has her work cut out for her. Just three days before her speech, Chief of Defence Staff General Wayne Eyre was suggesting that Canada is at war with Russia and China. He was perhaps echoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s drive to make Canada battle-ready, and support the hegemonic ambitions of NATO and the United States. The war in Ukraine is of course Trudeau’s flagship project. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, he has committed over $8-billion to Ukraine, with $2.4-billion going for direct military assistance. Yet, as his policy objectives for a regime change in Russia keep failing, and as Ukrainians run for cover, Trudeau is adamant that he will fuel the war, “for as long as it takes.” In his classic book, On War, published in 1832, Prussian General Carl von Clausewitz theorized that war is the use of violence to preserve peacetime policies. Given his proclivity to mimic the overseas agenda of the U.S. and his endless references to the “rules-based international order,” one could assume that Trudeau and indeed the Americans want to protect the privileges of neoliberalism which are under threat by the economic rise of China. Joly did acknowledge that the neoliberal order is “fracturing” and “shifting beneath our feet.” With refreshing insight, she also added “we must resist the temptation to divide the world into ideological camps.” Does this mean that her government will abandon neoliberalism? Not quite. Elaborating on the first pillar of her framework—defending our sovereignty—Joly actually argued the Canada must increase its military footprint to make us “a reliable partner who contributes to peace and security by increasing our military presence.” That last bit of Orwellian doublespeak casts doubts on Joly’s sincerity and intentions for the framework. It could be all for show. A sceptic could even question the timing of her speech. It comes days before the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting—set for Nov. 11 in San Francisco. U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to use the occasion to foster rapprochement with Chinese Premier Xi Jinping. It is possible as such that Joly’s talk about “pragmatic diplomacy” is nothing more than a warm-up act to lay the political groundwork for Biden. To be fair, however, throughout her speech Joly exuded an aura of someone who cares about the state of the world, and who genuinely wants to chart a new course for Canada’s foreign policy vision and place in the world as a middle-sized power. But the Trudeau government’s eight years of quiet belligerence make it difficult to rush in and buy into Joly’s earnestness. In Latin America alone the Liberals have repeatedly encouraged opposition parties to use legal loopholes to create a constitutional crisis and delegitimize elected leaders. In 2018, they sponsored an attempted coup d’état against Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro; in 2019, against Bolivian President Evo Morales; and in 2021, against President Pedro Castillo of Peru. Elsewhere, they have slapped embargoes and punitive sanctions against governments, individuals, businesses, and entities in 24 countries, including Lebanon, Haiti, South Sudan, and Zimbabwe. These measures have been proven to hurt only the poor working classes and the already destitute. Joly’s framework is a sound, well-reasoned policy paradigm. The real test of its value will be in its implementation. The sad fact is—at this late stage of the game—it may not matter. With the Liberals trailing by double digits in the polls, it’s probably only the diehard wonks paying any attention to how the government frames the future of its foreign policy direction. Bhagwant Sandhu is a retired director general from the federal government. Between 2002-21 he held senior roles in several departments, including Fisheries and Ocean Canada, Infrastructure Canada, the Treasury Board Secretariat, and Public Works Canada. He has also held executive positions in the governments of Ontario and British Columbia. The Hill Times