Marching Orders
How Canada abandoned peacekeeping – and why the UN needs us now more than ever

Conservatives carrying the Liberals’ torch

Canadians are paying close attention to the military’s new, expanded mission in Afghanistan. In a recent poll, 60 per cent of respondents said they felt well informed about the mission.49 However, as some have suggested, being well informed does not mean greater support for the combat role Canada has undertaken, nor does it mean Canadians are supportive of the “transformation agenda” being driven by Canadian government policy and spending.

Since their election in January 2006, Stephen Harper’s Conservatives have carried out the plans and policies laid out by their Liberal predecessors. While there may be some differences in their use of language and in how the government characterizes its motives, essentially Canada’s defence and foreign policies have followed the same trajectory, despite the change in leadership.

In terms of military spending, the Conservatives endorsed the whopping increases brought in by the Liberals, and topped them up by $5.3 billion over five years. Instead of promoting notions of international obligations, such as “the responsibility to protect,” the Conservative Party prefers to describe its defence policies as putting “Canada first” by focusing on “national interests.”

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s first speech to the United Nations in September 2006 displayed the single focus of the government. His comments focused entirely on Afghanistan and the military mission there, to the exclusion of all other international issues that concern Canada. He could have mentioned other pressing matters such as human rights, the environment, global poverty or disarmament.

But if Canadians really want to see how their government sees the world, they need look no further than the boilerplate speeches that Ambassador Michael Wilson has been delivering to our U.S. allies about Canada’s commitment to the War on Terror. Here are just a few of Ambassador Wilson’s recent comments:

• “No country is more important to Canada and its people than the United States of America.”50

• “I’m proud to say that Prime Minister Harper immediately reached out to President Bush after being elected with a minority government and made it a well-known priority of his government to repair the Canadian-American relationship.”51

• “In the Speech from the Throne . . . the Government signalled its determination to join with our friends and allies to advance common values and interests, ‘starting with Canada’s relationship with the United States, our best friend and largest trading partner.’”52 (emphasis is from original)

• “Prime Minister Harper has taken [steps] to re-orient Canadian foreign policy.”53

• “[In the] Speech from the Throne . . . the Government not only committed to putting more police on the street and improving border security, but to a more robust diplomatic role for Canada, a stronger military and a more effective use of Canadian aid dollars.”54

• “Canada buys almost one billion dollars in military goods from American firms each year . . . . Our significant defence trade contributes not only to economic growth and jobs on both sides of the border . . . but to the interoperability of our forces in the field, and to obtaining the best value for money for our taxpayers.”55

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MARCHING ORDERS

updated November 4, 2006