And he accuses those who suggest otherwise of “extremist fear mongering.”
“I think critics of the government somehow think we’re going to be closing down our human rights division, we’re going to be closing down our nuclear disarmament division, and it’s all going to be about jobs,” Baird told Postmedia News in a year-end interview last week. “That’s ridiculous.”
Billed as a historic shift in this country’s approach to the world, the Conservative government’s move to entrench “economic diplomacy” as the driving force in Canada’s approach to the world has received both applause and criticism.
Business groups say the move is long overdue, particularly as many other countries such as the United States, Britain and France have already ordered their own diplomats to adopt such a commercial mindset.
Former diplomats and human rights groups have been among those worried the directive could undermine Canada’s defence of human rights and other principles, as Canadian diplomats essentially become mercenaries to the country’s private sector.
Those concerns appeared to receive a boost last week when The Canadian Press reported that Canadian arms exports to Bahrain, Algeria, Egypt, and other countries recently gripped by political upheaval and human rights concerns had increased over the past year.
This is on top of Canadian armoured vehicles having been exported to Colombia and Saudi Arabia in recent years, all of which aligns with the Conservative government’s desire to help make Canada a global arms exporter.
But Baird dismissed the CP report, as well as concerns raised by some experts that Canada is fuelling political upheaval, human rights violations and instability in developing countries with its weapons.
“I checked and the arms exports to Bahrain last year were $247,000. The year before (in 2011) was $0,” he said, adding: “I’m not sure there’s a lot of Canadians that are concerned about it.”
Human rights groups have been raising concerns about Bahrain since government security forces first cracked down on protesters during the 2011 Arab Spring, with Amnesty International reporting Monday that thousands of children have been imprisoned.
But Baird, who visited the country only a few weeks ago, blamed neighbouring Iran for “being a troublemaker in Bahrain,” adding: “I think if you look in that region, there would be more freedoms in Bahrain than there’d be in many of its neighbours.”
In 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper famously said: “I think Canadians want us to promote our trade relations worldwide, and we do that, but I don’t think Canadians want us to sell out important Canadian values. They don’t want us to sell out to the almighty dollar.”
In defending the push on economic diplomacy, Baird pointed out that sanctions against Iran and Syria, and Harper’s decision to skip a Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka, did not do Canadian businesses in those countries any favours.
“We need to push Canadian values and Canadian interests,” he said as he reclined in his office overlooking the Ottawa River at Foreign Affairs headquarters on a cold, wintry afternoon.
“But nuclear non-proliferation, that’s in Canada’s interests. Combatting terrorism. That’s in Canada’s interests. Our economic interests are big, substantial, important, but they’re not all of our interests.”
Baird said many Canadian diplomats have already been making trade and commerce their top priority, citing new nuclear co-operation and foreign investment protection agreements in India and China as examples.
The difference, he said, is envoys will now have trade and commerce embedded in their minds as a top objective alongside the other issues they are working on — as has already happened in the American, British and French foreign services.
“We need to remain focused that that’s a big priority,” the minister said, “because we have other countries doing it, and if we don’t do it as well, Canada falls short and we lose out.”
Some other issues Baird addressed during the year-end interview:
Ukraine: Baird recently returned from the country, which has been sharply divided over whether the government should sign a trade deal with the European Union or enter a customs zone with Russia. “We think association with the EU will lead, for the Ukrainian people, will lead to more freedom, more peace and more prosperity,” Baird said. The foreign minister would not comment on calls for the pro-Russian government in Kyiv to resign, but did hint he harboured doubts the country’s government was legitimate by describing the electoral irregularities in the last Ukrainian election as “not insignificant.”
Syria: The U.S. and Britain suspended military aid to rebel forces in Syria last week following fears some of the non-lethal equipment, including medicine, vehicles and communications equipment, has fallen into the hands of Islamic militants. This is exactly what Baird had warned could happen, but he refused to gloat. “I’m not going to say ‘I told you so,’ ” he said. The minister reiterated Canada’s belief that only a diplomatic solution can end the three-year conflict that has claimed at least 100,000 lives.
Arctic: The government has ordered scientists back to work after Canada’s initial submission earlier this month to the United Nations over its continental shelf in the Arctic didn’t include the North Pole. But while the government wants to assert as much sovereignty in the North as possible, Baird said it remains committed to science and diplomacy when it comes to staking a claim on its northern territories. “Canada has not done all the mapping,” Baird said. “We’ve done a great deal of it, but not all of it.” Baird said the issue was not a lack of government funding for scientific research.
Sochi Olympics: Baird said he has no intention of re-raising Russia’s human rights record or its controversial anti-gay law when the Winter Olympics begin in February. “We spoke about it publicly, got good coverage around the world and raised the issue directly in a face-to-face meeting with my counterpart,” Baird said. “But the games are about (the athletes). It’s not a political forum.”
Original Article
Source: canada.com/
Author: Lee Berthiaume
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