politics

As unhealthy as it’s, specialists say Canada has skilled worse

Posted: September 30, 2023
Final up to date: September 30, 2023

Within the days since parliamentarians inadvertently applauded a Ukrainian veteran who fought in a Nazi unit, political events and observers have discovered one factor to agree on — Canada has embarrassed itself.

Conservative chief Pierre Poilievre referred to as it “the largest diplomatic embarrassment in Canadian historical past.”

Politicians throughout social gathering traces have condemned the impression the incident has had on many individuals in Canada and world wide, together with Jews and Poles.

However how do the consequences of the Yaroslav Hunka incident on Canada's status examine with the results of earlier diplomatic failures?

Historians and overseas coverage specialists say Canada has endured its share of humiliating moments on the world stage. Lots of these moments, they add, have had critical real-world penalties for individuals and politics.

“I’ve not seen something like this [the Hunka incident] however I've definitely seen equally embarrassing incidents occur,” stated Janice Stein, the founding director of the Munk Faculty of World Affairs, in an interview with CBC.
Home.

“There are a variety of incidents. Some are considered mere pranks and a few… are maybe extra politically critical,” stated historian Robert Bothwell.

Stein, who has noticed Canadian politics for many years, stated one incident that involves thoughts is the 1997 controversy involving two Israeli spies who — after a failed assassination try — had been caught with faux Canadian passports.

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“It was embarrassing as a result of it was a fraudulent Canadian passport and what it turned out to be was that there was a black market in Canadian passports and we hadn't adequately secured our passports,” Stein stated.

Bothwell famous one other miscalculation that derailed a significant Canadian diplomatic initiative of worldwide significance. In 1935, a Canadian proposal to impose oil sanctions on Fascist Italy was defeated as a result of the Canadian diplomat who proposed it didn’t get the federal authorities to purchase in. Mackenzie King's authorities shortly rejected it.

The sanctions regime ultimately fell aside, Bothwell stated.

“That is the place the dysfunction on the Canadian facet, the contradiction on the Canadian facet, made Canada a global … to not snigger at, as a result of it was very critical about it … however it definitely didn’t contribute to our standing or status within the worldwide area “, he stated.

“It exhibits that Canadians have to get their geese in a row. They really have to know what they're saying and so they really have to have a way of what the results could be.”

Bothwell additionally cited the instance of French President Charles de Gaulle's 1967 speech in Montreal. The statesman's use of the phrase “Vive le Québec libre” was seen as an endorsement of Quebec's separatist motion and brought on a significant diplomatic incident. Whereas de Gaulle was not Canadian, the occasion had profound penalties for politics on this nation.

In a particular interview with
Homejournalist Paul Wells famous the case of Igor Gouzenko, who bounced round Ottawa for days as he tried to depart the Soviet Union and produce with him secrets and techniques that exposed a communist espionage community in Canada.

The embarrassment, Wells stated, stemmed from the federal authorities's resolution to drop Gouzenko's claims earlier than lastly realizing the importance of the occasion — typically cited by historians as the beginning of the Chilly Battle.

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Huge win for Russian propaganda, says disinfo knowledgeable

Stein argued that whereas the Hunka affair is clearly humiliating for Canada — and for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy personally — it will not be the worst diplomatic blunder in Canadian historical past.

“It definitely shouldn't have occurred. It was deeply embarrassing. However does it rank among the many all-time hits on the Canadian hit parade? I don't assume so,” she stated.

Stein and Bothwell each argue that embarrassing diplomatic incidents may also have concrete penalties. Marcus Kolga, a senior fellow on the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, stated the world is seeing a type of penalties now — within the type of Russian propaganda.

“I don't assume I've ever seen something like what we noticed on Friday and what we've seen over the previous few days,” Kolga stated.
Home. He famous one case of disinformation: a submit from the Russian embassy complaining about the usage of Hunka's picture on a Ukrainian stamp — however no such stamp exists.

“I’ve by no means seen the type of frenzy that Russian propagandists have gone into over the previous few days, profiting from this example to attempt to intensify the already damaging results it has had on our status overseas, but in addition the division that this will doubtlessly trigger inside our society”.

Stein, Bothwell and Kolga all agreed that given Anthony Rota's resignation as speaker and Trudeau's apology on behalf of Parliament, fences are prone to be mended with Canadian allies and the fallout on the diplomatic entrance will ultimately fade.

However Kolga warned there might nonetheless be long-term results past Canada's status.

“It's embarrassing for the Canadian authorities, however I believe that's one thing that may go away comparatively shortly in relation to worldwide media. However in relation to Russian media and Russian state propagandists, they're going to proceed to make use of this.” he stated.

“They'll be utilizing it for weeks, months and possibly years to come back.”

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Filed by Catherine Cullen