In what comes as another reminder of Justin Trudeau’s failed foreign policy, the neighbouring country of the USA has lost an opportunity to land a non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council. Two seats were available in the category for member states from Western Europe and other countries, but Canada could not get a UNSC seat. Losing the Security Council seat is not a catastrophe but it sure as hell tells you about Justin Trudeau and his leadership style more than anything else.
A total of 128 votes were needed to secure a two-thirds majority. Norway secured 130 votes while Ireland got 128. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had frequently billed the seat as an avenue for Canada to exert greater influence on the world stage at a time when international institutions like the UN are under significant scrutiny and international relations are anything but harmonious.
A former Canadian ambassador minced no words in blaming Justin Trudeau for his lackluster foreign policy which did not give much attention to garnering votes for the rotational seat.
“It shows that through the Trudeau years Canada’s superficiality and insouciance in foreign affairs got through to the rest of the world, and the world decided we were too flimsy, unfocused, ad hoc and chaotic to merit support,” said former ambassador Stephen Lewis.
What Lewis said makes absolute sense as Trudeau’s liberal government started campaigning for the seat in 2016, five years late than Norway and Ireland. Both these countries had indicated they would like a non-permanent seat in the UNSC roughly a decade before Canada had anything to say, giving them a long advantage.
Canada’s foreign policy establishment is incredibly weak. It relied on the Middle-east bloc for the votes but most Muslim nations are apparently miffed with Canada for its “pro-Israel” policy. Meanwhile, Israel is miffed over Canada joining the bloc of authoritarian nations against Israel in a vote last year. This desperate shift in Canadian foreign policy revealed that Justin Trudeau’s foreign policy lacked clarity and consistency.
🇨🇦 Canada just lost its bid for a seat on the U.N. Security Council. Vote wasn't event close.
In November we revealed Trudeau's Faustian bargain: embrace North Korea's anti-Israel resolution for votes. It failed.
Lesson: democracies must stay true to their moral principles. https://t.co/Q08zxHntnL
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) June 17, 2020
Mere rhetoric of a liberal regime stands exposed when there is no concrete foreign policy in place.
The migrant policy of the Liberal Party also remains at the center of numerous controversies as Justin Trudeau has a soft-corner for migrants which has led to a steady influx in the number of illegal migrants from Pakistan and other Muslim countries to Canada which has consequently seen a rise in Islamic extremism.
Its policy on the malfeasance of China in Canada is also lackadaisical, to say the least. Ottawa must develop a clear non-partisan policy regarding China.
It has started standing up to China in the wake of Coronavirus due to international pressure but it needs to be seen when the dust settles, will Ottawa tread down this path or will go back to its old ways of appeasing China.
Justin Trudeau and his Khalistan love
The Trudeau brand has taken a nose-dive since his India visit and the emergence of the blackface scandal. Since then it has one long and painful episode watching Trudeau befuddle his country’s foreign policy.
As for his relations with India, Trudeau remarkably single-handedly has been gutting the diplomatic channels. His Defence Minister, Harjit Singh Sajjan, is a well known Khalistani sympathizer, who didn’t get along well with Captain (Retd). Amarinder Singh, the incumbent CM of Punjab and staunch critic of the Khalistani ideology.
The altercation led to the Canadian government taking a subtle jibe at Amarinder for standing against terror sympathizers, which led to a royal snub when he visited last visited India.
Justin Trudeau himself is close to Khalistan supporters. His previous government had 4 Sikh ministers, one of them was Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi who was arrested in Bihar in 1988 on charges of being a pro-Khalistani supporter.
The Khalistan issue has been a hindrance in India-Canada relations since the 80s and a major bone of contention between the two parties.
Trudeau’s toxic love for Khalistani extremists was profound and evident, even on his 2015 trip to India where his delegation consisted of Jaspal Atwal – a convicted assassin and former Sikh terrorist who tried to assassinate the visiting Punjabi cabinet minister, Malkiat Singh Sidhu, on Vancouver Island in 1987.
Since Justin Trudeau came to power in 2015 riding on his elaborate PR strategy, the issue has largely dominated Indo-Canadian relations. In 2017, Justin Trudeau took part in the Khalsa Day Parade where Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who was killed in Operation Blue Star was portrayed as a hero.
Not forgetting to mention his cultural-appropriation when he came to India last. It seemed like he was on a fancy-dress party all around.
The liberal leaders like Justin Trudeau toot their own horns incessantly, as they try to appease authoritarian nations with liberalism, but when it comes to actual execution of policies, they fall flat. Losing the non-permanent UNSC seat should be a wake-up call for Justin Trudeau and his weak foreign policies.