It seems the Canadian government is finally going to turn on a dime and produce its strategy for dealing with China’s basic dictatorship. Apparently the key elements are cooperation on climate change and jobs for the boys and girls when they leave office, although the latter may not even get into the fine print. Nor, probably, will such concepts as vigilant armed defence of liberty in the spirit of Vimy, Waterloo, and Egbert’s Stone.
If Mélanie Joly were some kind of Canadian Henry Kissinger or Klemens von Metternich, a forceful intellect and personality steeped in the history and logic of geopolitics, she might generate such a thing in fairly short order. And we might get some sense of its probable contours by studying her record of thoughtful and consistent pronouncements. But alas it is not so.
Instead, she characteristically drew the entire discussion deep into our collective naval with, “We haven’t defined ourselves as an Indo-Pacific country, since the beginning of our history.” As if what mattered was how we felt about the world rather than what it was actually like. Then she burbled, “We’ve always invested a lot in the transatlantic relationship,” which might arguably be something to do with two world wars centred on Europe (despite the real Japanese threat in World War II, only about 15 percent even of the American military budget was directed that way).
According to the Canadian Press, “Montreal is hosting a major UN summit on biodiversity in December, despite China’s role as its chair,” and Joly’s ridiculous explanation is, “We will be leading the way and that’s why it’s important to bring China along. … That’s the only way we’ll be able to achieve our objectives. This is existential for us.” Unlike, say, deterring aggression? Defending liberty? Knowing history? Making sense?
Caroming giddily along, CP reports that as she jets around the world fighting climate change, “Joly said her looming visit to Peru will include discussions on how countries can send more fertilizer to Latin America to help offset the knock-on impact of sanctions on Russia.” The same fertilizer her ministry is seeking to suppress to fight climate change? Or some other substance with the same name and purpose? Just as we’ll be discussing how countries can send more energy to Europe while making sure we don’t.
Not to worry. Ms. Joly is saving the world, making democracy function, and otherwise being splendid. For instance, “We need to make sure that government works, because following the pandemic, there are definitely frustrations.” Tee hee hee.
It may be bad manners to mention the extraordinary way Canadian politicians who avoid rocking the junk in office happen to land lucrative consulting contracts from the Chinese government afterward. And I’m not suggesting they’re all completely venal. Rather, with rare exceptions they’re so geopolitically daft they don’t see the problem in sliding between Beijing’s silk sheets.
When his or Joly’s Indo-Pacific strategy appears, it will be a pastiche of trendy virtue signals the thugs in Beijing regard with ill-concealed contempt, not maxims like “Si vis pacem, para bellum” (If you want peace, prepare for war). Essentially a balloon full of greenhouse gas. And laughing gas.