I'm sorry but it's time for the Liberals to grow up accept responsibility for their own actions and quit blaming the previous gov't for every one of their failures because, besides being tiring it also isn't true.

Five years later, what the Trudeau Liberals are forgetting, or don’t want to admit, is that the people who were trashing Trudeau’s bid for a seat on the Security Council leading up to the vote were luminaries of the Canadian and global left.

At least three petitions submitted to the United Nations General Assembly prior to the vote, signed by hundreds of so-called “progressive” individuals and organizations, either said Canada under Trudeau didn’t deserve a seat on the Security Council, or were highly critical of his record on everything from climate change to what they called his support of Israel.

Among the signatories were such global and Canadian luminaries of the left as David Suzuki, Greta Thunberg, Noam Chomsky and Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters, along with academics, climate scientists, environmental and labour activists, artists and more.

Their petitions portrayed Trudeau’s government as everything from a major arms exporter, to a lackey of Israel, to a war monger, to an environmental laggard, to a promoter of pipelines and fossil fuel subsidies, to a persecutor of Indigenous Canadians.

Bianca Mugyenyi, co-ordinator of the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute, summed up the views of left-wingers and progressives about Trudeau’s government in an article in the Tyee asserting that: “The record is clear. Our rivals for the Security Council seats (Norway and Ireland) are more responsible international citizens. For progressive Canadians the message is simple: better than the U.S. is not good enough.”

Ouch.

To be fair, for any Canadian government to do everything these activists want would crater our economy and turn our backs on our traditional allies.

And of course these same activists would have been equally if not more critical of the Harper government heading into its failed bid for a temporary seat on the Security Council in 2010.

But that’s not the point.

Given Trudeau’s boast that “Canada is back” when he was elected in 2015 and his pledge to restore Canada’s “respect” at the UN, he obviously assumed that five years later, when he made his bid for a temporary Security Council seat to take effect next year, many “progressives” would be in his corner.

As it turned out, he was wrong.

Rex Murphy: Maybe CHAZistan will give Canada a seat


It’s not all bad news folks.

We missed the UN Security Council, but Raz (rapper/warlord) of CHAZistan has offered Canada a seat on the new state’s Farming Collective and Tofu Oversight Planning and Meditation Board. There are limits on our presence in the six-city-block republic. Canada will not have veto rights. But Justin Trudeau is assured that should he make a formal or state visit, there is nothing — let me stress, nothing — on the all-vegan menu that will not be his for the asking, with just a small contribution to the CHAZ seed fund. Because of his noted skills in the art, he will also be offered honorary membership in the open-air yoga school, which is located outside the boarded-up pizza shop.


Now it is definitely not the same as sitting next to the big powers at the UN but there are some privileges. For example, the Canadian rep will have input into what gets shown on movie night, will be asked for advice on the best way to “person” the barriers surrounding the statelet, and will have an opportunity to participate in the various discussions on whether topsoil should go over the grass or under it.


And Canada, in the person of former minister of the environment and climate change, climate crusader (her brand, not mine) Catherine McKenna (now minister of infrastructure), has been asked to spend the first hour on the stationary bicycle they have rigged up to start the electric generator. This is a rare honour, in fact so rare it has never been given to anyone before, and depending on the state of the generator may never be offered to anyone ever again.


Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a news conference outside his residence at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa on June 18, 2020. JUSTIN TANG/THE CANADIAN PRESS
As far as my research can determine, with this recognition from CHAZ, we have the proof we need that, to use the celebrated phrase, “Canada is back” (though where she went and how long she was there has never really been clarified). She is certainly near “top of line.” So far as I know only the (sub-sovereign) state of Rhode Island got there quicker, and I believe some CHAZ diplomats may make an approach to the town council of Fogo Island (home of the justly world famous Fogo Island Inn).


On the lighter side of this story, what do you think it means for Mr. Trudeau? Well it means he’s wasted a hell of a lot of time, and a hell of a lot more money on a useless bid to join a morally bankrupt institution. And he has squandered relations with other countries by muting Canada’s voice on other matters, particularly China’s role in the current pandemic. Not to mention that the energy, time and money put into this vain and futile effort, if expended on a worthier goal — say freeing the two Canadian citizens, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, now in a Chinese jail, undergoing we know not what indignities and pain — might have had a positive outcome.


At best the seat at the UN Security Council was sought as a kind of “trinket,” a kind of showpiece to allow Trudeau to claim his superiority over the Harper administration. This government, in fact, is all about showpieces and trinkets, shallow gestures and little substance.

There were other reasons for the flop. It is certain that his weird gambols in India, conducting foreign relations with a great democracy as a Bollywood production, didn’t endear him to the adults of the world. Having a would-be assassin in his train at the time will probably not be remembered as a stroke of Canadian diplomatic genius.


And then there are more recent happenings here at home, which obviously reached the eyes and ears of other countries. I would guess that his juvenile scramblings in blackface did not convey an impression of sophistication and maturity that those looking to sit on world panels normally bring to that quest.

And so we are down to the present moment where the bid that was meant to shore up our international standing has been converted into a humiliation. The House of Commons remains neutered. The great problems that were at the fore of the national agenda before the pandemic struck, most notably the mortal threat facing the oil and gas industry and Western disenchantment with the Confederation, remain unattended. Make no mistake they are still there.

And while our prime minister continues his doorstep administration, and showy self-isolation, he can still take a break and join a crowd of thousands if he thinks another photo-op and a gesture will provoke a swoon from his dwindling admirers.

Congratulations Norway and Ireland. Hi CHAZ.

Former U.S. ambassador to UN tells Canada to 'keep leading' after Security Council loss

Sarah Turnbull
CTVNews.ca Producer
@TurnbullSarah Contact
Published Sunday, June 21, 2020 7:00AM EDT

OTTAWA -- A former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations says now is not the time for Canada to retreat on the world stage after it failed to secure a seat on the Security Council.

In an interview on CTV’s Question Period airing Sunday, author and diplomat Samantha Power says now more than ever democracies need to play a bigger part in advocating for the value of international cooperation, whether through the UN or elsewhere.

"I think we’re going to have to look for democracies establishing networks and informal coalitions outside of the Security Council and my major message if I had the ear of people in high places in Canada would be to keep doing what you’re doing, keep leading," she said.

"Don’t lead just for the sake of a Security Council campaign, but take that show on the road."

Canada placed third during Wednesday’s secret ballot election with 108 votes. Norway and Ireland earned 130 and 128 votes respectively among the Western European and Others group for 2021-22

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ramped up his lobbying efforts in recent months with African and Caribbean countries in a last-ditch attempt to shore up support. Holding a temporary position was one of his key foreign policy objectives since taking office in 2015, declaring a few months later "Canada is back" on the world stage.

This is the second consecutive loss for Canada in a Security Council election. The Conservatives, under the leadership of then-prime minister Stephen Harper, lost out on their bid for a seat in 2010.

Power said the loss isn’t surprising given how late Canada entered into the race compared to its competition.

"I think Canada’s biggest liability in this race was that Ireland entered in 2005, Norway entered in 2007, and prime minister Trudeau entered when he took power in 2016. So that’s a big head start," she said.

"It was a pretty big hole to dig out of in such a competitive slate."

She says bubbling U.S.-China tensions and President Donald Trump’s dismissal of the UN and other international institutions opens the door for middle powers to take a greater leadership role.

"Recognize that the kind of leadership that Trudeau tried to show over the last few years, because it was intrinsically important but also because it would help Canada get a Security Council seat, is precisely the kind of leadership that democracies and middle powers are going to have to show in light of the U.S.-China standoff," said Power.

Refugee settlement, and pandemic preparedness and response are two areas she encourages Canada to continue strengthening.

"You’d be surprised what middle powers can get done."