Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird wrapped up his six-day swing – he was joined by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty – through the Middle East with an interview with the Jerusalem Post newspaper.
It’s an interesting read and touches on matters related to Iran, Syria, and of course Canada-Israel/Canada-Palestine Authority relations .
In the “personal and informal” chat, Baird confesses his love for Israel and admits if he wasn’t Canada’s foreign minister he’d be working away on a Kibbutz somewhere.
He also feels more appreciated in Israel than back home:
“I was told about this beforehand, but it has been a real pleasure because often you will do things and deliver things for your own constituents and not get a lot of appreciation. But holy moly, that certainly is not the case here.”
He also admits his government’s staunch support of Israel may have contributed to Canada losing its bid at the UN Security Council — something the Tories once blamed on former Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff.
There is no doubt that it was unhelpful in the Security Council. I don’t think you could say there was one particular reason [why Canada lost to Portugal for a temporary seat on the Security Council]. But that was certainly one of the reasons.
Baird also boasts Canada is better friends with Israel than the US a point he made in a speech earlier in his Middle East trip -and underscored in this exchange with reporter Herb Keinon (his questions in bold)
You said that Canada is Israel’s greatest friend in the world. Where is the US in this?
I think the US is a good friend, too. I like to think we are better.
In what sense? A stronger friend
And Baird also talks about the threat of Iran alleged nuclear weapons program – here’s a taste, but the Q&A on that topic goes on at length:
Turning to Iran, how little do we know about what is going on there?
What we know is that this is a regime that is enriching uranium and that has a clear nuclear arms program underway. That is undisputable. We know that Iran’s support of international terrorist organizations in the region – whether it is Hamas, Hezbollah or Palestinian Jihad – is an absolute disgrace and causing more problems.
Iran supports a lot of evil and violence in this region particularly. And we know it has a disgraceful human rights record that is frankly deteriorating.
And as a result, what should be done now?
We need to take every single diplomatic measure to put pressure on the regime to take a different course. Obviously our first choice would be to see the Iranian people make change themselves.
Meanwhile, NDP MP and leadership candidate Romeo Saganash released an essay on peace in the Middle East, critical of the Baird-Flaherty tag team trip through the region.
This week, Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister, John Baird, waded into the issue of Israel-Palestine relations by choosing to lecture only one of the two sides about how it must be the one to change, and then about the error in a unilateral approach. It is hard to imagine a worse approach to building peace or a more hypocritical position for Canada.
Later:
As a practitioner in the field, I am entirely committed to international law and to the rule of law more broadly. I demonstrated that commitment and learned a great deal about how to make the process work through twenty-three years of negotiations on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
My own history as a member of a colonized people has taught me that respect for the rule of law is a condition that must be self-imposed if it is to be expected of others. Above all, that means a commitment to peace. In situations where ongoing violence has continually interrupted the peace process, a firm commitment to non-violent negotiation is a minimum requirement for progress.
Tags: Iran, israel, John Baird
