It is being reported that one of Trudeau’s first moves as new PM has been to inform Barack Obama that Canada plans to pull its fighter jets from the air strikes on ISIS in Syria and Iraq, taking Canada out of the fight again the terrorist group. Some media outlets such as the Toronto Sun are bashing the move as dictatorial since Trudeau did not consult other members of government such as his cabinet or the Minister of Defence, both of which have yet to be officially named. While the decision is admittedly unilateral (given that the rest of the government has yet to be formed), it is still a necessary first step towards undoing some of the geopolitical follies of the Harper government.

Rather than simply lament what some see as a negative move, Canadian media should take a far step back and critically examine how ISIS came to be in Syria in the first place. This requires moving beyond myopic historical and geopolitical amnesia. The situation in Syria is very complex and is not always accurately portrayed, not least given that the US and its allies (including Canada and other NATO states) are currently, and ironically, attempting to take out a terrorist group that they helped—through military aid, training, armaments, border access through fellow NATO member Turkey, etc—put in Syria (as a way to undermine it) in the first place. While Canada was not directly involved, given the Harper regimes acquiescence to US foreign policy in the region and its agenda there, Canada is indirectly linked at the very least. Continue reading →

The Election is over and Justin Trudeau, leader of the Liberals and son of the late Pierre Trudeau, has taken the reigns with a majority government. Like many Canadians, I am ecstatic at the exit of Stephen Harper, who during his three mandate-term reign managed to turn Canada into a junior neo-con imperial pariah (not that Canada does not have a long imperial history, but it was greatly amped up under the America-loving Harper). So intense was the hatred of many Canadians for Harper that one has to wonder whether Justin Trudeau’s victory is  a result of his and his team’s clever campaigning or a matter of fortune and good timing; running against a man Canadians had grown to hate and were eager to see gone?!

No matter the reasons for his sweeping victory, there is one thing that struck me as eerily surreal and potentially worrying during Trudeau’s campaigning. Trudeau spoke a lot about, and promised Canadians, hope and real change. “Hope and change,” does this slogan sound familiar? It should. A then would-be presidential hopeful and political new comer, Barak Obama, promised these same things to desperate Americans back in 2008. Americans believed him and looked to him to undo the disastrous foreign and domestic policies of George W. Bush’s neo-con agenda. But while Barack talked a smooth game—much smoother than Justin—in the end, he failed to deliver either change or hope and reneged on almost every campaign promise he had made (i.e., closing Guantanamo Bay, ending the war in Iraq, fixing the economy, creating employment, empowering the poor, etc).

While Justin is not as smooth or charismatic as Obama was back then (though both shared in an appeal to youthful exuberance), he has made similar overtones–one of his campaign slogans was change together now/changer ensemble maintenant–and made certain promises (decriminalizing marijuana, for example, which is not a comprehensive policy but a token gesture) and vowed to return Canada to a purer time (Canada as global “peace keeper,” etc). It remains to be seen what he may or not improve in the next four years. Will he bring real hope and change, or should Canadians brace for an Obama-style disappointment?