"Although Trudeau himself has seldom shown any spine in standing up to US foreign policy directives, to the extent that Trump now calls us the 51st state, few of those interested in justice for Palestinians will mourn Freeland’s departure from cabinet."
December 20, 2024Rick Salutin’s opinion piece on the Trudeau-Freeland falling out focuses on personalities, speaking styles and the hyperbolic reaction of Canadian pundits.
More important in Freeland’s departure, however, is the effect it may have on Canadian foreign policy, especially, in regards to Israel’s genocide in Gaza. When she was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2017, a US embassy cable effused, “Canada adopts America First foreign policy.” During her tenure as Minister, she confirmed that assessment with her slavish echoing of America’s “ironclad” support for Israel, even as leading human rights organizations found that Israeli occupation of Palestine constituted apartheid, and more recently, that its attacks on Gaza were acts of genocide.
Although Trudeau himself has seldom shown any spine in standing up to US foreign policy directives, to the extent that Trump now calls us the 51st state, few of those interested in justice for Palestinians will mourn Freeland’s departure from cabinet.
Tim
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