National Post (National Edition)
THE MAN TO END POVERTY. PROFILE OF THE AGA KHAN, AT THE CENTRE OF THE VACATION CONTROVERSY.
‘Jet-setter’ friend to Canada, head of a diaspora
The Aga Khan is a religious leader and philanthropist with a talent for charming audiences, a skill he demonstrated during his historic address to the House of Commons in February 2014. Three minutes into a 45-minute speech, where he switched easily between French and English, the billionaire descendant of the prophet Muhammad nodded in the direction of then Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, congratulating him — and all Canadians — “on the Olympic gold medals of your remarkable hockey teams in Sochi.“
He then added that, as an ex-player, “I was hoping you might require your honorary citizens to join your team. I am convinced that the Dalai Lama and I would have formed a formidable defence.”
The House of Commons erupted in laughter. It is a jocular tone that has been absent in recent days in connection with the Aga Khan and current Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, after the National Post revealed that Trudeau spent his New Year’s holiday as a guest at the Aga Khan’s 349-acre private island in the Bahamas.
Trudeau arrived, with his wife and kids and a nanny in tow, on the Aga Khan’s private helicopter, in an apparent violation of the federal Conflict of Interest Act. The prime minister, now on a cross-Canada goodwill tour, has said that he believes that no great ethical wrong has been done, while pointing out that the Aga Khan is an old family friend who has known him since he was a “toddler.”
The spiritual head of the Ismaili Muslim diaspora, scattered over 20-some countries and numbering around 15 million worldwide, was a pallbearer, along with Fidel Castro and Jimmy Carter, at Pierre Trudeau’s funeral in 2000. It is unclear, however, when the friendship between the families was initially struck, or if it predated Trudeau senior’s election in 1968. But in 1972, when the Ismailis of Uganda needed safe haven, and the Aga Khan asked the world to help, Canada stepped into the breach.
Idi Amin, the Ugandan dictator, declared that anyone of Asian descent had 90 days to leave the country. Trudeau reacted by sending a cable that Canadian diplomat Roger Saint-Vincent would later describe as a “mission impossible.” Standard immigration protocols were to be abandoned and a swell of refugees, about 6,000 in the end, were to be processed and put onto Air Canada charter flights bound for Canada in advance of Amin’s deadline.
“We as a country of Canadians are prepared to offer an honourable place to those Ugandan Asians who come to Canada,” Trudeau said.
A photo taken in Ottawa a few years later shows Trudeau, with his face pinched into a smile, staring straight at the camera while the Aga Khan and his then wife (he is twice divorced), the former British model Sarah Croker-Poole, look on, clearly amused.
In the years since, the Aga Khan — whose stated mission is to eliminate global poverty, and whose affection for Canada is partly rooted in it being a well-functioning pluralistic society without any obvious rifts among its myriad cultures — has partnered with the Canadian government in numerous initiatives. The Aga Khan Foundation, the Aga Khan’s Canadian charity, has received about $300 million from the government since 2004. Money earmarked for maternal health initiatives in Tanzania, food security programs in Mozambique, access to education in Bihar and more.
For all his good deeds, the Aga Khan retains the gilded-image of the global jet-setter. He is spiritual, and secular, a pope of sorts, but not at all pope-like. He is a British citizen. His close friends know him as “K” — his given name is Karim. He owns a stable of racehorses, homes on several continents and a degree from Harvard. He even competed in downhill skiing at the 1964 Winter Olympics.
Now he is 80, with poor eyesight and silver-rimmed spectacles that perch on his nose when he peers down at his notes during speeches, similar to the one he gave to the House of Commons.
The Aga Khan of 2017 looks like a kindly grandpa, with a big heart and a huge fortune — or just the kind of man who might offer the use of his private helicopter to an old family friend.