EDITORIALS Dion will make a good envoy
Stéphane Dion’s appointment as Canada’s new ambassador to the European Union is a good choice at a critical time. Never has there been a greater need for Canada to have closer relations with the European Union. Given the uncertainty with the U.K. after the Brexit vote and with the U.S. after the election of President Donald Trump, we need friends and Europe needs friends. Dion has the intelligence and experience to build that friendship.
When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shuffled his cabinet on Jan. 10, Dion was left without his seat at foreign affairs. The former Liberal leader was clearly disappointed to be pushed aside in favour of newcomer Chrystia Freeland.
Freeland, who speaks five languages and is a former journalist, has strong contacts in the U.S. That is obviously a big selling point as Trudeau learns to navigate relations with the unpredictable Trump.
Freeland moved from the international trade portfolio, where she saved the Canada-European free-trade agreement when last-minute objections from a region of Belgium nearly derailed the entire project. That agreement will likely keep Dion busy in the years ahead.
Dion kept Trudeau and the country waiting for two weeks while he pondered his options, a sign of his unhappiness. A university job was on the list for the man who often seemed more suited to academia than the cut and thrust of politics.
Former immigration minister John McCallum, another casualty of the cabinet shuffle, had a different attitude toward the round of demotions. He was eager to take on his new task as ambassador to China. “This China assignment is the perfect job for me.” But after long hesitation, on Jan. 31, Dion told the House of Commons he had decided to take the position.
He said the pull and “adrenalin rush” of public service were too strong.
“In its own way, the European continent is facing the same challenges as us, ensuring that openness and inclusion triumphs over exclusion and xenophobia, ensuring a path to inclusive growth and demonstrating that free trade can be combined with workers’ rights and respect for the environment,” he said.
Weathering those challenges will be a difficult job, but Dion has tackled difficult jobs before.
Canadians owe him a debt of gratitude for being the champion of Canadian unity in the face of Quebec separatism when he was Jean Chrétien’s minister of intergovernmental affairs in the mid-1990s. He sponsored the Clarity Act, which set out the terms under which the federal government would negotiate with Quebec if that province voted to separate.
It took courage to defend the federalist position in his home province, when it was unpopular among his fellow Quebecers.
That integrity will serve Canada well as we strengthen our relations with Europe in the years ahead.
Dion is an intelligent man who is experienced in government and knowledgeable about the issues. Sending a person of his stature is a sign that we value our relationship with Europe.