Baird’s legacy: shaming Canada’s name
Re The Conservatives’ happy warrior for moral clarity, Opinion Feb. 4 Of all the questionable praise being afforded to Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird on his departure, the suggestion by Tom Axworthy that Conservative foreign policy is guided by moral principles is the most outrageous. As an avid proponent of the Stephen Harper world view, Mr. Baird contributed more to the erosion of Canada’s moral ground than even his predecessors.
A critical principle of any moral code is to apply it consistently, otherwise it loses all credibility and smacks of hypocrisy of the worst order. So when Mr. Baird opposed illegal occupation in one country (Russia in Ukraine) while lauding it in another (Israel in Palestinian territories) or staying silent (Saudi Arabia in Yemen), any moral authority is lost.
When the Conservatives claim to value democracy and human rights but support the overthrow of a democratically elected government (Egypt) and readily send armaments to human rights abusers (Saudi Arabia) what message is sent? What moral credibility does it give to Mr. Baird’s other stands?
Mr. Baird was just the latest in a long line of Conservative foreign ministers who have accomplished nothing in international relations except to shame Canada’s former good name. Perhaps his “bullhorn” was more eloquent than that of his hopeless predecessors, but that is hardly reason for praise of any kind. Greg White, Toronto I could not agree more with the Star that John Baird’s style of diplomacy created more division in Canada and the world. Baird’s “bullhorn” was at odds with the UN and Canada’s traditional role as peacekeeper, mediator and impartial supporter of much-needed reforms in the most troubling parts of the world.
The foreign policies of Lester Pearson, Pierre Trudeau and Jean Chrétien made us proud to be Canadian, while Baird downgraded or destroyed our neutral status around the world.
Baird’s resignation is just another nail in the coffin to the end of the Harper government in the upcoming election. Robert Ariano, Scarborough It took foreigners to summon courage to throw tomatoes, eggs and shoes for that bully to resign from the cabinet. Shame on us for not having such courage. Salim J. Kanji, Toronto Re John Baird, vizier in the court of King Stephen,
Opinion Feb. 5 Haroon Siddiqui is right. Baird is a cacophony of half truths, hypocrisy and party-line manure. Thanks to him for leaving. Hopefully the king soon follows. James Aguanno, Bradford