{"id":378829,"date":"2021-12-09T23:14:59","date_gmt":"2021-12-09T20:14:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/canada-wont-send-diplomats-to-the-beijing-olympics\/"},"modified":"2021-12-09T23:14:59","modified_gmt":"2021-12-09T20:14:59","slug":"canada-wont-send-diplomats-to-the-beijing-olympics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/canada-wont-send-diplomats-to-the-beijing-olympics\/","title":{"rendered":"#Canada won’t send diplomats to the Beijing Olympics"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Canada won’t send diplomats to the Beijing Olympics<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\n Politics Insider for Dec 8, 2021: Olympic choices; Canada’s diplomatic future; and Jagmeet Singh’s difficult position\n <\/div>\n
\n Welcome to a sneak peek of the\u00a0<\/em>Maclean\u2019s\u00a0Politics Insider\u00a0news<\/a>letter.\u00a0Sign up to get it delivered\u00a0straight to your inbox in the morning.<\/em><\/p>\n

Olympic chill:<\/strong> Canada has joined a growing list of Western countries refusing to send diplomats<\/strong> to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing to protest<\/strong> China\u2019s treatment of minorities in Xinjiang and its crackdown on civil liberties in Hong Kong, the Globe<\/em> reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Justin Trudeau announced Wednesday that no government officials will be present at the event, which runs February 4 to February 20.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are extremely concerned by the repeated human rights violations<\/strong> [of] the Chinese government,\u201d Mr. Trudeau told reporters Wednesday. \u201cThat is why we are announcing today that we will not be sending any diplomatic representation to the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Game<\/a>s this winter.\u201d<\/p>\n

The United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Lithuania have already announced their own diplomatic boycotts of the Beijing Olympics. A diplomatic boycott doesn\u2019t amount to a full boycott and Canadian athletes will still represent Canada at the 24th Olympic Winter Games.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Canada\u2019s (un)diplomatic corps:<\/strong> In Maclean\u2019s<\/em>, Paul Wells<\/strong> ponders the prime minister\u2019s unusually enthusiastic praise<\/strong> for outgoing ambassadors, and considers what it might mean for diplomatic vacancies.<\/p>\n

Work, dedication and service are table stakes for any number of dozens of Canadian diplomats, and very few of them get public high-fives from the big guy on their way out. It\u2019s hard to shake the suspicion that what Trudeau liked most about these ambassadors was simply that he already knew them before they submitted their diplomatic credentials.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Pressure on Singh:<\/strong>\u00a0Three NDP MPs have endorsed a petition calling on Jagmeet Singh<\/strong> to demand that the B.C. NDP government and Ottawa pull RCMP officers out of Wet\u2019suwet\u2019en territory, CBC reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The move places Singh in a difficult position \u2014 jammed between the wishes of many NDP members and his political need to avoid criticizing the only NDP government in the country. In November, the RCMP arrested at least 29 people<\/strong>, including a Wet\u2019suwet\u2019en hereditary chief\u2019s daughter and two journalists, for breach of a B.C. Supreme Court injunction preventing any obstruction of work on the Coastal GasLink pipeline. The $6.6 billion pipeline is designed to carry natural gas, obtained by hydraulic fracturing \u2014 also known as fracking \u2014 in northeastern B.C., to a $40-billion LNG terminal on the province\u2019s North Coast for export to Asia.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Grass roots:<\/strong> The pressure on Singh app<\/a>ears to be a grass roots movement, the Star<\/em> reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

At least 25 federal NDP riding associations, three MPs and several former candidates have now signed a\u00a0statement circulating online<\/a>\u00a0to express \u201cdistress\u201d with the federal NDP\u2019s response to the situation. These include climate campaigner Avi Lewis<\/strong>, who ran for the NDP this year on the B.C. coast, as well as former NDP MP Romeo Saganash<\/strong>, and current MPs Leah Gazan, Lori Idlout<\/strong> and Matthew Green<\/strong>.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

No deal on docs:<\/strong> The Conservatives have rejected a proposed compromise<\/strong> to resolve a long-running dispute over the disclosure of secret documents related to the firing of two scientists, CP reports<\/a>. Last week, government House leader Mark Holland<\/strong> proposed a special all-party committee review the documents but Conservative House leader Gerard Deltell<\/strong> said Wednesday the government\u2019s proposal is unacceptable.<\/p>\n

He pointed out that in the previous parliamentary session the Public Health Agency of Canada ignored multiple orders from a Commons committee and the House itself to produce unredacted documents that could shed light on the firing of scientists Xiangguo Qiu<\/strong> and her husband, Keding Cheng<\/strong>. \u201cThe will of Parliament is clear<\/strong> and that has not changed,\u201d Deltell told the Commons.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Fragile neighbours:<\/strong> The Americans are holding a summit of democracies this week as\u00a0alarm bells are ringing in the United States about threats to that system in that country, writes<\/a> Susan Delacourt<\/strong> in the Star<\/em>.\u00a0 Justin Trudeau will take the opportunity, she says, to point to the danger of cynicism and the importance of trust.<\/p>\n

\n

Trudeau himself has talked about the threats to democracy as a problem with roots in cynicism \u2014 a belief that everything the government does is either corrupt or incompetent or both. When people don\u2019t believe that government delivers, they lose faith not just in government, but the delivery system itself \u2014 democracy. His summit remarks will touch on this theme, officials say.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In the Globe<\/em>, Lawrence Martin<\/strong> writes that<\/a> it is an opportunity for\u00a0\u201cCanada to showcase its democratic stature,\u201d which is healthier than our neighbours because of the good sense of Canadians.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not the politicians who deserve credit for the relative health of the system but rather the character of the Canadian people. Through history it has been their reliably good judgment, their sense of moderation and fairness that has nurtured and sustained the country\u2019s democratic wellbeing. In this mammoth, complex country born of compromise,<\/strong> not revolution, the people from day one have stayed the middle course, spurning the ideologies of right or left.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Ford family drama:<\/strong> Speaking of good sense, Robyn Urback<\/strong>, in the Globe<\/em>, notes that<\/a> the media<\/a> has so far avoided writing about Doug Ford\u2019s<\/strong> daughter, Krista<\/strong>, because her views didn\u2019t have much to do with her father\u2019s.<\/p>\n

That changed Monday night, when she appeared at The Christian Fight for Freedom alongside her husband. The $5-a-head event, which included several participants who spoke out against vaccine and mask mandates, advertised special guests \u201cDave and Krista Haynes<\/strong>, family of the premier Doug Ford<\/strong>,\u201d as well as former Ford ally Charles McVety<\/strong>, who joked onstage about Ms. Haynes running for premier. The draw for the event was not a special appearance by a random Instagrammer, but by someone with a literal seat at Mr. Ford\u2019s dinner table.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u2014 Stephen Maher<\/strong>
\n<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n