“Success demands governments who are willing to assume responsibilities, seek practical, do-able solutions to problems and who have a voice and influence in global affairs because they lead, not by lecturing, but by example.” – Mr. Harper in 2007
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“When Canada, for the first time in our history, loses a vote at the United Nations to become a member of the Security Council … to Portugal, which was on the verge of bankruptcy at the time, you should look in the mirror and say: ’Houston, I think we have a problem.”
–Brian Mulroney [Source]“We’re in the big leagues … so we have to conduct ourselves in that way. We can’t be out-riders.”
–Brian Mulroney [Source] - Under Mr. Harper’s government, Canada became the first nation in the world to withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol. This action drew strong international condemnation, even from nations with abysmal environmental records.
[Source, Source] - Mr. Harper made a deal to sell $10-billion worth of Canadian light armoured vehicles to a Saudi Arabia, a country that has driven down oil prices and crippled Canada’s oil industry and with one of the most oppressive governments in the world.
[Source, Source] - Canada’s reputation at the United Nations has been reduced. Under Mr. Harper, Canada lost a bid for a seat on the U.N. Security Council. In 2014, Mr. Harper’s speech to the U.N. was to a largely empty room.
[Source, Source, Source] - Mr. Harper has reduced Canada’s aid programs and diplomatic efforts in Africa leading to a loss of long-term trade and investment. Now, Canadian companies are unable to compete with Indian, Chinese and European interests for mineral and other rights.
[Source, Source, Source] - Mr. Harper’s government has opposed United Nations attempts to declare asbestos a dangerous substance while actively promoting its export to poorer countries.
[Source, Source, Source] - Harper has reduced the size of our foreign service and our development agency and appointed ministers have little experience or understanding of international affairs. This has had a direct impact on Canadians living abroad. For example, when Canadians needed to be evacuated during the crisis in Libya they had to be helped by other countries due to the lack of preparation of Mr. Harper’s government.
[Source, Source, Source, Source] - Former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney has publicly criticized Mr. Harper’s foreign policy. Mr. Mulroney stated that the government’s foreign affairs policy “has to be enveloped in a broader and more generous sweep that takes in Canadian traditions and Canadian history in a much more viable way.”
[Source, Source] - In 2013, Conservatives refused to back an international arms trade treaty to keep weapons shipments away from extremists. Meanwhile, they have been selling weapons to despotic regimes in the Middle East.
[Source, Source] - In 2013, Canada was awarded a special ‘Lifetime Unachievement Fossil Award’ at a climate summit in Warsaw, Poland. The award was given to Canada due to Mr. Harper’s lack of environmental leadership and Canada’s stonewalling of the UN climate talks.
[Source, Source] - Mr. Harper’s government has a new focus on economic diplomacy, requiring that foreign affairs goals be shifted to support the pursuit of commercial success for Canadian companies and investors to the detriment of individual Canadians and human rights.
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