Still in the throes of paralyzing hesitation over the issues of the Chinese Olympics and Huawei’s 5G technology, Canada is too far behind the United States when it comes to making crucial international decisions, believes Jean-François Lépine , back home after having been director of Quebec representations in China for more than five years.
“Look at our position on the Olympics. We find ourselves in a situation, for lack of having decided ourselves, where if we decide to carry out a diplomatic boycott of the Games, the Chinese will immediately say: that’s it, they are following the United States ” , slice the ex-journalist, currently on a sabbatical, in an interview at the To have to.
Canada has still not wished to announce its colors regarding the presence of its diplomats alongside its athletes at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games, while the United States warned on Tuesday, followed by Australia, that they intended to carry out a “diplomatic boycott” of the sporting event to protest against China’s treatment of its Turkish-speaking Uighur minority.
“We are going to have an announcement to make,” the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, said during the day. Without providing much more details, his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, promised Tuesday to “ensure that our athletes will be able to participate in the next Winter Olympics” and to discuss with the allies of the country to ” act in coalition ”.
Last week, the Bloc Québécois MP for Lac-Saint-Jean, Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, delivered a vibrant plea for Canada to ask for the 2022 Games to be postponed until an international mission can attest to the situation in Xinjiang, where China is accused of carrying out genocide against the Uighurs.
The individuality of Canada
On the merits, Jean-François Lépine does not take a position on the question. “This is an extremely delicate political decision, and it is for the Canadian government to decide, as on the question of Huawei’s technology. […] The only thing I would say is that the United States has given direction. Perhaps we would have liked Canada to give direction beforehand. “
According to him, however, Canada’s Olympic ambivalence is symptomatic of a much bigger problem: Canada does not know who it really is in front of the world.
“The Canadian government suffers a lot from its indecision and its lack of precise direction on the international scene,” said the former diplomat, who even blames this flaw in Canada’s foreign policy for his recent failure to obtain a seat in the United States. United Nations Security Council.
“We need to have greater individuality in the role we want to play on a global scale. […] For lack of taking initiatives ourselves, of defining ourselves, we are a little behind others. We are no longer the leader we once were, as when we recognized the [République populaire de] China, before the United States, or as when we had a position vis-à-vis the Middle East, which led us to refuse to follow the Americans [en Irak]. We must find this leadership position there, facing powers like China in the world. “
Departure of the ambassador
On Monday, his former colleague, Canada’s Ambassador to China Dominic Barton, publicly announced his departure after successfully leading the mission to free Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor.
“When the two Michael’s were released, I immediately gave thanks to Mr. Barton, because I know the role he played in the outcome of this whole story,” commented Mr. Lépine.
However, his replacement will pose “a challenge” to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly. “It’s interesting to see that Mme Joly has that challenge, starting out, appointing a new ambassador to Paris and appointing a new ambassador to China. This is the opportunity for her to mark her signature in her mandate. It’s a great opportunity for her. “
According to Jean-François Lépine, the next ambassador to China must have, as was the case for Mr. Barton, an in-depth knowledge of this “highly complex” country with which Canada must imperatively learn to work better.
“China is a country which is extremely strong, which will become the world’s leading power. We lived for decades next to a neighbor who was a world power that we knew well [les États-Unis], but in the face of which we ourselves had to have an extremely firm policy, and extremely determined [comme] during the NAFTA free trade negotiations. “
Outdated image of Canada?
In interview at To have to Last week on the Ukrainian issue, Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly refuted the idea that Canada is struggling to define itself in the world.
” [On] perhaps talking about an era that was the former Conservative regime rather than now. I also think that the Speech from the Throne clearly mentions our priorities, which is to say that we are going to increase our diplomatic presence in the world. “
According to her, Canada’s commitment against authoritarian regimes, its feminist politics and its ability to “seat everyone around the table” define the country’s identity in relation to other states on the planet.
“It is certain that the Harper government has had certain major orientations in foreign matters with which we absolutely did not agree,” replies the former journalist. Having said that, I couldn’t really define for you what the Trudeau government is banking on, replacing what the Harper government was. We cannot say that a change of direction has been given, and we are wondering if there will be one. “