[Chronique de Konrad Yakabuski] Canadian party party

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie has repeatedly said that Canada and its allies are seeking to “strangle President Vladimir Putin’s regime diplomatically, economically and politically” within it. It imposes more and more stifling penalties. Minister on the occasion of 100^e Invasion day On June 3, announcing “For 100 days, innocent Ukrainians have been suffering, and many have died needlessly. For 100 days, Vladimir Putin has been trying to destroy the Ukrainian economy, causing a food security crisis that has been felt all over the world. For 100 days, Russia has been lying and spreading misinformation. A hundred days is too long.”

Despite the minister’s comments, senior officials in Canada’s global affairs, including Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marta Morgan, deemed it appropriate to send one of them to a reception held at the Russian Embassy in Ottawa in honor of National Middle East Day. Russian Federation the following week. The participation of the Deputy Chief of Protocol for Canadian Diplomat Jasmine Heinebecker at this celebration provided an unprecedented opportunity for publicity to Russian Ambassador Oleg Stepanov, who has not ceased to glorify Mr. Putin’s aggression since the invasion. The Russian embassy even posted a tweet highlighting the presence of Mr.^I Heinebecker at the reception, implying that the alleged diplomatic isolation of his country mentioned by M.^I Jolie a few days ago was actually just a distant dream.

A Global Affairs Canada spokeswoman initially defended permission to share M^I Heinebecker at the Russian ceremony, saying that the two countries did not break off diplomatic relations. However, the latter changed her mind a few hours later, after Globe and Mail I posted an article online last Sunday about the situation. Global Affairs Canada quickly apologized, and on Sunday evening, Ms.^I beautiful wrote a tweet “Totally unacceptable. No Canadian representative should attend the event organized at the Russian Embassy and no Canadian representative will attend such an event in the future. »

The next day, Mr.^I Jolie insisted that she was unaware of her officials’ decision, a decision she found out when the article appeared in Globalism. But the damage was done. The case not only undermined the credibility of his earlier statements, but exposed the poor judgment of top Canadian diplomats, even with Mr.^I Jolie is trying to expand her influence on the international scene. “We no longer live in a unipolar world. Old alliances are straining and new ones are forming, she said this month, as she launched an in-depth review of her ministry. In order to maximize our influence in all respects, strong, strategic, diverse and resilient diplomacy remains a sine qua non.”

For several years now, Canadian diplomats have been lamenting the increasing interference of political advisors from the Prime Minister’s Office at their finger tips. Stephen Harper’s previous Conservative government distrusted Canada’s career diplomats in world affairs and systematically ignored their recommendations. The arrival of Justin Trudeau’s liberal government raised many hopes within the ministry, and hopes to return to the era when its political chiefs valued the professionalism and expertise of Canadian diplomacy. But the concentration of power in the prime minister’s office still ensures that Canadian foreign policy, if any, remains the prerogative of the prime minister.

The case of Jasmine Heinebecker – a kind of Canadian-style party gate – does nothing to change the situation. always in Globalism, citing anonymous government sources, we learned this week that the Prime Minister’s office intervened last Sunday to order Global Affairs Canada to offer its apology after this diplomatic mess. In the House of Commons on Tuesday, acting Conservative leader Candice Bergen asked Trudeau how his government, which claims to support Ukraine, could send a representative to “his enemy to enjoy champagne and caviar”.

On his part, M.^I Morgan, Deputy Minister, He would be allowed to participate by M^I Heinebecker at the party because she said she feared for the safety of Canadian diplomats working in Moscow. Basically, his decision stemmed from a certain idea that peace in Ukraine inevitably passes through dialogue with Russia. French President Emmanuel Macron became the standard bearer of this idea when he recently called on the world not to “humiliate Russia”. His comments sparked outrage in Ukraine and highlighted differences between Washington and Paris. The Government of Canada stands firmly behind the United States on this matter. His diplomats found the hard way.

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