Stop Fighting In Front of the Guests

How partisanship is ruining Canada's foreign policy and international reputation.

The National Post’s Keith Beardsley and the Victoria Times Colonist’s Adam Chapnick appear to have been reading from the same playbook this week, both penning columns lamenting the partisanship that has hijacked two major foreign policy issues.

The decision on whether or not to extend Canada’s Afghan mission, writes Beardsley, “is too serious an issue to let it become the victim of partisan political games.” He wonders why Stephen Harper neglected to discuss the idea with Michael Ignatieff before he went public with the fact Canada might remain in Afghanistan post-2011. The two party leaders “could have looked at the details and come to some agreement on the best way forward … Instead we have the usual political rhetoric taking place.” Beardsley’s point is even more well taken when you consider that there is a chance Ignatieff will become prime minister one day (don’t laugh), and will have to take responsibility for the mission. Beardsley, a former aide to Harper, seems to lay all the blame for the partisan rift on his ex-boss, echoing some writers’ observations that the prime minister wouldn’t share a sandwich with a Liberal, let alone a policy discussion.

Chapnick bemoans the bickering Harper and Ignatieff have engaged in in the wake of Canada’s failed UN Security Council bid. Harper has tried to turn defeat into victory by claiming the loss was a result of Conservatives’ principled stand on Israel, and “the Liberals have yet to miss an opportunity to remind Canadians of the government's failure.” Chapnick, who has written on the issue in The Mark, says not only does this disunity stop Canada from developing long-term foreign policy, but it “suggests (to international allies) that Canadian support should never be counted upon for longer than the life of a single Parliament.” Chapnick rightly notes that the infighting is all the more perplexing because foreign policy is almost never a significant election issue and the Liberals and Tories seem to be fighting just for the fun of it. Wouldn’t be the first time, after all.