Prime Minister Mark Carney’s much criticized ambiguity about the role of international law regarding U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran is more than an excusable stumble by an inexperienced politician operating in a challenging environment.
Carney is building a foreign policy “doctrine” that increasingly warrants a closer look.
Last October, Carney lavished praise on U.S. President Donald Trump for supposedly “disabling Iran as a force of terror” with U.S. strikes months earlier. While the prime minister has softened — but not withdrawn — his support for the current military campaign that began in spite of progress on peace talks, he has not explained why he has long disagreed with intelligence assessments that Iran was not pursuing a nuclear weapon.
Nor has Carney or his ministers refused to rule out some form of participation in the conflict that is rapidly extending to other Persian Gulf states.
An opportunity to provide clarity on such issues was rebuffed when Carney skipped an emergency debate in Parliament on the growing crisis. Meanwhile, the war continues to unleash enormous human suffering and chaos.
Well, let’s look at Carney’s actions then.
He vocally supported the kidnapping of Maduro.
Then just days later he went and made some handshake investment deal with Qatar, a gulf dictatorship that used thousands of slaves to build its World Cup stadiums, and is the country holding onto the proceeds of Trump’s sale of stolen Venezuelan oil.
Then Carney cheered the unprovoked US & Israeli attacks on Iran, walked back his support a little when he saw the public outrage, and is now trying to weasel-word his way into Canadian troops supporting the fascist US in a war of aggression.
Brookfield has billions of dollars invested in the gulf states like Qatar that Carney is suddenly calling our “partners”, by the way
So Maduro was a good guy? Not a Dictator?
Qatar is bad, but Alberta is ok?
Canada would have been in Iran day 1 with Poilievre, if we weren’t the 51st state already.
It’s a turd sandwich or shit burrito situation, and it’s also impossible to please everyone’s moral center, because there is no right answer in the Gaza.
I count at least three false dichotomies in one comment, that’s impressive!
Sure, it’s 2026, everyone is an anti semite, Zionist, Fascist or tankie to the moral clerics on Reddit/lemmy.
It’s important to remember that Liberal leaders are just harm reduction as we avoid the blue faux-ristocracy. Ideally we would have an orange government or even a strong orange crutch holding up a minority red if we want some progress on things that matter to Canadians.
This guy is here to weather the economic attack from America by strengthening ties with Europe, and build up military and infrastructure so we can survive when America cuts of off from theirs in some fit of juvenile pique.
Yes, all of those actions taken to strengthen Canada economically, and position us to be in a position of future economic power that will give us the ability to enact and shape fairer systems.
You’re bitching and complaining about short term hedging his bets diplomatic moves. Naiively pursuing the most noble action at all time will not lead to a better world, it will lead to good people getting predictably out maneuvered by shitty ones.
What’s interesting about this discussion is that all the “good” stuff Carney is supposedly aiming at is entirely hypothetical and rhetorical, and the bad stuff is very real.
40,000 jobs cut in the federal public sector by someone who promised to “cap, not cut” the public service.
Massive cuts to the CBC by someone who promised to increase their funding.
But we should keep trusting him?
I was told that Carney understood climate change and economics, and then he went and tripled down on the same fossil fuels that are causing the current global geopolitical and economic crisis. Oh, and greenwashing is legal again, which is the cherry on top of that shit sundae.
It’s been over a year of cuts and deregulation benefitting massive corporations. How long are people prepared to cling to their religious-like faith in a man who has only ever been a friend to the Goldman Sachs/Brookfield class?
My fucking god. You expect him to snap his fingers, and have major nation building infrastructure projects complete and profitable within a year?
Short sighted bitching like this is why we can’t have nice things. Get off the internet and go live your life.
No, I expect him to be doing the good things that his supporters keep claiming he will do, rather than doing the bad things he has been consistently doing. But thanks for attacking me personally rather than having any kind of honest discussion, I guess?
Oh wow, now you’re sad for feeling attacked, totally how fascists feel.
Maybe we shouldn’t go around calling everyone we slightly disagree with a fascist?
Buddy, people like you are the reason Canada is falling to fascism. Reap what you sow, keep significantly utilizing American services and appeasing American corporations, that goes for Brookfield as well, major conflict of interest. What products have made Canada unique and respected around the world? Oh right, nothing.
Oh wow, another leftist who is so naiive and righteous that they can’t even get along with people who agree with them but choose a slightly different path.
You’re such a credit to the cause with your quickness to label everyone and everything a fascist! Your attitude totally isn’t why left wing groups always fall apart to infighting.