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In the case of the projects, Canada not only receives detailed dollar-by-dollar and narrative reports but is often involved in the planning at every stage of development, and appoints technical advisers to assist. As to staff, UNRWA has been periodically running names through Israel's intelligence services.
If this level of accountability didn't satisfy Cannon, he could have taken steps similar to those stated by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in her testimony before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs on April 23, 2009: ""They have taken additional steps, partly at our urging, to make their process more transparent, consistent with both United Nations commitments and U.S. legislation"They share staff lists with us and with Israel. They prohibit staff participation in political activities""
So, Cannon may assert that Canada "wants to make a meaningful contribution to the 'peace process' between Israel and its neighbours," but ideologically-based changes in policy tell otherwise.
All these announcements should have been made in Canada because they have a profound impact on Canadian interests and need to be debated in Canada inside and outside Parliament.
Freedom of the press is the cornerstone of a democratic society. Unfortunately, our national news media have shirked their responsibilities. They have failed to subject to scrutiny the government's use of foreign podia to announce ideologically tainted changes to Canadian policy, and initiate the debates necessary for a civil society that is strong, open, and capable of playing a positive role in politics and government.
When he came to power, Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised that his government would be open, honest and responsive to the people it serves. His pledge to restore higher standards of ethics, accountability and transparency is yet to be fulfilled. Bowing to strident, crusading pressure groups, whose positions are aligned with the extreme settler movements in Israel, has resulted in skewed policies that are detrimental to both Israelis and Palestinians.
As Gerald Kaplan wrote in the Globe and Mail, "" if Kenney had bothered to look around him in Jerusalem, he would have discovered a slew of Israeli writers, commentators, scholars, soldiers, human rights activists and others who routinely and severely criticize their own government. Imagine NOT criticizing an extremist Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu, a radical nationalist; Avigdor Lieberman, who supports ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians; and the ultra-Orthodox Shas party."
It is clear that the current government of Canada has abdicated its responsibilities as the government for all Canadians, and allowed the interests of a lobby to dominate its agenda. Former NDP Leader Ed Broadbent wrote "[T]hey are bringing what can only be described, it seems to me, as Middle East politics, directly into the heart of Canadian politics. Never was there such interference before." I would add that this is true for more than just Rights and Democracy.
Indeed, never has there been a time more appropriate for all Canadians to feel and openly express concern for the direction in which their government is heading.
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