{"id":12663,"date":"2015-05-22T00:12:15","date_gmt":"2015-05-22T07:12:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=12663"},"modified":"2015-05-21T12:27:32","modified_gmt":"2015-05-21T19:27:32","slug":"canada-is-not-referee-baird","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2015\/05\/22\/canada-is-not-referee-baird\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada is not referee: Baird"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/b>Canada is not a referee in the game of geopolitics, said John Baird, Canada\u2019s former foreign minister, it\u2019s a player.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
John Baird (photo from Jewish National Fund)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Baird, who will be honored at the Jewish National Fund\u2019s Negev Dinner in Vancouver on June 7, spoke of his admiration for Israel and Canada\u2019s close connections with that country in an interview with the Independent<\/em> Sunday.<\/p>\n

Responding to criticism that Canada has lost its place as a middle power or neutral broker, Baird insisted that is not Canada\u2019s role in the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are a player,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are on the liberal democratic team. We make no apologies for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

He cited the Conservative government\u2019s role opposing Iran\u2019s drive for nuclear weapons and regional dominance. The impact this has had in the Arab world is misunderstood by many Canadians, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur standing in the Arab world today is stronger than it has ever been,\u201d said Baird, speaking from Ottawa. \u201cWhen I was foreign minister, we built good relations with the new government of Egypt, with the government in Iraq, with the UAE, the Saudis, the Bahrainis. We are widely respected among the political leadership. Yes, we have an honest difference of opinion with respect to our position on Israel. But when it comes to the Muslim Brotherhood, when it comes to Hamas, when it comes to Hezbollah, when it comes to Iran\u2019s nuclear program, Iran\u2019s material support for terrorism, when it comes to the Iranian-backed advance in Yemen … Saudi Arabia, Israel, Canada: we all share the same view. That\u2019s not understood very well in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baird said Canada is a world leader on child and maternal health, opposing forced marriages of girls, and supporting the rights of sexual minorities. Opponents of the government may have difficulty squaring their ideas of how a Conservative administration should behave with the record of the current Canadian government on issues of gender and sexual equality, but Baird says, \u201cLook at the facts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPrime Minister [Stephen] Harper personally has championed child and maternal health,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen record investments not just in Canada but around the world because of his leadership. If you look at the leadership that I undertook with respect to young girls being forced into marriage, we became a leader in that. Canada followed the United Kingdom\u2019s lead on sexual violence in conflict, not just on policy but on programming. When you look at [United Nations\u2019 projects supporting] women, peace and security, we\u2019ve taken a big role in North Africa. So, if you look at the facts, it\u2019s undeniable, particularly on the issue of women and girls. The Day of the Girl resolution was championed by Canada at the UN.\u201d<\/p>\n

Advancing the rights of women worldwide is both a human rights matter and a determinant of societal health, Baird said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s in our own interest to do so,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not just about human rights. The stronger role that women can play in government, in parliament, in civil society, the more we can combat extremism and promote pluralism.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reminded of a comment he made several years ago that, were he to leave politics he would probably go work on a kibbutz in Israel, Baird explained his respect for the Jewish state.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just have a passion for Israel, for its people, its culture, its history,\u201d Baird said. \u201cFor everything the Jewish people have accomplished in the last 67 years. It\u2019s really remarkable.\u201d<\/p>\n

What the Jewish people have built from the ashes of the Holocaust, he said, is admirable.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe strength and ingenuity of the Jewish people, what they\u2019ve accomplished in science, technology, agriculture, the huge history, it\u2019s a remarkable accomplishment. What they\u2019ve accomplished politically \u2013 a liberal democratic state in a pretty dangerous part of the world. The values that underpin the state of Israel, it\u2019s just a remarkable, remarkable achievement.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Canada\u2019s foreign policy, particularly under Baird, has turned Canada into what is frequently called Israel\u2019s best friend in the world, the global attitude toward\u00a0Israel remains highly negative,\u00a0Baird acknowledged.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe see far too much moral relativism,\u201d he said. \u201cIt has stunned me the amount of criticism that Israel gets in so many international arenas, whether it\u2019s the UN in New York or in Geneva … the UN Human Rights Council … others. On occasion it can be disappointing. It can be difficult to stand up against the rest of the crowd but it\u2019s important to do what\u2019s right. Canadians can be very proud that their government\u2019s taken the path less traveled. We\u2019ve never been afraid to stand up and support our liberal democratic friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

The former minister, who left politics earlier this year, speculated on where the animosity toward Israel comes from.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think everyone who is against Israel is an antisemite,\u201d he said. \u201cBut all antisemites are against Israel. I have great concern that we\u2019ve seen, instead of people targeting the individual Jew, they\u2019re targeting the collective Jew, the Jewish state. These things cause us great concern.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although he is moving into the private sector \u2013 he is working as a member of Barrick Gold\u2019s advisory board and last week was elected to the board of Canadian Pacific \u2013 Baird promises to continue to be an outspoken supporter of Israel and a critic of Iran\u2019s nuclear program and its support for terrorism.<\/p>\n

Asked if he might return to public life as a candidate for the Conservative leadership when Harper retires, Baird deflected the idea with a flat \u201cno\u201d and refused, with a laugh, to elaborate.<\/p>\n

Ilan Pilo, shaliach and executive director of Jewish National Fund, Pacific region, called Baird \u201ca man of integrity and a true friend to Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJNF is grateful to honor him for his leadership on the world stage, for years of devoted service to the citizens of Canada, his dedication to the Jews of Canada and to the state of Israel,\u201d said Pilo. \u201cThanks to Baird\u2019s outstanding leadership, Canada has become Israel\u2019s most unwavering ally.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baird returned the compliment.<\/p>\n

\u201cCanadian supporters of JNF can be very proud of the work they\u2019ve done over the years,\u201d said Baird.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s Negev Dinner, which takes place at the Four Seasons Hotel, supports a project in the city of Sderot, adjacent the Gaza Strip. The city has been under bombardment by Hamas missiles for the last several years. The park and fitness facility will enhance life for the citizens and provide a \u201cgreen lung\u201d for the city.<\/p>\n

Pat Johnson<\/strong> is a Vancouver writer and principal in PRsuasiveMedia.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Canada is not a referee in the game of geopolitics, said John Baird, Canada\u2019s former foreign minister, it\u2019s a player. Baird, who will be honored at the Jewish National Fund\u2019s Negev Dinner in Vancouver on June 7, spoke of his admiration for Israel and Canada\u2019s close connections with that country in an interview with the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[66,4330,59,60,2297,61],"class_list":["post-12663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local","tag-ilan-pilo","tag-israel","tag-jewish-national-fund","tag-jnf","tag-john-baird","tag-negev-dinner"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12663"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12663\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}