‘He’s inviting NATO to join the war into Russia,’ says former NDP leader and Chomedey MNA
Tom Mulcair, who came closer in 2015 than most Canadians ever will to becoming Canada’s Prime Minister, lashed out at the country’s embattled current PM when he told a gathering of lawyers and law students last month at Concordia University that Justin Trudeau’s suggestion to world leaders – that they arm Ukraine with missiles to penetrate deep into Russia – was “as unthinking as it is dangerous.”
In an address on Canada’s Role on the World Stage as part of the Jurist-in-Residence program at Concordia’s downtown campus, the former NDP leader, former Quebec Liberal cabinet minister and ex-MNA for Chomedey raised questions about Trudeau’s understanding of diplomacy and international relations.
Trudeau ‘incredibly irresponsible’
While Mulcair suggested that “there are times when a more thoughtful, independent Canadian foreign policy could be very helpful,” he said that Justin Trudeau instead repeated the statements he made a few days later.
“What does it mean for Mr. Trudeau to be saying that Ukraine should be using weapons supplied by NATO to fire deep into Russia? If not, then he’s inviting NATO to join the war into Russia. Is that responsible?”
Answering questions, Mulcair added, “I don’t take it seriously when Mr. Trudeau says he doesn’t see any problem with Ukraine using NATO weapons to fire deep into Russia. I just find it so incredibly irresponsible.”
Sees Canada as peacemaker
Alluding to “NATO’s behavior since the fall of the Soviet Union,” while adding that “Russia today has its own security concerns that we chose to ignore and in fact dismiss,” Mulcair insisted nonetheless that Canada “has correctly chosen to support Ukraine since the [Russian] invasion… But Canada could play a significant role in helping shape the rules that would govern the peace that will inevitably follow the end of that tragic war.”
Clarifying his position on this point, he said later, “I think if there were cooler heads out there saying ‘can we just look at our own behavior here,’ and if we create a system where a wounded Russian bear continues to sense that on its own it doesn’t have security and NATO is not only dismissing it, but just completely just completely ignoring it, I think we’re paying a heavy price … without in any way trying to justify it or soft-pedal with the horrors that Putin and his regime have brought since then.”
Trudeau’s immigration policy
Addressing Canada’s growing immigration concerns, Mulcair said he thought it was wrong for Trudeau to seize upon a plan initially promoted by former McKinsey and Co. managing partner Dominic Barton (who became Canada’s ambassador to China) to have a population of 100 million Canadians by the end of this century, “without at the same time doing his basic leg work,” added Mulcair.
“You know, it’s the basic work of government to plan these things. And the backlash that you’re feeling now, that a lot of immigrants are feeling especially in Quebec, is the result of that lack of proper execution of a plan.”
Rules of peace, not war
Referring to a lengthy U.S. Department of Defense publication known as the Law of War Manual, Mulcair said that in light of the many current conflicts around the world, it serves as a reminder that legal rules aren’t enough to safeguard the world from the impacts of war.
He concluded by suggesting that rather than have rules for the conduct of war, we should have an equivalent code that aims for peace. “Peace has to be the ultimate purpose of international law, and Canada can and should be playing a much larger and more positive role,” said Mulcair.
