The bullying of a nation
Dear Editor,
Publicly, the second Donald Trump Administration is particularly eager to place 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian imports.
Once again the school bully analogy is befitting. Notably, he will look weak if he fails to unilaterally intimidate and/or exploit the relatively weak(er) nations that resist his skewed concept of equality. Furthermore, the school bully is especially angered by the relative weakling who in the least stands up to him. And this, unfortunately, goes beyond the US.
I’ve noticed a particular irritation expressed by the governments of China and, increasingly, India when the Canadian Government dared to politically challenge them, even on reasonable grounds.
Most recently, Canada dealt somewhat firmly with India’s Government after Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a prominent Canadian Sikh separatist, was assassinated in Surrey, British Colombia, last year. Undoubtedly already aware of the diplomatic furore likely to come, even at our expense, an investigation nonetheless resulted in Canada charging three Indian nationals for the killing.
Besides a few other examples, China seemed particularly angered by a relatively “weak” Canada arresting, in 2018, Meng Wanzhou, the Huawei executive and daughter of the tech corporation’s founder. Considering that a US arrest warrant obligated Canada to detain her, why didn’t Beijing publicly express similar bluster towards Washington and, most notably, the Trump Administration?
Perhaps such nations’ governments are feeling and expressing a growing sense of foreign relations and power politics entitlement involving Canada, one which we’re expected to simply get used to?
Frank Sterle Jr
fgsjr2013@gmail.com