by Todd Gordon
1061 F. Rosales, “Venezuela’s Oswaldo Álvarez Paz Found Guilty of Spreading False Information,” Venezuelanalysis, July 14, 2011. Available online at: http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/6353. Accessed on January 16, 2014.
1062 Foreign Affairs and International Trade, “Minister of State Kent to Visit Venezuela and Bolivia,” Ottawa: Foreign Affairs and International Trade, January 19, 2010.
1063 Personal communication with Eleanor Johnston, February 9, 2010.
1064 Foreign Affairs and International Trade, “Minister Ablonczy Statement on Venezuela’s Presidential Election,” Ottawa: Foreign Affairs and International Trade, October 8, 2012.
1065 T. Pearson, “Another Trade Union Leader Murdered in Aragua State,” Venezuelanalysis, April 28, 2010. Available online at: http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/5314. Accessed on April 29, 2010.
1066 Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, 1st Session, 41st Parliament, Ottawa: April 18, 2013, l. 1355.
1067 K. Carlson, “Death of a revolutionary,” Globe and Mail, March 6, 2013, pp. A1, A10.
1068 Globe and Mail, “The polarizing appeal of Chavez (sic),” Globe and Mail, March 6, 2013, p. A8.
1069 Ibid.
1070 Globe and Mail, “Chavez’s (sic) gifts failed to serve democracy,” Globe and Mail, March 6, 2013, p. A14.
1071 G. Saunders, “Hugo Chavez (sic) had nothing to do with South America’s real revolution,” Globe and Mail, March 14, 2013. Available online at: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/doug-saunders-hugo-chavez-had-nothing-to-do-with-south-americas-real-revolution/article9552917/. Accessed on June 14, 2013. Bizarrely, the article, which contrasts Chávez’s “socialism” with social democracy in the region, in particular Brazil’s, lumps Argentina with Venezuela.
1072 N. Vanderklippe, “Chavez’s death opens door to Venezuela’s oil riches,” Globe and Mail, March 6, 2013, p. B1.
1073 Toronto Star, “Star stories on Venezuela lacked balance, panel rules,” Toronto Star, March 13, 2007. Available online at: http://www.thestar.com/news/2007/03/13/star_stories_on_venezuela_lacked_balance_panel_rules.html. Accessed on June 14, 2013.
1074 O. Ross, “If you thought Chavez (sic) was bad,” Toronto Star, March 10, 2013, p. A3.
1075 Foreign Affairs and International Trade, “Canada Congratulates Venezuelans, Calls for Calm and Peaceful Resolution,” Ottawa: Foreign Affairs and International Trade, April 17, 2013.
1076 M. Weisbrot, “Venezuela’s Post-Election Campaign: Pots and Pans and Uncle Sam Weren’t Enough This Time,” Washington: Centre for Economic Policy Research, April 22, 2013; Centre for Economic Policy Research, “Venezuelan Audit Can’t Find Any Different Result in Presidential Election, Statistical Analysis Shows,” Washington: Centre for Economic Policy Research, April 26, 2013.
1077 See W.I. Robinson, Promoting Polyarchy: Globalization, U.S. Intervention, and Hegemony, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
1078 Democracy promotion and the promotion of human rights are often used interchangeably in foreign policy circles in Canada as well as media representations of these activities.
1079 Many of these projects were funded through Foreign Affairs’s Glyn Berry Fund, which had a page with a list of spending initiatives at the old FAIT website. More recent projects can be found at Foreign Affairs’s “Proactive Disclosure” link. Canadian spending on demcoracy promotion was also done through CIDA until the Harper Conservatives decided to concentrate it—so as to be able to better strategically coordinate it—within Foreign Affairs.
1080 Y. Engler, “Canada Attempts to Undermine Democracy in Venezuela,” Dissident Voice, December 13, 2010. Available online at: http://dissidentvoice.org/2010/12/canada-attempts-to-undermine-democracy-in-venezuela/. Accessed on December 14, 2010.
1081 Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Global Peace and Security Fund, “Bringing a Citizen Focus into the Functioning of Legislatures,” Ottawa: Foreign Affairs and International Trade, 2007, Access to Information, file A-2010-01201.
1082 P. Kent, “Notes for an Address by the Honourable Peter Kent, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs (Americas) Keynote Address to the Experts’ Dialogue on Canada’s Engagement in the Americas,” Ottawa: Foreign Afairs and International Trade, February 25, 2009.
1083 N. Burron, “Reconfiguring Canadian democracy promotion,” International Journal, Spring, 2011, p. 392. Cameron and Hecht argue that Canadian democracy support policy in the Americas in the 1990s was framed by an understanding that democracy and the free market model of development are co-terminous. Burron argues that the more explicitly instrumentalist turn in Canadian democracy promotion came about in the early 2000s. We agree with that, and add that its importance—including money spent and its elevation in discussion in embassies and Ottawa regarding strategic intervention in select Latin American countries—grew through the 2000s, with the Harper Conservatives picking up and extending where Liberal governments left off. See M. Cameron and C. Hecht, “Canada’s Engagement With Democracies in the Americas,” Canadian Foreign Policy, 14, 3, 2008, pp. 11–28.
1084 Latulippe is quoted in L. Berthiaume, “Leading the change at Rights and Democracy,” Embassy, September 22, 2010, p. 4.
1085 Contributions to the Commission can be found in “Financial Resources” at www.oas.org. Accessed on May 24, 2013. The Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights produced a report in May 2003 which discusses the Canadian government’s reasons for not ratifying the Convention, which revolve around its incompatibility with Canadian and other international law. The Senate report quotes former Liberal minister, Lloyd Axworthy, who described the Convention as “vague” and “outdated.” The report argues, however, that Canada could sign on to the Convention while easily addressing those concerns regarding compatibility. The Standing Committee on Human Rights, Enhancing Canada’s Role in the OAS: Canadian Adherence to the American Convention on Human Rights, Ottawa, May 2003. Available online at: http://www.parl.gc.ca/content/sen/committee/372/huma/rep/rep04may03-e.htm. Accessed on May 24, 2013.
1086 See, for example, the relevant study of the now defunct Rights and Democracy. Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, 3rd Session, 40th Parliament, April 15, 2010. This position is also echoed in the Committee’s 2012 report on human rights in Venezuela.
1087 M. Morin and L. Edwards, Mandate Letter to Perry Calderwood.
1088 Canadian Embassy in Caracas, “Country Strategy—Venezuela 2006–07.”
1089 Canadian Embassy in Caracas, “Country Strategy—Venezuela 2007–08.”
1090 Foreign Affairs and International Trade, “Minister of State Kent to Visit Venezuela and Bolivia,” Ottawa: Foreign Affairs and International Trade, January 19, 2010.
1091 P. Kent, “Special Meeting of the Permanent Council to Welcome the Honourable Peter Kent, Minister of State of Foreign Affairs of Canada,” Washington: OAS, November 10, 2010. Available online at: www.oas.org. Accessed on November 21, 2010.
1092 C. Prefontaine, “Report re. laws,” Caracas: Canadian Embassy, January 25, 2011, and K. Duguid, “Report from Demarches,” Ottawa: Foreign Affairs and International Trade, January 11, 2011, both from Access to Information, file A-2010-01863.
1093 Associated Press, “Venezuelan national assembly bars foreign funding for NGOs,” Guardian, December 22, 2010. Available online at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/22/venezuela-chavez-ngo-foreign-funding. Accessed on January 5, 2011.
1094 Canadian Embassy in Caracas, “Country Strategy—Venezuela 2008–09.” The law was also discussed by CIDA officials, in whose budget the CFLI is covered, but the documents on this are redacted entirely.
1095 Both quotes are from A. Fenton, “The Revolution Will Not Be Destabilized,” Dominion, April 3, 2009. Available online at: http://www.dominionpaper.ca/articles/2557. Accessed on May 1, 20
09.
1096 Gordon, Imperialist Canada, p. 375.
1097 Canada Fund for Local Initiatives project lists are from Access to Information-CIDA, files A-2008-00156 and A-2010-00197. CFLI is mentioned in CIDA’s project browser but almost no information is given beyond the spending amount. Canadian aid to Venezulea is found in the annual reports at www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/reports.
1098 Engler, “Canada Attempts to Undermine Democracy in Venezuela.”
1099 E. Golinger, “NED Report: International Agencies fund Venezuelan opposition with $40–50 million annually,” Znet, June 22, 2010. Available online at: www.zcommunications.org. Accessed on June 22, 2010. The report highlights the potentially important role that Canada can play in Venezuela in place of the U.S., whose presence draws negative attention given its history of intervention in the region and open hostility to Chávez. Canada’s “neutrality” serves democracy promotion well; “due to its silent diplomacy, Canada has not yet been targeted by the Chávez government.” S .Gratius, “Assessing Democracy Assistance: Venezuela,” (Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el diálogo Exterior [FRIDE: Foundation for International Relations and Foreign Dialogue, May 2010) p. 8. However, Canada’s engagement clearly is not neutral, as we argue, nor has it been very silent under the Harper government, as we discuss in this chapter.
1100 Canada, “Government Response to the Third Report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development Entitled ‘The Situation of Human Rights in Venezuela,’” Ottawa: Canada, October 18, 2012. Available online at: http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=5763305&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=41&Ses=1. Accessed on October 26, 2012.
1101 El Comercio, “Correa: No aceptamos negociar nada,” El Comercio, October 1, 2010. Available online at: http://www.elcomercio.com/politica/Correa-aceptamos-negociar_0_345565468.html. Accessed on January 8, 2014.
1102 For one brief account of the day’s events see BBC, “Ecuador Declares State of Emergency Amid ‘Coup Attempt,’” October 1, 2010. Available online at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11447519. Accessed on January 8, 2014.
1103 El Comercio, “La OEA, la ONU y los gobiernos amigos apoyaron al Presidente,” El Comercio, October 1, 2010. Available online at: http://www.elcomercio.com/politica/OEA-ONU-gobiernos-apoyaron-Presidente_0_345565495.html. Accessed on January 8, 2014.
1104 Kent quoted in Foreign Affairs and International Trade, “Canada Expresses Concern Over Unrest in Ecuador,” (Ottawa: Foreign Affairs and International Trade, September 30, 2010).
1105 Allan Culham quoted in OAS, Report of the Secretary General to the Permanent Council on His Visit to Ecuador, Organization of American States, October 6, 2010. Available online at: www.oas.org. Accessed on October 12, 2010.
1106 A. Shisko, “Ecuador sitrep,” Quito: Canadian Embassy, October 3, 2010, Access to Information, file A-2010-01363.
1107 A. Shisko, “Réunion régionale sur l’Unité andine pour la gouvernance démocratique,” Quito: Canadian Embassy, October 7, 2010, Access to Information, file A-2010-01363.
1108 Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Disclosure of Grant and Contribution Awards Over $25,000, “Corporacion Participacion Ciudadana.” Available online at: www.international.gc.ca. Accessed on January 1, 2016.
1109 A. Shisko, “RE: For your review and approval,” Quito: Canadian Embassy, January 6, 2011, Access to Information, file A-2011-01180.
1110 Corporacion Participación Ciudadana, Project Concept Paper—“Strengthening Ecuadorian Civil Society Through Empowering Citizen Participation,” Quito: Corporacion Participación Ciudadana, 2010, Access to Information, file A-2011-01180. The groups participating in the project’s workshops are not identified; the embassy describes them as “grassroots” and representing “diverse interests.” M. McGuire, “AUDG Program Report—Strengthening Civil Society by Empowering Citizen Participation,” Quito: Canadian Embassy, May 17, 2011, Access to Information, file A-2011-01180.
1111 Author unknown, “Update on the Situation in Ecuador,” Embassy in Quito: specific date uknown, 2008, Access to Information, file A-2008-00052.
1112 National Endowment for Democracy, “Interim Project Report,” Washington: National Endowment for Democracy, July 15, 2009, Access to Information, file A-2010-01636.
1113 Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Disclosure of Grant and Contribution Awards Over $25,000, “Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy.” Available online at: www.international.gc.ca. Accessed on January 1, 2016.
1114 Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy, Global Peace and Security Fund Project Proposal Sheet, Ottawa: Foreign Affairs and International Trade, August 29, 2008, Access to Information, file A-2010-01635.
1115 Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy, Global Peace and Security Fund Project Proposal Sheet, Ottawa: Foreign Affairs and International Trade, December 8, 2008, Access to Information, file A-2010-01635.
1116 Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy, Global Peace and Security Fund Project Proposal Sheet, Ottawa: Foreign Affairs and International Trade, August 29, 2008.
1117 Turnout percentages are from http://www.idea.int/vt/countryview.cfm?id=67. Accessed on February 18, 2013. The NIMD proposal is quoted in Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy, Global Peace and Security Fund Project Proposal Sheet, Ottawa: Foreign Affairs and International Trade, specific date unknown, 2009, Access to Information, file A-2011-00574.
1118 A. Shisko, “Pre-DPAT consultation: concept paper by the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy,” Quito: Canadian Embassy, September 20, 2010, Access to Information, file A-2011-00574.
1119 Revil, Utting, and Rivera, “Andean Brief,” Ottawa: Foreign Affairs and International Trade, date unknown, Access to Information, file A-2010-00547.
1120 Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Disclosure of Grant and Contribution Awards Over $25,000, “Asociación Civil Transparencia.” Available online at: www.international.gc.ca. Accessed on August 17, 2011.
1121 Foreign Affairs and International Trade, “Opening of Andean Unit for Democratic Governance,” Ottawa: Foreign Affairs and International Trade, date unknown, Access to Information, file A-2010-00548. A report on a workshop run through the Andean Unit involving embassy officials from Peru, Venezuela, and Ecuador as well as civil society representatives from the region was heavily redacted.
1122 B. Fernández, “The Islamo-Bolivarian threat,” Al Jazeera, August 17, 2011. Available online at: http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/08/2011810104313405606.html. Accessed on August 17, 2011; E. Goliner, The Chávez Code: Cracking U.S. Intervention in Venezuela, London: Pluto Press, 2007.
1123 Author unknown, “Venezuela.”
1124 Ibid.
1125 Canadian Embassy in Bogotá, Country Strategy, 2006–07, Bogotá: Canadian Embassy, 2006, Access to Information, file 2010-02394.
1126 Harper is quoted in M.A. O’Grady, “A Resolute Ally in the War on Terror,” Wall Street Journal, February 28, 2009. Available online at: http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123578347494598289. Accessed on March 1, 2009.
1127 S. Brison, Hansard, 40th Parliament, 2nd Session, Number 080, September 14, 2009.
1128 Documents relating to Morin’s trip are from Access to Information-Privy Council Office, file A-2012-00269.
1129 Office of the Chief Military Personnel, “Visit Report—RCMP Visit to Colombia—10–12 November 2009,” Ottawa: Department of National Defence, January 16, 2010, Access to Information, file A-2010-00734-DND.
1130 U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, “Canada on 3/17 Ministerial,” Ottawa: U.S. Embassy, March 14, 2008. Available online at: www.semana.com/wikileaks. Accessed on November 17, 2011.
1131 J.R. Webber, “Uribe’s Parting Shot: Colombia and Venezuela Rattle Their Sabres,” The Bullet, August 5, 2010. Available online at: http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/399.php. Accesse
d on March 8, 2015.
1132 Semana, “Canadá y Colombia firman un acuerdo de colaboración militar,” Semana, November 17, 2012. Available online at: http://m.semana.com/nacion/articulo/canada-colombia-firman-acuerdo-colaboracion-militar/268024-3. Accessed on March 21, 2014.
1133 El Nuevo Herald, “Harper discute con Santos seguridad para empresas canadienses,” El Nuevo Herald, August 10, 2011. Available online at: http://www.elnuevoherald.com/2011/08/10/1001003/harper-discute-con-santos-seguridad.html. Accessed on August 10, 2011.
1134 Gordon, Imperialist Canada, p. 371.
1135 The Canadian government is quoted in M. Blanchfield, “Canada quietly loosens limits on assault-weapon exports to Colombia,” Globe and Mail, January 2, 2013. Available online at: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/canada-quietly-loosens-limits-on-assault-weapon-exports-to-colombia/article6861525/. Accessed on January 3, 2013; L. Berthiaume, “Conservative government looking to bolster Canada’s arms trade with developing countries,” Calgary Herald, July 24, 2013. Available online at: www.calgaryherald.com. Accessed on August 14, 2013.
1136 Daily Markets, “General Dynamics Awarded $65 Million by the Colombian Ministry of National Defence For Light Armoured Vehicles,” Daily Markets, January 10, 2013. Available online at: www.dailymarkets.com. Accessed on January 10, 2013.
1137 Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada, “Canada Enhances Security in Colombia,” Bogotá: Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada, August 1, 2013.
1138 Canadian special forces were in fact sent to Peru in 1996 in response to a Tupac Amaru assault on the Japanese ambassador’s residence that led to a hostage taking of several hundred people. The special forces were sent as part of a Canadian strategy to negotiate safe passage to Cuba with the guerrillas. Special forces were planning to assault the guerrillas during the passage. The assault never happened as the negotiations broke down.
