On Baird and Bali

So just where does Canada stand in the eyes of the nations now gathered at Bali? Tony Burman at CBC has an interesting perspective:

"Canada is attending the Bali conference not long after two developments placed an uncomfortable spotlight on Canada’s official hypocrisy about how to deal with the devastating effects of global warming.Last week, the UN Development Program severely criticized Canada for its failure to address climate change. It described Canada as an “extreme case” of ‘all talk’ and ‘no action’ and noted that Canadians leave the second largest ‘carbon footprint’ per capita in the world after the United States. According to the UN report, it would require nine planets if everyone on Earth had the same footprint.

According to Environment Minister John Baird, Canada has gone to Bali to push for a “constructive” agreement involving all countries, but it is hard to fathom what credibility Canada has left to achieve this. On this issue — and not only this issue — Canada seems more and more isolated on the world stage.

There have been other positions taken recently on international issues by Canada’s Conservative government that have alarmed some of this country’s allies. In addition to the Commonwealth controversy over climate change, Canada was one of only four countries to vote against the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People. It refused to co-sponsor a resolution on a moratorium on the death penalty. There is also still anger throughout the Arab world about Canada’s unqualified support of Israel during its war with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Even though the U.S. Bush Administration is in its final year and has largely been discredited in many parts of the world because of Iraq, there are increasing signs that Canada is becoming closer to the United States on many key issues.