Paris: What question would you ask Minister of Foreign Affairs John Baird?

By:
Erna Paris
/
14 May, 2012
By: Erna Paris
Award-winning author, journalist, and historian

Would the minister please tell Canadians why his party has abandonned Canada’s historically balanced response to the Israel-Palestine conflict in favour of blatant pro-Israel favouritism? In addition to discrediting Canada’s reputation for fair practice internationally, this skewed policy also endangers our domestic history of Multiculturalism by raising the perceived interests of one group of Canadians over others.

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Journalism in Canada has suffered a devastating decline over the last two decades. Dozens of newspapers and outlets have shuttered. Remaining newsrooms are smaller. Nowhere is this erosion more acute than in the coverage of foreign policy and international news. It’s expensive, and Canadians, oceans away from most international upheavals, pay the outside world comparatively little attention.

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