JUNE 2021

The painful legacy of residential schools in Canada: ANGRY? GOOD! Now let’s get to work improving the lives of Indigenous peoples

Also INSIDE: Politics around Taiwan is more Worry about A pandemic of pipelines than a “question” government debt cancelled care 1 PublishedPublished by by the the Macdonald-Laurier Macdonald-Laurier Institute Institute

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Sears Duanjie Chen Martha Hall Findlay Meredith MacDonald Mike Priaro Michael ChongLauraLauraLaura Dawson Dawson Dawson Chrystia FreelandJaniceJaniceJanice MacKinnon MacKinnon MacKinnonJanice MacKinnon MunirMunirMunir SheikhRichard Sheikh Sheikh Remillard Dan Ciuriak Sharleen Gale Velma McColl Kaveh Shahrooz Scott ClarkGuyGuy GuyGiorno Giorno Giorno Stephen Greene LindaLindaLinda Nazareth Nazareth NazarethDavid McDonough AlexAlex WilnerAlex WilnerTheresa Wilner Tait-Day Ken Coates Stanley Hartt Shuvaloy Majumdar John Thompson StephenStephenStephen Greene Greene Greene GeoffGeoffGeoff NorquayNorquay Norquay Celine Cooper Carin Holroyd Paul Martin Gil Troy Philip Cross Dean Karalekas Peter Menzies Michael Watts Past contributors: Mary-Jane Bennett, Carolyn Bennett, Massimo Bergamini, Ken Boessenkool, Brian Bohunicky, Scott Brison, PastPast contributors: contributors:Laura Dawson Mary-Jane Mary-Jane Bennett, Bennett, CarolynPaul Carolyn Kennedy Bennett, Bennett, Massimo Massimo Bergamini, Bergamini,Ted Menzies Ken Ken Boessenkool, Boessenkool, Brian BrianShawn Bohunicky, Bohunicky, Whatley Scott Scott Brison, Brison, Derek Burney, Catherine Cano, Dan Ciuriak, Scott Clark, Philip Cross, Celine Cooper, Peter DeVries, Don Drummond, John Duffy, DerekDerek Burney, Burney, Catherine Catherine Cano, Cano, Dan Dan Ciuriak, Ciuriak, Scott Scott Clark, Clark, Philip Philip Cross, Cross, Celine Celine Cooper, Cooper, Peter Peter DeVries, DeVries, Don Don Drummond, Drummond, John John Duffy, Duffy, Patrice Dutil, Joseph Fantino, Daniel Gagnier, Brad Lavigne, Tasha Kheiriddin, Jeremy Kinsman, Steven Langdon, Velma McColl, PatricePatriceCover Dutil, Dutil, photo: Joseph Joseph GoToVan Fantino, Fantino, viaDaniel Danielwikimedia Gagnier, Gagnier, commons; Brad Brad Lavigne, Lavigne,collectionscanada.gc.ca Tasha Tasha Kheiriddin, Kheiriddin, | JeremyMIKAN Jeremy Kinsman, 3194929, Kinsman, Steven 3625046 Steven Langdon, Langdon, via Flickr Velma Velma (LAC) McColl, McColl, Ted Menzies, Robert P. 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insidepolicyinsidepolicy [march].indd [march].indd 2 2 14-04-0114-04-01 10:00 10:00 AM AM From the editors Contents

4 Line 5 and Colonial reveal much about politicians he recent news and ensuing conversations about the remains and pipelines Jeff Kucharski Tof hundreds of Indigenous children who were buried around Conservatives have much to answer for. residential schools has touched a raw nerve in this country, and rightly 6 Voting against M-103 is not on the list so. Many people understandably feel both anger and shame at these Kaveh Shahrooz terrible revelations. Yet such emotions, by themselves, are not enough. As detailed in our cover feature by Ken Coates, greater self- 8 Finding a new path forward driven by Indigenous people Ken S. Coates governance would put Indigenous communities in a position to better determine and protect their own needs and destinies. Indigenous 11 A letter from an intergenerational survivor empowerment would represent the real solution to the abject failure of Chris Sankey decades of government policy. 14 Cancelling John A. Macdonald will do little to help Also, as part of the cover feature, Chris Sankey offers a deeply Indigenous people personal account of his own experience as an intergenerational Melissa Mbarki survivor of residential schools, Melissa Mbarki notes that tearing 16 Egerton Ryerson is being misjudged down statues is a gesture that only further divides people and breeds Patrice Dutil and Ron Stagg Patrice Dutil Ron Stagg racism, and and come to the defence of 18 Give Indigenous peoples the power to return Egerton Ryerson, who would’ve been horrified at the abuses and children’s remains to families cruelties of residential schools. Lastly, Todd Hataley and Christian Todd Hataley and Christian Leuprecht Leuprecht suggest Indigenous peoples could take control of genetic 19 We should be worried about government debt material found at these mass graves. Philip Cross Of course, to help facilitate Indigenous empowerment, 20 Not all of Canada’s creative communities benefit governments must also do their part by not adding economic from Bill C-10 roadblocks when it comes to the natural resource economy – a point Peter Menzies raised by Jeff Kucharski. 21 How much did patients really suffer from the Meanwhile, Shawn Whatley looks at the impact of cancelled care pandemic of cancelled care? during the pandemic, while Christian Leuprecht offers suggestions Shawn Whatley on how to tackle harassment and discrimination in the Canadian 22 A new approach to military accountability Armed Forces. Christian Leuprecht According to Philip Cross, public debt represents a burden that should not be casually dismissed. Meanwhile, Kaveh Shahrooz 24 Hong Kong’s autonomy has been tragically destroyed comments on the M-103 “Islamophobia motion” in light of the Nathan Law and Ai-Men Lau tragic deaths of members of the Afzaal family in London, and Peter Menzies explores the implications of Bill C-10 on Canada’s creative 26 Wishful thinking is no substitute for strategy with China and Russia communities. Balkan Devlen Despite these domestic challenges, Canada also faces an increasingly uncertain international environment. As Balkan Devlen 28 Taiwan is more than a mere “question” notes, Canada needs to formulate a response to countries like J. Michael Cole authoritarian China. This includes Beijing’s ongoing efforts to destroy 29 US pipeline hack and concerns about Canadian Hong Kong’s autonomy and its threat to annex Taiwan – issues cyber security that Nathan Law and Ai-Men Lau as well as J. Michael Cole have Marcus Kolga highlighted, respectively. 31 Freedom for Iranians from a brutal regime should The issue concludes with Marcus Kolga raising concerns over cyber eclipse the nuclear issue attacks against our critical infrastructure, Mariam Memarsadeghi Mariam Memarsadeghi reminding us that we need to help Iranians secure their liberty, and 33 Canada should lead on Magnitsky sanctions Maria Reisdorf and Sarah Teich suggesting the need to apply over Tigray Magnitsky sanctions over Tigray. Maria Reisdorf and Sarah Teich

INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute 3 ENERGY Line 5 and Colonial reveal much about politicians and pipelines

Politicians will buy the green lobby’s simplistic solutions until their own constituents’ energy needs and jobs are affected.

Jeff Kucharski

he attempted shut down of the vital TLine 5 pipeline by the Governor of Michigan illustrates an unfortunate

imbalance in the public discourse iStock surrounding energy and the environment. Mackinaw City, Michigan, US – Exterior of Enbridge Inc. oil pump station at the Straits of This discourse has become toxic and Mackinaw. polarized. I call it “unbalanced energy discourse syndrome (UED).” Rather than a physiological disease, UED is an imbalance in the body politic. It is characterized by political rhetoric that promotes radical, one-dimensional environmental “solutions” to solve multi- dimensional energy system problems. Unfortunately, UED produces side effects and life-altering consequences including economic pain, suffering from job loss and the risk that communities will die a slow death. The Line 5 pipeline supplies crude

oil and natural gas liquids from Western iStock Canada to Michigan and finally to Sarnia, Traffic snakes around one of the few gas stations in North Carolina, USA with fuel reserves Ontario. The pipeline accounts for 53 remaining. This took place after after a cyber attack on the Colonial Pipeline May 13, 2021, sent panicked drivers scrambling for gas. percent of Ontario’s crude oil supplies and more than half of the propane used by Michigan and Quebec. Yet the Governor thousands of people, both in Canada and an impending climate “catastrophe,” of Michigan is now attempting to cancel the US, to score political points with the “cataclysm” or “emergency” are being this 68-year-old pipeline that has operated green lobby. unnecessarily alarmist, thereby raising safely over the same period. In so doing, Our current political narratives are unrealistic expectations that justify she is willing to sacrifice the energy partially to blame for this syndrome. extreme measures. Since pipelines have security, jobs and economic wellbeing of Politicians and others who warn of now become the iconic soft target for

4 INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute some environmental activists, we have These two pipeline events clearly down all the pipelines because we need to witnessed illegal protests over the Trans demonstrate that we cannot magically address the “climate emergency.” Instead, it Mountain pipeline and now the attempted flick the switch off of fossil fuels and recognizes the need for an orderly transition cancellation of Line 5. simultaneously replace them with clean, to clean energy over the next 30 years. Such rhetoric also serves to promote green renewables. This is because we still The energy industry, scientific literature climate change issues over all others, have the legacy of an energy infrastructure and even the Intergovernmental Panel on overshadowing other urgent and important based on hydrocarbons that took over Climate Change agree that meeting our policy issues and creating an opening for 100 years to construct and upon which climate change goals will take decades. some politicians to take extreme positions the smooth operation of the economy What we need are solutions that that will actually harm the energy still depends. Serious technological and don’t devastate communities, disrupt transition, not to mention cause backlash economic hurdles also remain in our the economy and result in overnight job and societal division as side effects. ability to deliver affordable and constantly losses. That means continuing to operate The US green lobby risks its credibility available clean energy alternatives. pipelines (which are demonstrably safer as a result of increasing radicalism and its Yet this obvious fact never seems to get than the alternatives) so that we can own internal contradictions. On the one in the way of those activists and politicians maintain energy security, energy access hand, there is the Governor of Michigan who want to outcompete each other to and affordability, while at the same time

What we need are solutions that don’t devastate communities, disrupt the economy and result in overnight job losses.

demanding the immediate closure of a look greener than everyone else. making the investments required to achieve pipeline that is the lifeblood of Sarnia, The cure for UED is for advocates to a green economy. That includes gradually Ontario and critical to regional supplies stop promoting simplistic solutions and building new infrastructure and systems, of propane. At the same time, the Biden catchy environmental slogans and instead and making investments in retraining and administration has scrambled to help support a more balanced and informed skills development to smooth the eventual restart the Colonial pipeline after it was public discourse on energy. Countries replacement of fossil fuels with cleaner shut down by a ransomware group. Two can only maintain prosperity and reach alternatives. important pipelines, one very great irony. their climate change goals by balancing The green lobby risks a public backlash The Line 5 pipeline mainly affects the elements of what has been described by supporting radical non-solutions like Canadians, so who cares about them? by the World Energy Council as the the one the Governor of Michigan is But the Colonial pipeline affects gasoline “energy trilemma”: energy security, energy trying to coerce. Any unthinking climate availability for millions of American equity (affordability and access) and do-gooder can hold up a sign saying, voters. Guess which fossil fuel pipeline environmental sustainability. These goals “Retire Enbridge Line 5.” It takes a lot is more important to US politicians? The are also reflected in the widely accepted more careful thought and forward thinking point is, when it is politically convenient UN Sustainable Development Goals. to try to balance the needs of today with to use fossil fuel pipelines to score This implies a gradual transition to a the vision to plot a realistic and sustainable points to buttress their environmental clean energy economy by the year 2050. The path forward. Sadly, much of this kind of credentials, politicians consider them keyword here is “transition.” A transition thinking is lacking in the energy policy expendable. But when it’s not convenient, does not imply a revolution to achieve discourse today. especially when voters can’t find gasoline some utopian scheme where 100 percent and have to pay skyrocketing prices, well renewables replace the electricity grid Jeff Kucharski is an energy policy specialist and that’s different. virtually overnight. Neither is it shutting researcher, and a senior fellow at MLI.

INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute 5 ISLAMAPHOBIA IN CANADA Conservatives have much to answer for. Voting against M-103 is not on the list.

Following the tragic deaths of members of the Afzaal family in London, we should remember that M-103 provided no protection to that family but set the stage for an encroachment on our rights.

Kaveh Shahrooz

he killing of four members of the TAfzaal family in London, Ontario recently was the most heinous of crimes. If the facts are as the police allege, the accused appears to have been motivated by hatred. And he directed his murderous hate at a beautiful and innocent family. He should face the full wrath of the law without mercy. No “but.” No “maybe.” No decent person should equivocate in giving this crime the condemnation it deserves. Nor should anyone hesitate to grieve macdonaldlaurier.ca alongside Canada’s Muslim community. Alas, politics pauses for nothing, even a national tragedy. And so, in the midst for the 91 MPs who voted against the of grief, there are already voices using the motion to apologize. The Toronto Star ran a killings to score points against (mostly lengthy piece on whether condolences from right-leaning) politicians who did not vote No decent person Conservative and Bloc MPs “ring hollow” in to adopt M-103, the 2017 “Islamophobia should equivocate in light of their vote. And on Twitter, figures motion,” in Canada’s parliament. with large followings lambasted federal Introduced by Mississauga Liberal Iqra giving this crime the politicians who rejected M-103 and called for Khalid, herself a member of the Muslim condemnation Canadians to vote them out. Moved by the community, the non-binding motion of grief – or, interpreted more cynically, sensing fewer than 200 words became a lightning it deserves. the shifting political winds – Conservative rod. It asked for the government to condemn MP Michelle Rempel Garner essentially Islamophobia, and for the Standing apologized for her vote against that motion. Committee on Canadian Heritage to study killings, with national mourning and anger Winston Churchill famously said that how government could reduce systemic displacing rational debate, that vote has one should “never let a good crisis go to racism and religious discrimination, taken on new significance. waste.” The adage sounds callous, but it is including Islamophobia. The motion passed “It is difficult to hear someone like smart politics. I do not fault those who see in by a vote of 201 to 91. The motion briefly Erin O’Toole say that ‘Islamophobia has no the London tragedy an opportunity to press became a flashpoint in a broader culture place in this country’ when he voted against an advantage, embarrass their opponents, war, with each side imputing evil motives to M-103,” said the CBC’s Ginella Massa on and advance their policy preferences. Nor the other. Opposition to it came primarily air, as she jettisoned all pretense of non- do I fault them for deliberately ignoring from the Conservatives and some members partisanship and neutrality while being the Liberals’ earlier vote against an almost- of the Bloc Québécois. employed at a taxpayer-funded broadcaster. identical Conservative motion which In the aftermath of the Afzaal family Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown asked condemned “all forms of systemic racism,

6 INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute religious intolerance, and discrimination of It is an obvious point but one that their critiques do not eventually find their Muslims, Jews, Christians, Sikhs, Hindus, needs to be repeated: Islam is not a race way into respectable Western discourse, and other religious communities.” Politics is or ethnicity. It is a set of ideas. And those spend a little time reading the troubling a rough game and capitalizing on a moment ideas are ones with which even many in the 2018 decision by the European Court is par for the course. Islamic world disagree. Many dissenters are of Human Rights that upheld a woman’s But we, the public, need not surrender forced to abide by those ideas at gunpoint. conviction for her “disparagement of our critical faculties just because passion It is their belief that their religious texts religious precepts.” The European court, is running high. So, at the risk of and practices are incompatible with one of the leading human rights courts in being unpopular and out-of-sync with democracy, human rights and gender the world, determined that the woman’s fashionable ideas, let me say that I disagree equality. These reformers or ex-Muslims harsh critiques of the Prophet Muhammad with Ms. Massa, Mr. Brown, Ms. Rempel- often face severe punishment, either at were “beyond the permissible limits of an Garner, and much of the commentariat. the hands of the state or their community. objective debate.” M-103 may have been a well-meaning Whether their position is the correct one is The Conservative Party of Canada motion, but it was a poorly drafted one. not really the point. What is relevant here has much to account for in its treatment And in a liberal democracy, it never should is that, by virtue of their refusal to provide of the Muslim community in recent years have been adopted. a definition of “Islamophobia” and limit – including coddling of extremist fringe-

M-103 may have been a well-meaning motion, but it was a poorly drafted one. And in a liberal democracy, it never should have been adopted.

I do not know what was in the hearts of its application, the Liberals left open the right commentators to the odious barbaric each of the 91 MPs who voted against the possibility that such principled dissent to practices snitch line. However, opposing motion. Did some do so out of prejudice religious doctrine could be captured by an M-103 is not among among those sins. It against Muslims, or wildly inflated worries overbroad term. is not hard to imagine that, in an era where about Sharia coming to Canada? Almost This is not mere conjecture. free speech and other protections are certainly. But, allow me to submit, as a Examples of overbroad application regularly threatened by appeals to identity, person born into the Islamic tradition and of “Islamophobia” abound. Take, for a well-meaning but sloppy effort to protect culture (but who does not practice) that instance, the 2016 decision by the Muslims from hatred could similarly go there are perfectly rational, non-bigoted, Southern Poverty Law Center, a once- off track in Canada, further imperiling and lower-case liberal reasons to have storied anti-racist legal and advocacy already-vulnerable liberal norms. rejected M-103 as well. organization, to list Maajid Nawaz, a We, as Canadians, should grieve for The problem with the motion was mainstream Islamic reformer, in its Field the Afzaal family and their community. always that its key term, Islamophobia, Guide to Anti-Muslim Extremists. That Without a doubt, hatred should be fought. remained undefined. Garnett Genuis, a guide is much relied upon by media and But when the grief subsides and debate Conservative MP and one who is active government agencies, and being placed returns, we should remember that M-103 in helping many of us fighting for human on it is akin to being turfed out of polite provided no protection to that family but rights in the Muslim world, noted this society. It took a lawsuit and a $3.4 set the stage for an encroachment on our during debate. He correctly identified million settlement for the SPLC to agree rights. that “‘Islamophobia’ can be used to mean to remove Nawaz from the guide. both discrimination against Muslims and Dictatorial regimes in the Muslim Kaveh Shahrooz is a lawyer and a human rights criticism of Islamic doctrine or practice. It world are well aware of this semantic activist. He is a former senior policy adviser on human is important that we not conflate the two. confusion in the West, and often rely on rights to Global Affairs Canada and is a senior fellow at Religious people deserve legal protection, allegations of “Islamophobia” as a basis to MLI’s Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad. but religions do not.” attack liberal democracies. If you think This article first appeared inThe Line.

INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute 7 COVER FEATURE Finding a new path forward driven by Indigenous people The discovery of the locations where hundreds of children were buried near former residential schools should be the launching point for the real empowerment of Indigenous peoples in Canada. (GoToVan via commons.wikimedia.org) (GoToVan

Ken S. Coates

eople are mad. Finally! And sadly, Pbelatedly. The discovery of the locations where hundreds of children were buried around abandoned residential school grounds has touched the country in ways that perhaps even the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission did not. People are responding to this revelation with sustained emotion and genuine anger. But this anger must for once A 1937 photo of students, administration and teaching staff at Kamloops residential school. The photo is from the Quebec archives of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. be translated into action. (National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation via cbc.ca) Put aside the fact that the broad contours

8 INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute of students’ death at residential schools paternalism have brought and continue First Nations), or specific nations or were already widely known. The country’s to bring great pain and suffering to First communities (like the Carcross-Tagish First reaction to the first major revelations of Nations, Métis and Inuit across the country. Nation or the Membertou First Nation). the deaths of students in the state’s care Canada must first recognize Indigenous These communities are well equipped to (revelations from decades ago at this autonomy, self-government, and sovereignty manage their own priorities, and Indigenous point) was muted compared to the current over their lands and affairs – a move that the peoples are fully capable of holding their response to radar-identified graves. United States led on in the 19th century. The own governments to account. For many years, extensive Indigenous Indian Act, reserves and all the other vestiges Once again, the task is not a simple testimony and writing have described of 19th and 20th century colonization must one, as the challenges facing Indigenous the deaths of children at residential be replaced, under terms and conditions communities vary dramatically. Ottawa needs schools. First Nations, Inuit and Métis determined primarily by Indigenous to nonetheless expand the co-production of people have spoken publicly about these peoples. To replace these colonial structures policy at all levels, establish clear avenues for tragedies thousands of times, and they is a tremendous legal and political task. ensuring shared financial priority setting, have for decades overshadowed life in To accomplish this effort will take time, and establish better funding equivalencies Indigenous communities. The scale of and will require the federal government to between Indigenous and non-Indigenous the current revelations and the heartbreak provide funding, civil service support, the communities. Funding allocation needs of thinking about young children, away initial scoping, and then simply to get out to shift away from program spending, from family and community, dying alone of the way, as was done when setting up the which ebbs and flows from government to

Government policy, far from being the solution to the issues facing Indigenous peoples, has been one of the primary sources of the problem.

in institutions characterized by a lack of Truth and Reconciliation Commission. government, and move toward long-term essential humanity, again highlights this Facilitating a dramatic change in how block funding that is reliable, predictable, shared intergenerational trauma. Canada manages its relationships with First and fungible. There can be no autonomy for While political parties at various levels Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples must be these Nations without autonomous financial may differ in their specific approaches, it undergirded by an overhaul of how these decision-making, and thus these moves need seems that there is a shared sense of horror communities are funded. At present, the to be a key part of the process. and disgust about the children’s deaths. funding due to Indigenous peoples arising Moreover, Indigenous communities Unfortunately, as more remains will be from their unique place in Canadian history, should be empowered to engage (or not found – Indigenous testimony and other and their constitutional, legal and treaty engage) in the natural resource economy. evidence is clear on this vital point – public rights, is caught up in a bureaucratic web. In They must be able to access the types of reaction will likely decline in intensity as this web, far too much funding is determined own-source revenue that non-Indigenous people become numb to these horrors. by a system in which Ottawa makes priorities people take for granted, just as they should We must therefore seize this moment. for communities, and communities with be able to exercise the right to protect their Surely children’s graves are enough to finally few personnel resources navigate a myriad own environments as they see fit, free of force a dramatic change as opposed to the of applications and program requirements interference. And, Ottawa must ensure social engineering and minor tinkering that simply trying to get the support they need. that communities have clear access to the has characterized policy for generations. This system needs to be completely full range of financial tools and services Government policy, far from being the altered. Funding should instead go directly that others in Canada already do, including solution to the issues facing Indigenous to Indigenous governments, either at a access to capital. peoples, has been one of the primary sources large scale (like Nunavut, Métis Nation Ultimately, Ottawa must step of the problem, alongside ages-old patterns of Saskatchewan, or the James Bay Cree), back – way back – permitting the of racial discrimination and state supported more localized groups (like the Prince re-empowerment of Indigenous peoples assimilation. The many faces of federal Albert Tribal Council or the Treaty 8 and ensuring the systematic and rapid

INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute 9 dismantling of state-driven control over development of concrete policies such dozens of other impressive and culturally Indigenous lives. This theme can carry to as a fiscal framework to directly fund informed innovations. Indigenous thinkers all elements of policy-making, whether communities without partisan interference and leaders have devoted years to imagining that be education, resource development, or regulatory suffocation. Rights-holding a new political future. health care, housing, and more. Negotiate First Nations, Métis and Inuit people would If this process succeeds, what would modern self-governance agreements in have to agree, through open, democratic it look like? To start, Indigenous peoples would have clearer and more direct say over the decisions that are made which impact them. Their governments would be better equipped to advocate for their interests in negotiations with Canadian governments, the private sector, and other organizations. The management of historic wrongs and the process of meaningful reconciliation would be more deftly accomplished if communities are more fully able to engage in this process free of the yolk of Ottawa. We see this to some extent in other countries. For instance, the Maori people in New Zealand have received major settlements, have begun having their language and culture restored in education, and more. While imperfect and though there is a long road ahead, this is all part of that quest for greater autonomy. In short: greater self-governance would put Indigenous communities in a position to better determine and protect their own needs and destinies. It is impossible not to be profoundly Government funding results. Top clockwise: moved by the realization that hundreds of Carcross-Tagish First Nation visitor’s children died in the care of the state while information centre, Yukon; Inuvialuit Corporate Centre, Yellowknife, NWT; Nisga’a at residential schools in this country. This Lisims government building, New Aiyansh, BC; legacy will be not honoured by partisan Membertou Convention Centre, Sydney, NS. (All photos via commons.wikimedia.org) political action, a new program or two, and culturally informed approval processes, and the allocation of a few million dollars to the new arrangements. in additional funding. good faith, then get out of the way. Though hard, this work is well within If these graves symbolize anything, This process, while not obvious or the capacity of the Indigenous leaders and it is the abject failure of decades of easy, could start simply. The leaders of the peoples. After all, Indigenous peoples are government policy. Find a new path national political parties could, for once, responsible for some of the most imaginative forward driven by Indigenous people. Do put aside partisan politics and agree on and creative political systems in the country: it now. Instead of letting the memories an all-party approach to creating a new the Atlantic Policy Congress, Eeyou Istchee of what happened to those Indigenous foundation for Indigenous governance and James Bay Regional Government, the Six children haunt the country for years to administration in Canada, advised by a large Nations, tribal councils on the prairies, come, let the discovery of the hundreds of and representative group of Indigenous the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, the bodies bodies be the launching point. leaders and thinkers. Nisga’a Lisims government, the traditional Together, this body could lead the structure of the Teslin First Nation, and Ken S. Coates is a Munk senior fellow at MLI.

10 INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute COVER FEATURE A letter from an intergenerational survivor

The revelations about the unmarked graves triggered me in ways I have not felt in years.

feelings towards you would be hate, anger or resentment. Most of my life I had no idea who you were and what you represented. To be honest, I only ever learned about you later in life. In high school, teachers praised you. Non-Indigenous students admired you. I, on the other hand, really did not care to pay attention to your life’s work. What I do know is you were behind one of the most damning acts against Indigenous peoples in Canadian history. Over the past year and a half, Canada has been experiencing another burst of controversy about you, Canada’s first Prime I do not know you, John A. Macdonald. But I know the suffering caused Minister. Although you undoubtedly laid by your policies, and those of many others since your time. I believe that the foundations for modern-day Canada, it came at a significant cost to our lives and tearing down your statue is not going to resolve the issues that still plague forever changed the history of our people. Indigenous communities. But wait until you see what we can do once You set in motion some of the strictest we’re out from under the thumb of government. elements of Canadian Indigenous policy: the Indian Residential Schools, which introduced a nationwide program of have finally gotten through to Canadians assimilation in 1883 that was, essentially, Chris Sankey the horrors of residential schools. Thousands sub-contracted to the Christian churches. of us share the burden from these schools. I do not think you ever understood what ear Sir John A. Macdonald, I am myself an intergenerational survivor. your educational policies did to us. D The recent discovery of the The revelations about the unmarked graves We have learned about more than just remains of hundreds of children on triggered me in ways I have not felt in years. deliberate acts to assimilate Indigenous abandoned residential school grounds has I often wonder what I would say to you children. There was also negligence on traumatized Indigenous people and may if I met you today. I often wonder if my behalf of government staff and criminal acts

INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute 11 by priests and teachers who worked from modern and enlightened time as the 1990s one school to another. Let us be honest would have struck sorrow and anger in the here. The Catholic Church has done more hearts of Indigenous students. Imagine damage to children than any other religion the pain of merely sitting in the very seats on the planet. Pope Francis’ recent speech where so many of their family members and poor excuse for an apology was nothing had been attacked culturally and, in way short of a prayer for himself. too many cases, physically and sexually. In 1920, 30 years after your death, under Intergenerational trauma is layered on top the Indian Act, it became mandatory for of the crisis that faced the children. every Indigenous child to attend a residential Nobody in their right mind would school or an Indian Day School. The pass have ever agreed to these schools once we system made it illegal for Indigenous people found out what the real intent was. But to leave the reserve. If we did, we could be the reality is that there was a mix of Liberal stripped of our Indian status. and Conservative Prime Ministers during The government reportedly often kept the residential school era. So why are we so rations for Indigenous peoples low enough focused on you and your actions, Sir John to ensure constant hunger and discourage A., which you must admit were grievously the expectation of “gratuitous assistance” wrong? I do not care for you as you caused from Ottawa. And let us not forget the my people so much pain, but I need to find infamous Indian Agent, who were the it in my heart to forgive you. government’s representatives on First Instead of tearing down statues, we Nations reserves. Some of them are alive should demolish the Indigenous Services today. These individuals seemed to believe Canada building where so many of these they were God. policies were written up and enacted. Many Indigenous families did not In fact, let’s turn these buildings into realize that your primary objective was Indigenous children at residential schools condominiums to house the less fortunate through the generations to make room for the European settlers, (Public domain/ collectionscanada.gc.ca; National Centre for and let the government pay rent to the commercial agriculture and railways, all in Truth and Reconciliation via cbc.ca; National Centre for Truth and rightful title holders of the land where the Reconciliation via cbc.ca) the name of the economic development of buildings sit today. the new country of Canada. Let’s look at the approach to Indigenous As I say, much of this was set in motion relations that persist today. You cannot tell under you, Sir John A., but so much more me that the current Prime Minister and happened after you were gone. his MPs are keeping track of all their staff’s As I sit and ponder your legacy, I am dealings with Indigenous communities. reminded that Mackenzie King was PM for There was no accountability then. There is 20 years. Why isn’t anyone attacking him? still no accountability now. All too often Sir Wilfrid Laurier was no better. Let’s not politicians, political staffers and government forget Alexander Mackenzie, John Abbott, officials continue to treat our communities John Thompson, Mackenzie Bowell, like crap. Yes, I said it. And do not try to tell Charles Tupper, Robert Borden, Arthur Canadians otherwise. All of us Indigenous Meighen, RB Bennett, Louis St-Laurent, people experienced it and felt it. We continue John Diefenbaker, Lester B. Pearson, Pierre to get treated poorly by the system. Trudeau, John Turner, Brian Mulroney, I name these Prime Ministers because I’m sure that what you envisioned Kim Campbell and Jean Chrétien. Let they could have stopped residential schools for Canadians and for First Nations was us not forget the countless members of but did not. Jean Chrétien was Prime by and large what you thought was right, Parliament and staff who knew what was Minister for three years before the last and that you wanted good things for happening. After all, staff wrote reports on residential school closed in 1996. Surely, Indigenous peoples. You wrote to Ojibwa the schools. attending this school in such a supposedly leader Peter Jones, “I hope to see some

12 INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute hate my country. I have no ill feelings. I don’t feel sorry for myself and I do not hate anyone, but the next time you hear comments such as: “but you didn’t attend these schools” or “It was in the past, so get over it,” remember, just because you do not see me homeless and walking the street (I was often a paycheque away from that) does not mean I was not impacted by the residential school system. I swore if I ever fought through these experiences and memories, I would go to great lengths to protect my children, build a better life for me and my family, and help others when I can. I have done all of these things and more than I expected, and I am proud that I worked through the pain and

(University of(University via commons.wikimedia.org) Valley Fraser hardship. I do not know you, John A. Macdonald. I owe you nothing. But I do know this: tearing down your statue I would like to see more monuments is not going to solve our problems. It only perpetuates division. I would rather erected of our Indigenous champions see your statue stay so that my kids will who fought for us. know the history. I would like to see more monuments erected of our Indigenous champions who fought for us and day the Indian race represented by one of it were not for my children, the sport of memorials to the Indigenous peoples who themselves on the floor of the House of basketball and my best friend, I probably proved so resilient. That is how we build Commons.” That vision came true, but it would not be here today. I had multiple relationships. That is how we reconcile took far too long. relationships fail, because of the anger and our differences. If we do not start working But, John A., I am afraid that I must pain I lived with for so long. together, we will always point fingers at make this personal. Almost all my family I lost a father, who previous adopted one another. attended residential schools. I am survivor me and took me as one of his own, who I would not cancel you, John A., but of intergenerational trauma where the loved me dearly, but later took his own life I would cancel the Indian Act, the Ottawa very teachings from these schools nearly with a hunting rifle while I was home. I bureaucracy, and the legacy of paternalism killed me, my family and community. had a stepparent who for years mistreated and cultural superiority that held us down I have lost friends to suicide. I knew me and a mother who suffered physical for so long. John A., wait until you see children who committed suicide. I’ve had violence and who would eventually die what First Nations, Métis and Inuit do a lot of loss in my life for one reason or of cancer. The emotional disconnect from when we get out from under the thumb another. My life was ravaged with drugs my parents and stepparent was prevalent. of government and eliminate the painful and alcohol as I tried desperately to bury The shame I lived with all these years legacy that you left behind. the past, all the while keeping a smile on undoubtedly put me on a roller coaster Sincerely, Chris Sankey. my face for the public. ride for which I was not prepared. The thought of suicide crossed my I faced racism and ignorance, but Chris Sankey is a prominent Indigenous business mind more times than I care to admit. In I am still here. I grew up in poverty but leader, a senior fellow at MLI and a former elected fact, I attempted to take my own life. If was grateful for what I had. I do not Councillor for the Lax Kw’alaams Band.

INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute 13 COVER FEATURE Cancelling John A. Macdonald will do little to help Indigenous people

The history of residential schools could have taken a turn for the better if Pierre Elliot Trudeau did the right thing and closed them. CityNews

Melissa Mbarki Statue of Sir John A Macdonald at Queen’s Park, Toronto. ews of the remains of 215 children Are we creating a Nfound at a former residential school on closure of residential schools. Are we creating the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc Nation (and villain and cancelling a villain and cancelling John A. Macdonald later 751 more near the former Marieval John A. Macdonald because we need someone to blame? school in Saskatchewan) opened opened One comment has really stood out old wounds in Indigenous communities because we need for me. “Maybe this (residential schools) across the country. We held vigils, shared someone to blame? wasn’t a chapter; it was the whole damn our stories and we are mourning the loss of book.” Every social issue happening in these children. Indigenous communities today is a result For most in the non-Indigenous how little is taught in our current school of residential schools. When asked what we community, having their three-year-old system and the importance of knowing our needed to address these issues, the Truth child or grandchild forcibly removed from history through an Indigenous lens. and Reconciliation Commission captured their home has not been a regular part of One question that everyone is asking: this clearly in its 94 calls to actions. life. The Kamloops and Marieval discoveries Who was responsible for residential schools? Since 2015, none of these calls were discovery brought up many questions In the last century, every government since implemented by the Government of Canada. about the purpose of these schools. It also 1883 was complacent and did nothing to Here is where our frustration and anger prompted a different conversation about investigate reports of abuse or initiate the start to brew. Do not spend years writing

14 INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute The statue of Sir John A. Macdonald in front of Victoria City Hall and the sign that replaced it when Macdonald was “cancelled” in 2017.

(Photos via commons.wikimedia.org)

this conversation. Those who worked in If you were going to city hall to residential schools committed atrocious advocate for a removal of a statue, you can acts. The abuse, neglect and deaths occurred take that effort and advocate for urban under the watch of the caretakers. issues that directly affect us. Is homelessness Read that last line again. Read it over and children in care unimportant? a few times before you decide to tear down Indigenous children make up 69 percent of a statue. Why are we persecuting “one the foster care system and one in 15 adults man” for the crimes committed by others are homeless. Sadly, these statistics are in the last century? Any government during overshadowed by a piece of concrete. that span of time could have closed these I am going to say this bluntly: schools. In 1969, ownership of the schools cancelling culture and removing history is a report, interviewing residential school was transferred to the Department of not going to change the issues Indigenous survivors and asking what we need, only Indian Affairs. Prior to this transfer, what people face today. How can it? You are to throw it in the garbage bin. Do we need did the government know about the abuse, taking the easy road to prove a point and to experience a tragedy in order for the government to take action? In addition to the government’s inaction, COVID-19 hit reserves like wildfire. This Tearing down a statue does the opposite of heightened many of our socioeconomic what we are trying to accomplish. inequities. I am passionate about bringing awareness to these issues because I grew up on a reserve. I experienced boil-water advisories, neglect and death of Indigenous children? that works in no one’s favour. It is easier to over-crowded homes and an overall lack of Another important question, who was tear something down than it is to build a services. Understanding the history and prime minister at the time? Who decided community up, so step up and help us with challenges we face today are important to keep these schools open? The history of issues that require immediate attention. factors in understanding how we got here. residential schools could have taken a turn Tearing down a statue does the opposite Now let me try to equate the residential for the better if Pierre Elliott Trudeau did the of what we are trying to accomplish. It is school system to the tearing down of statues. right thing and closed them. We could have a gesture that further divides people and John A. Macdonald created the saved at least two generations of children breeds racism. It is time to start having residential school system with an aim to from filtering through these schools. respectful conversations with each other assimilate Indigenous people, specifically Since we are removing statues, why stop and bring awareness to issues that actually Indigenous children. Were these policies there? We can rename airports, paint over affect Indigenous people. toward Indigenous people fair and just? murals and erase history but this will not No. Is he solely responsible for the abuse bring healing or justice to our communities. Melissa Mbarki is a policy analyst and outreach that took place in these schools? Again, the When the dust settles, we will have the same coordinator at MLI, and a member of the Treaty 4 answer is no. issues. These are not going away because nation in Saskatchewan. This article first appeared in We are forgetting major players in you decided to remove something. the National Post.

INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute 15 COVER FEATURE Egerton Ryerson is being misjudged

Ryerson would have been horrified by the abuses and cruelties later perpetrated on Indigenous children by residential schools. CityNews

Patrice Dutil and Ron Stagg The Truth and Reconciliation Commission investigated the issue, but he revelation that there are hundreds Ryerson is being its final report made no such claim. It did Tof children’s bodies buried around not seem to matter: a small but nameless former residential schools in BC and misjudged. He was constituency still argues that Ryerson was Saskatchewan has prompted more not a racist and the predecessor to federal politicians who vandalism of monuments erected to honour launched new residential schools in 1883, the men of the Confederation generation, he did not and should therefore be erased from public and the statue of Egerton Ryerson that discriminate against memory. stands on Gould Street in Toronto has not Ryerson is being misjudged. He was been spared. It has also given a new wind Indigenous people. not a racist and he did not discriminate to the demand that Ryerson’s statue be against Indigenous people. It was the removed and that the name of the university exact opposite! As a young man he dedicated to his memory be changed. public school system, stands accused of was appointed to the Credit mission, Egerton Ryerson (1803-1882), the creating a residential school system designed home of the Mississaugas. He learned Methodist minister who has long been to stamp out Indigenous culture. Nothing their language, worked in the fields celebrated as the founder of the Ontario could be further from the truth. with the people of the settlement and

16 INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute became a life-long friend of future chief It is also wrong to blame Egerton an acknowledged expert on education, Kahkewaquonaby (Sacred Feathers), Ryerson for creating residential schools. and asked him to provide a curriculum for known in English as Peter Jones. It was Peter Jones, working with another schools that would train Indigenous people In fact, it was in recognition of his prominent Methodist, who argued that the for a settled life. services to the Mississauga, that Ryerson was government should fund schools to educate Ryerson was fully in agreement with the adopted and given the name of a deceased Indigenous men in the new techniques in plan because he worried that Indigenous chief, “Cheechock” or “Chechalk,” who had agriculture, so that they might survive in a communities would be destroyed passed away recently. colony where land to hunt and fish freely unless they changed their economic life. After he left the Credit mission, was rapidly disappearing. By 1842, the He delivered general suggestions for a Ryerson kept in touch with Peter Jones. authorities accepted the concept, as a way curriculum – nothing else – that were typical In the 1830s he assisted the Mississaugas, to put First Nations people on farms and of his day. It was patronizing, as it was based on Euro-Canadian models, but it had the support of most of the Indigenous leaders. Ryerson participated precisely because Ryerson participated precisely because he saw education as the best instrument to protect he saw education as the best instrument First Nations from advancing settlement. to protect First Nations. Two schools were established. They would be supervised by the government, and run by the Methodists, just like most of the on-reserve schools. They differed markedly from later residential schools, however. Teaching was done by teachers trained for the regular school system, not by the clergy, and children could speak their own language. Attendance was voluntary. Religion was a subject in the curriculum, not a tool of forced conversion and assimilation. As a devout Christian, Ryerson would have been horrified by the abuses and cruelties later perpetrated on Indigenous children by residential schools. The schools were failures, mainly because of government refusal to adequately fund the project. But in this small aspect of his career Egerton Ryerson demonstrated Kahkewaquonaby (Peter Jones), 1845. Egerton Ryerson Young, circa 1882. his uniquely humane instincts of generosity (National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa) (rijksmuseum.nl via commons.wikimedia.org) and recognition of minorities. This was the same man who boldly championed schools whose land was confiscated by colonial to eliminate the expense of annual treaty for Catholics and for French-Canadians. authorities, by approaching Queen payments, not as a way to assimilate them. Torontonians today must recognize that Victoria personally through back channels. In 1846, government agents met with Egerton Ryerson has been falsely accused He also advanced the careers of a number thirty chiefs, representing most of the First and restore their pride in celebrating one of of talented Indigenous individuals. When Nations in what is now southern Ontario. the best minds of their past. Peter Jones was gravely ill at the end of his After some discussion, almost all the leaders life, he stayed in the comfortable home of agreed that such schools were necessary, and Patrice Dutil is a professor at Ryerson University and his old friend Ryerson in Toronto. many even agreed to use part of their treaty senior fellow at MLI. Ron Stagg is a professor of History Ryerson was a friend of Indigenous payments to help support the schools. A year at Ryerson University. A longer version of this article first people. later, the government approached Ryerson, appeared in the Dorchester Review.

INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute 17 COVER FEATURE Give Indigenous peoples the power to return children’s remains to families With the government’s half-hearted past efforts on missing Indigenous persons, it should avoid colonizing the DNA data of Indigenous individuals in perpetuity.

Left: Marieval Mission, Cowesses Indian Residential School in Elcapo Creek Valley, Saskatchewan, 1923; above: Kamloops Indian Residential School, 1930. (Archives Deschâtelets-NDC, Richelieu via commons.wikimedia.org; Library and Archives Canada under the MIKAN ID number 3315669 via commons.wikimedia.org)

Todd Hataley Christian Leuprecht Indigenous peoples could take

he Truth and Reconciliation control of genetic material found TCommission (TRC) has stated at this and future locations. that 6000 Indigenous children remain unaccounted for under the residential school system, in addition to an estimated 4000 is, vaguely, “the fault of Canada.” The Given the tenuous relationship between murdered or missing Indigenous women search of unmarked graves at other former the federal government and Indigenous and girls. In light of the announcement residential school sites will need to identify, peoples, and the government’s half- of the discovery of the remains of 215 and appropriately and sensitively return, hearted past efforts on missing Indigenous Indigenous children at the former Kamloops the children’s remains to grieving families. persons, the federal government should Indian Residential School, and 751 more DNA analysis, while not always precise, avoid colonizing the genetic identifiers of at the Marieval Indian Residential School holds out the best prospect of identifying Indigenous individuals in perpetuity. in Saskatchewan, that estimate may prove and linking thousands of remains of Relations between groups wax and conservative. Indigenous children from across the wane over the years. Who knows for what Canadians have been groomed to country to living family members. purposes DNA material may be used in think of these deaths as natural, but In Canada, the analysis and storage of two or three generations? As DNA science should there be a criminal investigation? DNA material could become part of the evolves, it is impossible to anticipate what And who would conduct it? Those are Relatives of Missing Persons Index, one of a additional information may been extracted difficult questions that may explain why host of disparate DNA databanks controlled from DNA samples or how that information the Canadian government has yet to follow by the RCMP under the larger National may be used. through on the TRC’s calls to action to DNA Data Bank. That, however, will not To this end, Indigenous peoples in allow for the proper finding and recording do justice: Who controls these genetic Canada should be afforded the opportunity of children who died at residential schools. identifiers into the future is as important as to take control of this information. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rose in what information can be gleaned for closure Knowledge is power: Vesting Indigenous the House of Commons to acknowledge in the present and potential prosecution in that the tragedy uncovered in Kamloops the future. Continued on page 34

18 INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute GOVERNMENT DEBT We should be worried about government debt

Canada’s high government debt reflects an unwillingness to make hard choices about spending priorities.

Philip Cross addition to the rising costs of pensions and future tax hikes. Investment falls either health care due to an aging population. because businesses anticipate future overnment debt is sometimes High debt also handcuffs future spending will be diverted to government Gboth unavoidable and justifiable. borrowing when inevitable shocks hit or firms are crowded out of debt markets, For example, the huge debt assumed by the economy. Canada’s adoption of fiscal and less investment means lower long- governments during the Second World restraint after 2009 allowed for a borrowing term productivity growth. Higher capital War was necessary to defeat totalitarians. binge during the pandemic, but will leave inflows boost the exchange rate, degrading Recession deficits are unavoidable since future governments with little fiscal room our international competitiveness by spending cannot be cut fast enough. During to manoeuvre during the next downturn. reducing export earnings and raising the pandemic, ordering lockdowns obliged Unexpected shocks often force austerity at imports as their prices fall. governments to provide support for both the worst possible time, as much of Europe International Monetary Fund studies households and businesses. discovered in 2010. show fiscal restraint is best accomplished

Negligent governments, in their well-intentioned haste to help with today’s crisis, unwittingly harm the less well-off in the next crisis.

But the fact that debt may sometimes be The trendy idea that debt is not with spending cuts, not tax increases. necessary is not the same as asserting it carries burdensome relies on theory rather than However, austerity imposed during no consequences. Debt is burdensome to experience. History shows low-debt recessions is extremely harmful to people current and future generations. Ceding nations function better than those with most dependent on the social safety control to creditors risks triggering future high debt. Debt levels near 100 percent net, as shown in Europe after 2010 and austerity that will disproportionately harm of GDP (which governments in Canada North America in the 1990s. Negligent the least fortunate and most vulnerable. are now approaching) become more governments, in their well-intentioned More insidiously, today’s debt orgy burdensome and harder to service. After haste to help with today’s crisis, unwittingly threatens central bank independence and all, bond markets demand high premiums harm the less well-off in the next crisis. control of inflation. Finally, debt dependence to finance it and taxpayers balk at diverting Ben Franklin noted a key debt dynamic is a dangerous crutch for politicians who more spending toward debt service instead means “you give to another the power refuse to make difficult choices. of public services. over your liberty.” The realization that The burden to the current generation Furthermore, fiscal stimulus is always dependence on debt markets constrains is manifest. Despite record-low interest partially offset by other changes in savings independence motivated Quebec’s rates, indiscriminate pandemic spending and investment. Higher government bipartisan commitment to lower the debt will double interest payments from $20 deficits trigger some combination of more it has held since 1996. Quebec’s recent to $40 billion over the next five years. As private savings, less private investment, experience demonstrates that sustained interest rates normalize, debt servicing will and rising foreign capital inflows. Private further constrain government spending, in savings increase, partly as people plan for Continued on page 34

INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute 19 BILL C-10 Not all of Canada’s creative communities benefit from Bill C-10

The government might be wise to consult with all of Canada’s creators and consumers before Bill C-10 develops into an even bigger political problem.

Peter Menzies

he federal government’s clumsy legislative efforts to merge the Told and new communications worlds has given all involved a chance to wonder if Bill C-10 is – as advertised – really in the best All involved are interests of Canada’s cultural communities. I used the plural because there are a number of creative convinced that communities – those who operate within the walled regulatory Canadian culture system, those who embrace the entrepreneurial opportunities the Internet represents, those in film, those in television, those who cannot survive stream, those who make music, etc. And they don’t all see the without them. world the same way. Add to that the French-language versions of all of those and there’s much more diversity out there than Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault appears to have been led to believe. The loudest voices calling for government regulation of the Internet through Bill C-10 comes from the regulated film and television production sector. Producers and guilds operate within a sector of the industry designed to meet regulatory goals, not market demands. Their system has at its heart the moderation of consumer preferences in the manner parents manage their children’s meals. Business plans are designed to meet criteria dictated by funds fuelled by levies paid by cable companies and television networks through the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). Those networks in turn broadcast the funded programs, typically in non-prime time. And so it goes. All involved are convinced that Canadian culture cannot survive without them. This ecosystem, while it has sustained the incomes of many image Depocas iStock with Renée creators, was recently described by lawyer Philip Palmer, one of (Internet) people to prop up a system that is now totally outmoded the authors of the Broadcasting Act, as a failure. Speaking on a technologically and philosophically. Macdonald-Laurier Institute panel, Palmer says that when he and “They have failed to . . . encourage an audience-directed policy. his colleagues completed their work 30 years ago they assumed they Instead they want to prop up a system that has failed consumers had written Canada’s last Broadcasting Act because in the infinite continually throughout the history of the Canadian broadcasting content world they could see forming there would be no need for it. system. That’s the fundamental flaw (in C-10).” “The government has not asked itself ‘is regulation necessary?’” While some smile wryly at the notion that forcing the says Palmer, now retired from the federal public service and vice Internet into a 1980s-style straitjacket could be characterized as chair of the Canadian branch of the Internet Society. “It has said ‘regulation is necessary’ therefore we’ve got to bring in these Continued on page 35

20 INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute HEALTH CARE POLICY IN THE TIME OF COVID How much did patients really suffer from the pandemic of cancelled care?

Canada simply cannot afford the health care we have promised our citizens.

Shawn Whatley pain and disability” but concluded that it that Canadians will accept high taxes in “doesn’t affect their vital status to wait an return for “free” health care. As the CBC’s s the third wave of COVID-19 extra few months.” Neil Macdonald wrote in 2016: Arecedes in Ontario, watch for the In fairness, Rachlis wrote at a time when “This has been the social compact in resumption of an old debate about the waits were less than half as long as current Canada for more than half a century: our impact on patients of delayed procedures OMA estimates, but his logic still guides governments tax everything that moves, and and treatments. On one side, hospitals, system planners. For another example, even tax each other’s taxes, but in return, our medical associations, and labour unions will in 2012, Dr. Robert G. Evans, Emeritus medical needs are seen to free of charge, never point to all the many patients who endured Professor from the Vancouver School of mind some budget imposed on the hospital.” cancelled care. On the other, with apologies Economics, also questioned the “ethical If this was ever so, there can be no to Burke, economists with calculators and norm” that “patients should get the care doubt that this compact was shattered with sophists will ask: How much did those they need, as judged by a qualified clinical the arrival of COVID-19. patients really suffer from waiting? practitioner, regardless of the cost.” Canada simply cannot afford the We should not be so dismissive about health care we have promised our citizens. the impact of delaying “elective” procedures. We maintain the myth of “care when you The suffering will be enormous. need it regardless of ability to pay.” But, in The Ontario Medical Association reality, we have cut services beyond what reported this week on what it calls the Canada simply prudence allows. Our acute-care hospitals “backlog” of 15.9 million cancelled services. overflowed with elderly patients even before The OMA found “the estimated backlog cannot afford the the pandemic, with many left in hallways, was greatest for MRIs (477,301), followed health care we modified closets, and even bathrooms for by CT scans (269,683), cataract surgery days. When COVID came, we crammed (90,136), knee (38,236) and hip (16,506) have promised our them all into under-resourced long-term replacements and coronary artery bypass citizens. care homes, then wrung our hands at the grafts (3,163).” Even working at 120 percent horrifying death rates. capacity, it will take 22 months to clear the Central planners maintained the status backlog for knee replacements alone. In effect, Evans is making a remarkable quo on the assumption that waiting does As I said, this is an old debate. The claim – that patients apparently do not actu- not really impact a patient’s “vital status.” OMA “backlog” argument assumes patients ally need all the care their doctors order. And But should central planners decide whether should get the care they need, as determined since central planners cannot control doctors patient suffering, caused by waitlists, delays by the doctors who ordered it. But experts directly, they cut capacity instead. Compared and cancelled services, is acceptable enough and advocates of central planning often with other OECD countries, Canada has to ignore? dismiss the OMA’s core assumption. fewer physicians (2.7 vs. 3.5) and hospital If the past 50 years offers a guide, expect In 2005, Dr. Michael Rachlis, author beds (2.5 vs. 4.7) per 1000 population. We planners to manage the current backlog and public health researcher, tackled the also have fewer CT scanners (15.4 vs 26.6) according to the same old arguments. Of relationship between suffering and waiting. and MRI machines (10.0 vs. 16.8) per 1 course, a bigger question remains: how long “How much do patients really suffer million population. Canadians spend more will Canadian patients put up with it? because of these delays?” Rachlis asked. (10.8 percent vs. 8.8 percent of GDP) and He admitted that patients waiting for hip get less care, but even this is too much. Shawn Whatley is a senior fellow at MLI and a past and knee surgery “experience considerable It is settled wisdom in some quarters president of the OMA.

INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute 21 ARMED FORCES A new approach to military accountability Governments exhibit a common pattern when confronted with a harmful institutional culture – one that still falls short on accountability. Both images left: Corporal Lynette Ai Dang, Her Majesty’s imagesBoth Corporal left: Majesty’s Ai Dang, Her Lynette flickr.com/ Imagery Technician Canadian Ship CALGARY, photos/cfcombatcamera Cpl Michael Bastien, MARPAC Imaging Services; MARPAC Bastien, Cpl Michael Lapointe, MCpl Geneviève Kinnie; Cpl Ronnie Canadian Camera, Combat Canadian Forces Photo Armed Forces

Christian Leuprecht undermines a basic principle of Canada’s n 1989, the Canadian Human Rights Westminster system of parliamentary ITribunal mandated the full integration Ministers of national government. Canada’s fundamental of women into the Canadian Armed Forces constitutional principle is responsible (CAF). However, women in the CAF know defence have heeded government: the government of the day is all too well that they have been integrated their responsibility responsible to Parliament that represents the into an institutional culture that is neither electorate. Its ancillary principle is ministerial of their making nor of their choosing: during past responsibility: the minister is responsible for a highly sexualized contagion with a controversies. the conduct of her or his department and deleterious current of sexual misbehaviour. answers for it to Parliament. But when was Governments on both sides of the aisle the last time a minister, let alone a minister of exhibit a common pattern when confronted implementing some recommendations, national defence, resigned over a controversy? with a harmful institutional culture: they while skirting more contentious ones. Ministers of national defence have appoint a new leader – whether chief of the Government then defers to the organization heeded their responsibility during past defence staff or commissioner of the RCMP on implementation, on which it has a controversies: Brooke Claxton had the – and commission an outside study. By the decades-long track-record of falling short. Royal Military College take in returning time the study is tabled, public attention This approach is an affront to civil- non-commissioned officers to grant degrees; has died down. Government obliges by military relations in a democracy and Paul Hellyer implemented unification

22 INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute of the Armed Forces against their stiff has ramifications for effectiveness, efficiency Parliament would not have the same effect. resistance; Donald Macdonald set up the and morale. Since independence has emerged as a problem Management Review Group in response A consensus is emerging among with the CAF ombudsman, public reporting to cost overruns and shirking by the Army; Members of the House on replacing the would need to be enshrined in legislation to and David Collenette and Doug Young current Office of the Ombudsman with an ensure both ministerial responsibility and the imposed significant change in the aftermath Inspector General (IG) who is internal to IG’s independence. The IG would conduct of the Somalia affair and inquiry. In fact, the department yet reports to Parliament. inspections and investigations of errors in Young’s successor Art Eggleton had so The IG at the Canadian Security Intelligence judgment or unethical or illegal behaviour little confidence in the military’s ability to Service (CSIS) was dissolved, but only that erode professional culture, unit-climate resolve problems internally that he set up because bureaucrats and politicians quickly and the well-being of members. a Minister’s Monitoring Committee that lost sight of how it was supposed to function For serving members of the CAF to have lasted several years. and, consequently, the IG ended up with too confidence that issues raised will be resolved Attempts post-Somalia to root out the much overlap with the Security Intelligence fairly, the CAF IG needs to be complemented noblesse oblige attitude among select senior Review Committee (SIRC). by a complaint-focused office that reports

Women in the CAF know all too well that they have been integrated into an institutional culture that is neither of their making nor of their choosing: a highly sexualized contagion with a deleterious current of sexual misbehaviour.

leaders appear to have met with less success Opposition Parliamentarians have been to the Clerk of the Privy Council. The than previously thought, as commonalities pushing for the IG as yet another addition to Office for Harassment Resolution would in patterns are becoming apparent: then it a growing list of agents of Parliament. This investigate violations of statutes or formal was (ab)use of perks of office that came to is par for the course: pushing for offices of codes of conduct related to harassment or light, now it is fraternization and misconduct Parliament when in opposition, only to come discrimination. With the clerk as the senior in violation of the military’s Code of Services to regret those same offices when elected. civil servant, akin to the deputy minister Discipline and possibly offences under the Rather than enhancing ministerial to the prime minister, arguably the office Criminal Code. Recent media reports on responsibility, the proliferation of agents replicates some departmental problems, a case where the “regimental guard” of the of Parliament has been contributing to its only at a higher level. PPCLI, well-connected to the senior CAF decline. At the same time, it would not Nonetheless, this dual-track model and political leadership of the department, actually remedy the problem at hand. The holds out the promise of tackling backed a perpetrator over the victim are a purpose of the proposed IG is to establish harassment and discrimination across case in point that is ominously reminiscent an independent reporting/oversight agency government more broadly: the office could of the role of regimental senates in the for conduct-related matters that is external address pervasive issues in the RCMP along Somalia case. to the CAF and the Department of National with the dismal results in the annual Public In 2015, the minister was expeditious Defence (DND). A professionally focused, Service Employee Survey – where the CAF in his exercise of responsibility at just a statutorily based, independent IG would performed only marginally worse than hint that a senior general officer – who was report to the minister of national defence, not other parts of the civil service. subsequently exonerated – may possibly have Parliament. crossed the new government of the day. That However, a CAF IG should be able to Christian Leuprecht is Class of 1965 Professor in overreaction now stands in stark contrast with table reports to Parliament without having to Leadership at the Royal Military College, director of the minister’s and government’s lax response obtain approval from the minister of national the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations at Queen’s to a genuine crisis that affects hundreds of defence. The minister then has to act or University, and senior fellow at MLI. This article first uniformed members, present and past, and be held responsible. An IG that reports to appeared in the Hill Times.

INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute 23 HONG KONG Iris Tong/voa via commons.wikimedia.org Iris Tong/voa Hong Kong’s autonomy has been tragically destroyed Despite Canada’s national obligations as an endorser to the Sino-British Joint Declaration, the Canadian government has done little to hold Beijing accountable. Nathan Law Despite officials’ repeated assertions that Ai-Men Lau the latest electoral “reforms” strengthens The message is Hong Kong’s “democracy,” the message is he People’s Republic of China loud and clear: loud and clear: Hong Kong is now fully T(PRC) has crushed remaining under Beijing’s control. vestiges of Hong Kong’s autonomy with Hong Kong is The PRC’s latest move is neither sudden sweeping legislation that transformed now fully under nor unexpected. Since the handover from semi-democratic elections in the territory British rule two-and-a-half decades ago, to a Beijing-controlled selection process. Beijing’s control. fear of Beijing’s takeover has woven itself Despite Canada’s national obligations into the fabric of Hong Kong. Canada saw as an endorser to the Sino-British Joint a spike in Hong Kong immigrants during Declaration, the Canadian government has the initial handover, as the belief that Hong done little to hold Beijing accountable. overwhelming, de facto advantage. Public Kong’s autonomy would swiftly end drove Under the guise of complying with office nominees will now be vetted by many to leave the territory. the Basic Law and the Sino-British Joint Beijing and there will be pro-Beijing Beijing’s takeover of Hong Kong has Declaration, Beijing loyalists enjoy an majority in Hong Kong’s legislature. been a slow one, with many fighting for

24 INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute the establishment of democracy since the called for further measures to help Hong to examine how state-funded or affiliated 1980s. The Sino-British Joint Declaration Kongers fleeing political persecution. Beijing-influence campaigns operate in all did promise universal suffrage for the While Beijing was predictably sectors. Measures need to tackle political people of Hong Kong, but that has never incensed, none of these measures and elite capture, Beijing’s disinformation been honoured. Yet, little international effectively deterred China’s actions. Rather, operations, and their infiltration into attention has been paid to Hong Kong’s the PRC was only emboldened to continue academia, non-profit and business sectors. fragile institutions and basic law despite its suppression of the territory, breaching Addressing foreign interference is being enshrined in the Sino-British Joint international agreements in the process. another critical measure, not only to Declaration. The warning signs were This has continued with impunity. safeguard Canadian interests but Canadian seemingly shrugged off, as China’s rise to The federal government has recently citizens themselves. As Beijing continues power and economic might captured the announced sanctions, in conjunction to muzzle political dissent and critics, no world. with the US, the UK, and the EU, on one is beyond the reach of Beijing.

Canadian Hong Kongers do not feel safe here in Canada. iStock

The Canadian federal government’s four Chinese officials and one Chinese In Canada, pro-democracy Canadian- silence has been harrowing for many entity for their complicity in crimes Hong Kongers and other dissidents have Hong Kong-Canadians. As homes, city against humanity in the Xinjiang Uyghur been physically assaulted, intimidated and streets, and favourite haunts in their Autonomous region. Sanctions would send harassed. Communities often self-censor homeland were morphed into scenes a message to the Chinese regime that their out of fear for retribution. Even more of blood, tear gas, and police brutality, actions in Hong Kong are unacceptable, heartbreaking, Canadian Hong Kongers mounting frustration and calls for actions yet there are no indications of such do not feel safe here in Canada, a home tore through the Hong Kong-Canadian sanctions against Chinese and Hong Kong that was once thought to be a haven for community. officials for their role in the crackdown on those seeking freedom. Ottawa belatedly shifted its approach Hong Kong. Democracy was a cherished dream in on this issue. After the implementation While sanctions would be a welcomed Hong Kong. Over the years, we have seen of the National Security Law (NSL), first step in addressing the PRC’s the repeated efforts of activists, lawmakers, the federal government suspended its authoritarian dismantlement of Hong colleagues, friends, and loved ones fight to extradition treaty with Hong Kong and Kong’s autonomy, it does not address save the Hong Kong they love. We cannot banned the export of sensitive military foreign interference within Canadian let their efforts go in vain. technology to the territory. In November institutions. 2020, the Canadian government launched Minister of Innovation, Science and Nathan Law is an activist in exile, the former leader new immigration measures for Hong Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, of the pro-democracy party Demosistō, and MLI’s Kong students and youth. However, these has recently unveiled revised guidelines ambassador on Canada-Hong Kong policy. Ai-Men immigration pathways do little for those scrutinizing foreign takeovers and Lau is a communications officer at MLI. This article fleeing danger, and many activists have investments, but more should be done first appeared in the Toronto Star.

INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute 25 RUSSIA AND CHINA Wishful thinking is no substitute for strategy with China and Russia

Canada and its allies and partners need to have a clear-eyed view of the challenge posed by this authoritarian axis.

Balkan Devlen

emocracies around the world face Dan important new challenge with an authoritarian axis being formed around Russia and China. The despotic regimes of Putin and Xi are increasingly acting in concert with each other – an alignment that can be seen in a range of policies, including on defence cooperation, subverting international norms and institutions, and on the question of cyber-governance and information security. Given their hostility to universal human rights and democracy, their “Animal Farm” understanding of sovereignty – in which some countries are more sovereign than others and only major powers are truly sovereign – their desire to make the world safe for autocracy, and their increasingly revanchist policies, the Sino-Russian alignment poses a serious Depocas Renée Balkan Devlen challenge to the rules-based international This shared neo-authoritarian ideology order and its defenders. FACING THE AUTHORITARIANenables Putin and Xi to frame their common As I outlined in a recent paper for the Russia and China opposition to the rules-based international Macdonald-Laurier Institute, Russia and CHALLENGEorder and surmount the lingering suspicions China are strange bedfellows driven to one areThe strange Sino-Russian alignmentbetween and what both to countriesdo about dating it back to the another by their shared neo-authoritarian bedfellows driven Cold War. ideology, obsession with regime security, and Russia and China share a common conviction that the West is in terminal decline. to one another. interest in undermining the status quo. Ideologically, both countries are led They perceive the international order – by strong men who believe in their own underpinned by common rules, liberal indispensability for promoting economic Such regimes cannot tolerate dissent, values, and a near-hegemonic democratic growth, protecting the regime, and advancing at home or abroad. They are characterized superpower – as an inherent and existential their national interests abroad. Here the by suppression of free speech, tight control threat to their respective ruling regime. personal fortunes of the leader are assumed of traditional and social media, repression The imperative of regime survival is crucial to be one and the same with the national against political and religious dissident to understand the Sino-Russian alignment interest and thus any threat to Putin’s or Xi’s groups, and especially in the case of PRC, a at the international level and makes the rule is perceived to be an existential threat to vast surveillance infrastructure that reaches strategic partnership between Russia and Russia or China. every aspect of political and social life. China an enduring one.

26 INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) differences between two countries on To do this requires more than idle words. – the clear dominant force in this emerging a number of fronts – from the growing We must instead develop a coordinated, partnership – explicitly identifies values and power asymmetry that clearly favours multilayered and multilateral strategy. On norms such as liberal democracy, freedom China to their rivalry when it comes to one hand, the US needs to take the lead in of press, freedom of expression, and human both influence in Central Asia and arms pushing back against Russia and China, as rights as threats to its rule in its own internal sales. It is possible that Russia might, in only the US has the assets and indeed power documents. In the eyes of the CCP, the this context, be dissuaded from supporting to do so successfully. On the other hand, existence of a thriving democracy right across a partnership with China that has left the West and other democratic partners the strait in Taiwan increases the urgency of Russia as the junior partner. After all, no should coordinate in the dual-containment undermining the rules-based international one wants to be the horse, and everyone of this authoritarian axis. That will help order led by the world’s democracies. wants to be the rider. capitalize on the individual strengths of each

China and Russia believe they need to speed up a shift in global power away from the West and restructure the international order.

Both China and Russia believe they need However, it is important not to overstate democratic partner and amplify each other’s to speed up a shift in global power away from these otherwise modest disagreements. capabilities across domains and geographies. the West and restructure the international And the tensions that come with a power To coordinate these efforts requires order to their liking. Engaging in subversion imbalance pale in comparison to the drivers an institutional structure – an “alliance of against the West is a crucial component of of the relationship between Russia and democracies” to coordinate efforts among this strategy and a natural driver for their China. Both countries realize they each have our partners and defend international alignment. more to gain in their continued cooperation. institutions. This also means that our values The outgrowth of this strategy is a range Besides, Russia would need to be at least such as democracy, the rule of law, and of destabilizing activities, such as economic somewhat accommodating to the West for human rights should be reaffirmed and coercion, diplomatic belligerence, military this wedge strategy to succeed. And Moscow defended without apology, as these values threats, maritime bullying, territorial has proven time and time again to be ultimately underpin our shared interests. incursions, and more. Such heavy-handed precisely the opposite of anything the West And ultimately, we must retain a defence tactics have defined Russia and China under might describe as “cooperative.” advantage over these authoritarian powers. their current leadership. Emboldened by one Instead of attempting to play the two This means defence-spending laggards like another, and in the absence of a coherent authoritarian regimes off one another, we Canada need to start paying their fair share response from the West, the Sino-Russian should bank on a much more solid strategy into collective defence. partnership operates with greater abandon, of solidarity and deterrence. Only by being As we emerge into a post-pandemic coherence and nerve. able to confront, stand up to, and ultimately world, Canada and its allies and partners How should the West respond to this push back against the dual threats of a need to have a clear-eyed view of the challenge? The worst choice is almost Sino-Russian alignment can we dissuade challenge posed by this authoritarian axis. certainly what appears to be the present such a power bloc from undermining the The future of the rules-based international strategy: wait and see, hoping that the rules-based international order. We must order, liberal democracy, and individual partnership will dissolve or that some be resolute and firm in communicating that rights and freedoms depends on how well we dispute forces Xi and Putin to look in the goals of these authoritarian partners confront this task. It’s time that democracies opposite directions. Yet wishful thinking is cannot be accomplished even through join together to fight back. no substitute for strategy. their cooperation, and thus encourage Another option is to pursue a wedge both countries to engage in rule-abiding Balkan Devlen is a senior fellow at MLI. This article strategy. There are existing and potential behaviour. first appeared inThe Hub.

INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute 27 TAIWAN Taiwan is more than a mere “question”

By referring to the dispute in the Taiwan Strait as a “question” or an “issue,” Taiwan and its people become dehumanized.

J. Michael Cole

ime and again in academic works, Tnewspaper articles and public comments, the dispute in the Taiwan Strait, which stems from Beijing’s longstanding claims of sovereignty over Taiwan, has been referred to as the “Taiwan question” or, alternatively, the “Taiwan issue.” Whether by design or intellectual sloppiness, this designation of Taiwan – of Taiwan’s fate, in fact – is reductionist, a construct that presupposes conclusions and frames the complex dispute in ways

that benefit China. image Depocas iStock with Renée By referring to the matter as a “question” or an “issue” (not to mention the occasional use of “Taiwan problem”), Taiwan and its people become dehumanized. This kind of dehumanization has a It is revealing that the Taiwanese long and dangerous history. In Canada, the people themselves do not refer to their “Indian question” and “Indian problem” were shorthand for discussing the assimilation, predicament as a “question” or an “issue.” territorial conquest of, and cultural erasure of Indigenous peoples, while simultaneously treating these peoples as others who are In the same vein, the reductionist – “is a question left over by the civil war unimportant in the determination of their language downgrades Taiwan and the in China, and it is purely China’s internal own futures. The “Ukraine question” is Taiwanese people to the status of mere affair.” Therefore, when we call Taiwan a often thrown around in the context of the objects, a problem that needs to be managed “question,” we replicate the reductionist country being supposedly in Russia’s sphere of and, ultimately, resolved. A “question” language, carefully selected by Beijing in its influence, once again reducing the sovereignty presupposes an unfinished state of existence. propaganda, that aims to distort historical of Ukraine and the self-determination of her It makes an object transitionary. Thus, facts and make a complete abstraction of own people to a mere rump status. rather than an entity in itself, Taiwan is a the Taiwanese people. Simply put, Beijing’s At its most infamous and extreme, question mark on its way to something else. formulation aims to make the Taiwanese references to the “Jewish question” Such designations already answer half of the less human, and thereby less worthy of the created a special category of people who question by refusing to concede that Taiwan’s world’s attention. were both inherently “problematic” and current status can actually be what it is, no It is revealing that the Taiwanese somewhat “less human.” As we now know, more, no less. people themselves do not refer to their such language, which predated National This framing is also predicated on the predicament as a “question” or an “issue.” Socialism, opened the door for Hitler and assumption that Beijing has a point: Taiwan To them, the “question” was resolved a long his cronies to launch efforts to annihilate – or the “Taiwan question,” to use the an entire category of people. Chinese foreign ministry’s own formulation Continued on page 35

28 INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute CANADIAN CYBER SECURITY iStock US pipeline hack and concerns about Canadian cyber security

Cyber security experts have increasingly warned about the vulnerability of Canada’s critical infrastructure to foreign hackers and cyber criminals.

Marcus Kolga across the region, including railways and roads. Russian criminal hacker group behind The Wall Street Journal reported Aa major attack against a major US Russian government Colonial paid US$4.4 million in ransom oil and gas pipeline has caused substantial hackers attempted (which was later recovered). Cyber disruptions throughout the Eastern criminals in past hacks have demanded United States and its effects could trickle to steal COVID-19- amounts ranging from as little as a few into Canada as well. The Russian cyber related vaccine thousand to millions of dollars in order criminals, known as DarkSide, hacked into to release data and hijacked systems. In the Colonial Pipelines network this month, research. October 2019, a Canadian insurance leading the company to shut down all of its company reportedly paid $1.3 million to operations for nearly a week. of data and even entire networks and systems recover 20 servers and 1000 workstations. The fuel shortages affecting the entire and a ransom is demanded to release them. Over the past several years, cyber Eastern United States demonstrates the In the Colonial Pipelines case, Russian security experts have warned about potential threats from malign foreign hackers stole over 100GB of data from the the vulnerability of Canada’s critical actors against critical infrastructure. Georgia-based company and then locked up infrastructure to foreign hackers and cyber The situation also raises questions about part of the pipeline after which the criminal criminals. In its 2020 threat assessment whether Canada is prepared to defend hacker group demanded a ransom. report, Canada’s Centre for Cyber Security against these actors. The Colonial Pipelines system stretches noted that “cyber threat actors will Colonial Pipelines was targeted with from Texas to Maine, supplying gasoline, intentionally seek to disrupt Canadian what is commonly known as a ransomware diesel and jet fuel supplies to the entire critical infrastructure and cause major attack. As the name suggests, criminal Eastern US. Its near week-long shutdown damage.” hackers identify and exploit vulnerabilities in forced the US government to approve In July 2020, Russian government a targeted system to access and seize control alternate methods to transport oil and fuel hackers attempted to steal COVID-19-

INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute 29 Inside the DarkSide cyber criminal attack on Colonial Pipelines. Left: The DarkSide ransomware note; right: An exchange between DarkSide and the victim during negotiations.

(Intel 471 via krebsonsecurity.com) related vaccine research from facilities in Kasparov, tweeted that “no Russian hackers medium-sized businesses to help them Canada. The Communications Security … would operate without his [Vladimir secure their networks. However, it’s Establishment (CSE) identified the hackers Putin’s] sanction.” unknown how many businesses have as belonging to the Russian intelligence The Russian government has denied adopted these security protocols. APT-29 cyber warfare teams, known as involvement and there is yet no hard Greater personal cyber literacy and “The Dukes” and “Cozy Bear,” whose goal evidence pinning the crime at the Kremlin’s the promotion of simple habits like was to hinder Canadian response efforts to feet. However, those of us who have adopting two-factor authentication, COVID. watched Russia closely have a running joke: at a minimum, should be promoted In December, Russian government we shouldn’t believe anything, until the among Canadians, and at all levels of hackers infiltrated critical updates of Kremlin denies it. government and business.

Russian pro-democracy and human rights activist, Garry Kasparov, tweeted that “no Russian hackers … would operate without his [Vladimir Putin’s] sanction.” commons.wikimedia.org kremlin.ru

SolarWinds software. The hack affected Just as we ourselves are becoming The cost of engaging in cyber and large parts of the US government, NATO more reliant on the “Internet of Things,” digital information warfare against and multiple tech and utility companies. so too are the operations of our critical Canada and our allies by malign foreign This attack may have been thwarted if a infrastructure. The threat of hacking or states and actors is extremely low. Without strikingly simple solution was used – strong interference in the functioning of our strong deterrence – and the ability of our password protocols. According to the New hospitals, power grids, traffic networks intelligence community to actively defend York Times, an intern at SolarWinds set the and beyond could put countless against and to proactively neutralize threats company’s password to its master updating Canadian lives at risk, to say nothing of – we invite further attacks against us. The system to SolarWinds123. The easily the devastating economic costs. cost of that may soon be counted not just hacked password contributed to one of the The consensus amongst experts is that in millions of dollars, but ultimately, in biggest cyber attacks on record. much of the Western world and indeed lives lost. While it is unclear whether the Canada are unprepared to defend against Colonial Pipelines hack can be attributed these threats. Marcus Kolga is director of DisinfoWatch.org and is a to the Russian government, Russian pro- CSE has developed baseline senior fellow at MLI and the CDA Institute. This article democracy and human rights activist, Garry cyber security guides for small- to first appeared in theToronto Star.

30 INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute IRAN Freedom for Iranians from a brutal regime should eclipse the nuclear issue

The only way for the free world to secure the region’s peace and stability is to help Iranians to secure their liberty.

Mariam Memarsadeghi

ike other totalitarian regimes, the LIslamist theocracy ruling Iran pays lip service to democracy with elections and other trappings of popular sovereignty, Iran’s Supreme Leader, but only for the veneer of legitimacy. Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, rules absolutely. Potemkin elections – such rules absolutely. as this month’s presidential election – serve to distract from a repressive state that with each passing year is more resented but also more intent to kill to survive, both inside Iran and throughout the region. Though Iranians today can access the outside world through social media, they english.khamenei.ir via commons.wikimedia.org english.khamenei.ir are no less brutalized. During the past few years especially, those agitating for freedom have been targeted for killing, on the streets subterfuge for those responsible to remain in counting; international observers are and in the dungeons. In fact, the November power. For this, elections are a necessity. They prohibited; and people are intimidated 2019 protests resulted in the biggest show immunize the world’s chief state sponsor into voting. Once “elected,” the president of state violence against peaceful protesters of terror from scrutiny and are promoted and members of the legislature have no since the 1979 revolution. by Khamenei and his chief propagandist, real power or independence and remain Under the regime, the nation has Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, as a show of subservient to Khamenei. suffered not only the effects of repression popular will and support for the system from While the undemocratic nature of and injustice, gender apartheid and the masses. Iran’s elections is broadly known, regime other systemic inequalities, but also the But the Iranian people well know propaganda and disinformation have fundamental policies that destroy human that their Supreme Leader is not elected, worked to present the electoral scam to a livelihood: a backward education system, that he has held absolute power for beleaguered population as a real rivalry ineptitude, corruption, poverty and its three decades, and that the presidency between one boogeyman (“reformist”) and ensuing social malaise, environmental is one tool at his disposal to maintain a worse boogeyman (“hardliner”), instilling devastation, brain drain, and an imperial totalitarian control. The myth of electoral fear that as bad as things are, they easily ideology of hate that spreads terror and competition and political dynamism can get worse. With this false choice, the misfortune throughout the Middle East is maintained even though all but the regime lulls people away from the warning and beyond. strictest adherents to the theocracy are of principled dissidents who have tried to Iran today is a wasteland that, prior to the denied the right to run; media are strictly sway people from giving their inadvertent 1979 revolution, led the region and dwarfed controlled even for those permitted but unmistakable stamp of approval – the economies of Turkey and South Korea. to campaign; there is no independent via inked fingers – on the totality of the Such a gruesome fall needs camouflage and body overseeing elections and ballot repressive system.

INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute 31 Real election and public opinion demographic composition of regime to the Islamic Republic!” They are data are out of reach in Iran, but opposition. Iranians have shown in protest supported by more than 1400 leaders even in 2009, when large numbers of slogans, social media discourse and open in the diaspora spanning politics, the Iranians were mobilized to vote – and letters a wholesale rejection of the regime. arts, sports and academia. The effort then protest the stealing of their vote The mostazafin, or “downtrodden,” in is intentionally plain, a complete and in the Green Movement – a portion whose name the 1979 revolution was waged, unequivocal rejection of the regime. It has of society had boycotted the election. poured into the streets in more than 200 unified disparate parts of the opposition Their unwillingness to participate was an outgrowth of the reformist years of former President Mohammad Khatami, who promised but did not deliver expanded civil and political liberties and government-led reforms. Those who had believed in the promise of slow change no longer would participate in sham elections and joined the hard opposition who, since the inception of the Islamic Republic, had always refused to vote. These refuseniks have been a largely silent segment of the population until Scenes from the Green Revolution in Tehran in 2009. recently. As the regime prepared to (mehrnews.com/news/898515/ bring people out to vote this summer, via commons.wikimedia.org) it needed popular validation more than ever. An economy battered by sanctions, mismanagement and corruption has Iranian cities. Their slogans combined with brutal crackdowns on spoke to their misery, protesters to make the ruling cabal more aimed unmistakably at detested than ever. This time, a mass boycott overthrow. of the election was a real possibility. As protests became ubiquitous, so and, because of its relatively low-risk When former President Trump began did labour strikes and individual acts of approach, holds potential to galvanize all his “maximum pressure campaign” on the defiance against the state. Fourteen civic manner of Iranians into a broad, inclusive regime, Washington think tank “experts” leaders wrote an open letter demanding movement for democracy. and university scholars were among those Khamenei’s resignation and a transition to All this comes as the Biden who argued that sanctions and other democracy. Their courageous act heralded administration has taken steps to show pressures from the US would drive people more acts of dissent. When 1500 protesters that the US is willing to appease and to rally around the regime flag. Many were shot to death, family members accommodate Khamenei’s regime if Iran Iranian activists were outspoken in favour refused to be silent. Loved ones of those complies on the nuclear issue alone. But of pressure on the regime; they had been killed, as well as those who continue to if the 2009 Green Movement provides any opposed to the Obama administration’s be tortured in dungeons, are a thorn in lesson, the US stands to lose much if it 2015 nuclear deal and injections of the regime’s side, taking great risk to urge turns its back on a people determined to capital to the regime. The Trump years President Biden not to lift sanctions. They be free. The only way for the free world proved the Iran experts wrong: maximum are the undeniable rebuttal to the regime’s to secure the region’s peace and stability is pressure resulted in widespread protests, foreign-based apologists who seek to to help Iranians to secure their liberty. strikes and other acts of civil disobedience normalize a grotesque tyranny. against the regime. Most recently, Iranians from Mariam Memarsadeghi is a senior fellow at MLI and As importantly, sanctions brought throughout the country have launched a leading proponent for a democratic Iran. This article a fundamental shift in discourse and a simple but powerful campaign: “No first appeared inThe Hill.

32 INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute HUMAN RIGHTS Canada should lead on Magnitsky sanctions over Tigray There’s a need to show solidarity with the Tigray community and impose real consequences against those committing atrocity crimes against them.

Maria Reisdorf Sarah Teich

war is raging in Ethiopia’s northern- Amost province of Tigray. Fighting Ethiopian Prime Minister between the Ethiopian military and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) Abiy Ahmed is quickly losing has now been going on for six months, international credibility as creating instability in the strategic Red Sea region. atrocities mount. The Ethiopian military, backed by Eritrean forces, has also been accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity against Tigray civilians. There is evidence of mass extrajudicial killings; rape is used pervasively as a weapon of war; millions of Tigrays have been displaced;

and the region is facing an imminent Bair175 via commons.wikimedia.org and disastrous famine as humanitarian Above: Prime aid remains blocked by Ethiopian forces. Minister Ahmed giving his Nobel Some are calling this genocide. Peace Prize Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed acceptance speech, is quickly losing international credibility as 2019; right: The Tigray Defense atrocities mount. After winning the 2019 Force. Nobel Peace Prize for facilitating peace and international cooperation, the Nobel Committee rebuked his actions in Tigray Samuel TigraiSamuel via commons.wikimedia.org in November of last year. Aiming to avoid international criticism, Abiy promised to protect civilians and increase access to In the United States, the Biden Joe Biden called for a ceasefire and the humanitarian aid. He also promised that administration has committed US$305 withdrawal of troops. Eritrean troops would withdraw from the million in humanitarian aid, suspended There are growing calls for the Biden conflict. These promises were not kept, economic and security assistance to administration to impose Magnitsky sanctions and in fact, the unfolding human rights Ethiopia, and applied visa restrictions (or sanctions that target specific individuals crisis in Tigray is only worsening as the to individual Ethiopian and Eritrean responsible for atrocities) on individual violence rages on. officials. On May 26, US President Ethiopian and Eritrean officials responsible

INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute 33 for these human rights violations, in addition consequences against those committing system, the effort would need to be to the visa restrictions already imposed. In atrocity crimes against them. housed at a university or a private lab with this, Canada can provide leadership. a strong track record in forensic sciences Magnitsky sanctions impose visa bans, Maria Reisdorf is a recent Queen’s law graduate. and mitochondrial DNA evaluation. asset freezes and block properties. Targeted Sarah Teich is an international human rights lawyer, a Rather than surrendering their genetic Magnitsky sanctions feature the added senior fellow at MLI, and a legal adviser at C-CAT. This markers to the federal government, benefit of raising awareness against the article first appeared in theHill Times. Indigenous peoples could take control of perpetrators of human rights crimes, by genetic material found at this and future naming and shaming them. locations and determine, on their own terms, DNA (Hataley, Leuprecht) Magnitsky sanctions are how DNA samples and the information Continued from page 18 internationally lauded as an important gleaned from them is to be used. Such and effective human rights measure. As peoples with control over the DNA of their control would allow Indigenous groups to the power of international institutions victimized ancestors makes an important assert their sovereignty and retain control like the UN Security Council to impose contribution to reconciliation while over their own bodies and communities. sanctions for human rights abuses wane, bolstering Indigenous sovereignty. domestic Magnitsky laws now adopted When used to identify family Todd Hataley is professor at Fleming College and across Europe and North America provide members, DNA analysis is only as good a former RCMP federal investigator. Christian opportunity to deter against human rights as the databases against which the samples Leuprecht is class of 1965 professor in leadership at violations. are compared. The country needs a pan- the Royal Military College, director of the Institute of Ottawa should answer the call for Canadian database to enable DNA from Intergovernmental Relations at Queen’s University and collective action that its Ambassador to unidentified persons to be matched senior fellow at MLI. This article first appeared in the the United Nations Bob Rae has made by against cold cases, missing persons, as well Globe and Mail. imposing Magnitsky sanctions on individual as individuals and family members who Ethiopian and Eritrean officials responsible volunteer samples. The US has a highly for the ongoing atrocities in Tigray, and successful precedent with the University Government debt (Cross) Continued from page 19 empower its diplomats across Western of North Texas’s National Missing and capitals and institutions to follow suit. Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), fiscal discipline can reduce debt without Canada has taken only limited action which works in partnership with the compromising the social safety net and so far to combat the situation in Tigray. National Center for Missing & Exploited societal cohesion. In November, Canada provided Ethiopia Children. The system has thereby restored Debt compromises independence in with $3 million in humanitarian aid. In some dignity by matching anonymous other ways. Gargantuan deficits complicate February, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau victims with their families, but its success monetary policy, posing long-term threats spoke with Abiy and “welcomed efforts” depends on the database of DNA matches. to central bank independence and inflation to expand humanitarian assistance access Indigenous peoples may not trust targets. The avalanche of government and protect civilians. In March, Minister government with their DNA. However, debt in 2020 overwhelmed bond markets’ of Foreign Affairs Marc Garneau expressed they may come forward and volunteer absorptive capacity, requiring the concern when speaking with Ethiopia’s their DNA more readily if they know that unprecedented Bank of Canada purchase of deputy prime minister and welcomed their these samples are held by their community government debt. efforts to improve the situation in Tigray. Yet and used only in ways authorized by These purchases raise questions about amid growing international condemnation, that community. Possibly feeding some monetizing debt and the implications for Canada has remained relatively silent. or all data into the Combined DNA inflation, while even the perception the For a nation that prides itself on being Index System (CODIS), the FBI’s system Bank of Canada is bound to support the committed to human rights, silence in for DNA identification, to ensure a government’s fiscal policy gives rise to the face of a devastating and worsening comprehensive continental approach to politicized critiques of the bank and invites conflict is insufficient. Leading on identifying missing Indigenous persons, more political oversight and interference in Magnitsky sanctions will be an important could improve results. To ensure that the future. first step, both to show solidarity with the the requisite technical and laboratory Ultimately, the problem with Tigray community, and to impose real expertise is independent of the broader government debt is about values. Debt

34 INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute increases dependency on government, they are – or at least have been up until they have done so loudly. They do not want it. disincentivizes self-reliance, and absolves now – motivated only by their art and the If the international community is government from accepting responsibility desire to attract audiences. A great many, to find a way to break the impasse in the for its actions. without being micro-managed into it Taiwan Strait and reduce the likelihood the Controlling debt is about balancing by the CRTC, are actually achieving the region will descend into catastrophic war, the most basic impulses of society, objectives of the Broadcasting Act. They it is incumbent upon its diplomats and not just the books. The high level of appear to be willing to take their chances intellectuals to get it right. What this means government debt in Canada, when the in a competitive market and some, such as is the necessity of avoiding a subjective take economy is recovering rapidly, reflects an Justin Beiber, Shawn Mendes, Lilly Singh, that reinforces propaganda by the Chinese unwillingness to make hard choices about Evan Fong and Lewis Hilsenteger, have Communist Party (CCP), dehumanizes spending priorities. capitalized on the freedom to succeed that Taiwan’s 23.5 million people and reduces the Internet provides. them to a question mark. Philip Cross is a senior fellow at MLI. This article first The report also notes that 65 percent That isn’t to say that everybody should appeared in the Toronto Star. of Canadian YouTube viewers “believe agree as to how the dispute should be that no government or other organization resolved. After all, some analysts, primarily should determine what they watch.” those in the realist school of international Bill c-10 (Menzies) relations, will continue to argue that China Continued from page 20 That likely means that the government might be wise to consult with all of has a right to its own sphere of influence “modernization,” Guilbeault nevertheless Canada’s creators and consumers before and that Taiwan, whether it likes it or sees it as such and has clearly been heavily Bill C-10 develops into an even bigger not, has no choice but to subjugate itself. influenced by those advocating on behalf political problem. Whether one agrees or disagrees with such of the status quo Palmer described. a contention (and this author strongly Had he not been in such a rush to Peter Menzies is a former CRTC vice chair and is a disagrees), we should nevertheless approach please these groups, Guilbeault would have senior fellow at MLI. This article first appeared in the the dispute with moral and intellectual undertaken a proper public consultation Toronto Star. clarity rather than a subjectivism that blurs that would have opened his eyes to those the contours of the matter. harnessed by this legislation – consumers What this means, concretely, is that the enjoying their online liberty and Canadian Taiwan (Cole) matter should be framed properly: China’s Continued from page 28 content producers whose unfettered claim over Taiwan, and the actions it has creativity is about to be fettered by the time ago, and their status is that of citizens threatened to take to make that goal a reality, CRTC if Bill C-10 passes as is. of a country that is both sovereign and isn’t the answer to a question, but is rather a And there are a lot of them. democratic, defined both by what it is and form of colonialism. It is nothing less than According to a 2019 Ryerson what it is not. the threatened annexation of a territory University study, YouTube has facilitated Admittedly, that existence is bracketed that the People’s Republic of China has not the rise of 160,000 Canadian creators, by another concept – the “status quo” in controlled for a single day of its existence. 40,000 of whom have achieved audiences the Taiwan Strait, which continues to be Some can support Beijing’s aims large enough to monetize their channels. supported by a majority of Taiwanese. This all they want, but they should have the Twenty-eight thousand full-time “status quo,” however, underscores a belief in intellectual honesty to admit that what equivalent jobs have been created. Taiwan’s de facto sovereignty and is, it must they are advocating is annexation, one that, The interests of these people, some be pointed out, a linguistic sleight of hand furthermore, is being attempted by a deeply of whom recently struck up the Twitter meant to reduce the risk that Beijing will seek autocratic regime against a polity that, hashtag #iamccancontoo, have not to annex it by use of force. While a “question” over decades of development, has become formally been considered nor really has or an “issue” for people on the outside, it is one of the most successful examples of their existence been acknowledged by a lived reality for the Taiwanese themselves: democratization in modern times. those lobbying on behalf of the self- it is nothing less than an external threat, appointed official Canadian creative class. the imposition of a value system, ideology, J. Michael Cole is a Taipei-based senior fellow at the Philosophically, these people differ and way of life by an exogenous force. The Global Taiwan Institute in Washington, DC, and MLI from the regulated creative class in that Taiwanese have answered that question, and in Ottawa, Canada.

INSIDE POLICY • The Magazine of The Macdonald-Laurier Institute 35 Ideas change the world

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