The media and politicians across the political spectrum are celebrating Marc Garneau. But the famed astronaut oversaw an imperialistic foreign policy and was deeply anti-Palestinian.
Garneau died of cancer Wednesday at the age of 76. The former military officer was Canada’s transport minister from 2015 to 2021 and foreign affairs minister for ten months in 2021.
As government spokesperson in Parliament and during meetings in his riding, Garneau justified Canada’s controversial $15 billion Light Armoured Vehicle sale to Saudi Arabia. When he was foreign minister Garneau okayed permits for a $74 million arms deal to the highly repressive, US aligned, monarchy.
Garneau backed the right-wing Ivan Duque government during a national strike in which security forces killed 50. After numerous Canadian rallies were held in solidarity with protesters in Colombia, Garneau released a statement ten days into the strike. Garneau criticized the security forces’ deadly violence in equal measure to protestors’ purported vandalism and also praised the Duque government, which had issued several menacing statements.
His opposition to popular forces challenging an unconstitutional and repressive government in Haiti was substantially more active and significant. Amidst mass demonstrations against Jovenel Moïse’s bid to illegally extend an already questionable term as president, Garneau spoke with Haiti’s de facto foreign minister and announced plans to co-host a conference with that country. The statement made no mention, however, of Moïse extending his mandate, illegally firing Supreme Court judges, ruling by decree or criminalizing protests.
During huge protests in Haiti a public letter was delivered to Garneau’s office that was signed by three sitting MPs and three former MPs, as well as Noam Chomsky, David Suzuki, Naomi Klein and 500 others, criticizing Ottawa’s “support for a repressive, corrupt Haitian president devoid of constitutional legitimacy.” Soon after, a coalition of 30 Haitian Canadian groups, as well as the Canadian Labour Congress and Council of Global Unions, also expressed opposition to Canadian and US policy in Haiti. (more...)
Garneau’s legacy includes anti-human foreign policy
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