Yesterday in Toronto, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky left the Royal York Hotel to face a large crowd of protesters objecting to Zelensky’s presence with shouting and placards saying such things as “FxxK you” and “Get out of our country”.
Veteran Journalist Andrew Coyne reacted to that this way. “What in God’s name….? I wish I could say this was a Putinite rent-a-mob. I fear it is just more evidence how genuinely unhinged a section of the public have become.”
Whether or not some of us have become unhinged is a matter for debate, but it is pretty clear, to me at least, that this era of populism which encourages us to look inward toward ourselves, also begets a form of isolationism that is potentially dangerous.
This world we live in has never been particularly peaceful. Almost always, there have been confrontations and conflicts somewhere. Occasionally they foster global warfare as they have at least twice in the last century or so.
There was a time when Canada, a relatively small fish in the international pond, punched well above its weight when it came to defending ourselves and others from tyranny and aggression by those who sought to impose their will and dominance on those people and countries that they coveted.
The result of that, at least in part, led to the recognition of Canada as a major player in world events. Sadly, not so much anymore.
When it comes to the war in Ukraine, we are essentially bystanders, wringing our hands at the aggression of Russia, but in real terms doing little about it. Yes, we send money and equipment, but it is more tokenism than a real effort to end this war. The same can be said for our neighbours to the south and, as well, for several other countries around the world.
This is not just a war between Russia and Ukraine. It is a war aimed at changing the international balance of power, that ever so delicate fulcrum that focuses on maintaining an equality of military strength between opposing countries.
If Russia is successful in unilaterally taking control of Ukraine, what is to stop other countries from doing the same? Will China quickly follow, to solidify its dominance in Asia? Will the alliance between Russia and China become so strong that the balance of power will swing toward them to the detriment of those countries in the Western world?
In this day and age, with nuclear capabilities on all sides, it is understandable that warfare takes on a much more catastrophic and cautionary meaning than it did a century ago. But history has also taught us that appeasement against global aggression doesn’t work.
It was Henry Kisinger, a National Security Advisor to several American presidents who said, “Whenever an avoidance of war has been the primary objective of a group of powers, the international system has been at the mercy of its most ruthless member……Appeasement guarantees the triumph of tyranny.”
One of the key reasons that the United Nations was formed was to act as an arbitrator between differing countries to prevent aggression and dominance where it should not occur. It was intended to promote peace, prevent war, and hold those accountable who did not live up to that creed.
Sadly, its charter has rendered it impotent. As long as China and Russia have a veto over what the United Nations can do, nothing substantive can be accomplished and the race to global dominance by those countries, cannot be stopped, at least not by the U.N. In fact, and in fairness, no single country, including the other three that do, ( France, Great Britain, and the United States )should have a veto that prevents the United Nations from dealing with unwarranted aggression by an international power.
And so, if the United Nations cannot do it, who is going to stand up and stop Russia in its quest for more territorial dominance? The harsh reality is that Ukraine, as brave and defiant as its people are, is definitively not winning this war and it will not do so without more backbone and consequential action by its international allies.
The outcome of a Russian win, even a diluted one, will have a deleterious effect not only on Ukraine but also on those nations that gave any kind of support to Ukraine, even lip service, however watered down and ineffective. Indeed, it will have the same effect on world order itself, as it will embolden others, like Russia, to increase their power base at the expense of other people’s freedom.
A gauntlet has been thrown down that cannot be dismissed. Canada on its own of course, cannot stop the Russian aggression in Ukraine. However, in spite of recent setbacks, we still have a loud and often effective voice on the international stage. We need to use it. We need to convince other nations that we cannot stand by and watch the repeat of territorial domination that was the genesis of World War Two. Of course, we want to prevent war, but we cannot prevent it by rewarding warlike maneuvers by aggressive nations with tactics of appeasement that lack the strength of force and diplomatic force, if possible, and military strength, if necessary.
Canada has always been a strong defender of territorial rights and the importance of every nation to determine their own destiny without the interference of foreign entities. That is why it was disappointing to me to see these demonstrations in Toronto against Ukraine. Isolationism is not a path to world peace.
In fact, in the long run, to turn our back on Ukraine is to turn our back on ourselves.
Hugh Mackenzie
Hugh Mackenzie has held elected office as a trustee on the Muskoka Board of Education, a Huntsville councillor, a District councillor, and mayor of Huntsville. He has also served as chairman of the District of Muskoka and as chief of staff to former premier of Ontario, Frank Miller.
Hugh has also served on a number of provincial, federal and local boards, including chair of the Ontario Health Disciplines Board, vice-chair of the Ontario Family Health Network, vice-chair of the Ontario Election Finance Commission, and board member of Roy Thomson Hall, the National Theatre School of Canada, and the Anglican Church of Canada. Locally, he has served as president of the Huntsville Rotary Club, chair of Huntsville District Memorial Hospital, chair of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation, president of Huntsville Festival of the Arts, and board member of Community Living Huntsville.
In business, Hugh Mackenzie has a background in radio and newspaper publishing. He was also a founding partner and CEO of Enterprise Canada, a national public affairs and strategic communications firm established in 1986.
Currently, Hugh is president of C3 Digital Media Inc., the parent company of Doppler Online, and he enjoys writing commentary for Huntsville Doppler.
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All I can say here is everything else in the world is going to hell in hand basket . Like the incident with the kidnapped and mutated young women on canadian soil in the east. So what does it matter if people that r lied to their whole lives by the government who by the way Re the biggest organization of criminals in the world . And pimps for that matter they only care if there is money to be made. Thats a whole nothsr rant though.
Anyways so who care if they were yelling ND screaming at one of the ahittieat people who ever ran our country. Tell him to suck it up butter cup. Lol
Freedom of speech . And shaking hands with the devil at that. Hmm read the Bible people . T pages left 1 more trumpet. Take a look it’s scary. Non of this should be a surprise to anyone
Hello. Erin Jones, by accounts I read of RFK jr, he cognition is embedded well in conspiracy theories; his anti-vaxx stance has had outcomes for people in island jurisdictions. Several of those who would call themselves friends of his are questioning his reasoning ability and his detachment from a realistic perspective. Listening to him via internet, I concur that he has lost his way.
Kathryn Henderson; respectfully, the argument of looking after others at home first is a long-standing, often repeated one when there are crises, aggression, war, etc. in other parts of the world. I think Mr. Mackenzie does a fair job of pointing out, in this and previous commentaries why it is so important to keep a discerning eye on international affairs. It is sometimes easy to assume those out-of-country events will not impact us here in Canada – history has shown us otherwise.
“this era of populism which encourages us to look inward toward ourselves, also begets a form of isolationism that is potentially dangerous”. Mr. Mackenzie, I could not agree with you more. The populism, especially during political campaigning has had us, as Canadians, leading with emotional anger and fear, rather than reason and debate of some very complex issues. Not Everything can be simplified to a slogan or rhetoric attached to a protest sign. Personally, I recoil at populism appealing to basic emotional responses. That is not conducive to working together on major problems, and I would like to see the back end of this campaigning style wave. Canadians need some therapy following the devastating pandemic that took so many lives from us.
If Canada would stop funding the war in Ukrain and use that money feeding and housing Canadians it would be more useful. We are keeping the wars going by giving them equipment and money.
Hugh Holland,
Referring to RFK, Jr. as a “certifiable nutcase” just contributes to political polarization. That rending is destructive to the consensus that is a part of peace and stability. I dare say that RFK, who comes from a very political American family, is better able to assess the lay of the political landscape than you are as a Canadian. While he is a bit too liberal for my taste (I count myself as a centrist) I would never refer to him so disrespectfully. Disrespect for another’s point of view, and indeed, the person him/herself is a particularly odious part of the current scene. It is hypocritical to point out that behaviour in a Donald Trump and then to engage in it oneself.
In a Doppler article 9 months ago I argued that it would be best if the West, and Canada in particular, could find an accelerated path to end this tragic war. I suggested that more heavy arms for Ukraine would not bring that about and that a negotiated settlement was the best way forward. Since then, things have only deteriorated. The casualties continue to mount & now approach 500,000. The economic cost to Ukraine is approaching $500 billion, while the impacts globally are far higher. The Ukraine counter offensive, expected to bring rapid reclaiming of territory, has had limited success, despite the increasing supplies of Western lethal weapons. The Russian army is now deeply entrenched in the east.
Putin shows no sign of yielding and the likelihood of a Russian coup has diminished following the brief failed Wagner group rebellion. The West’s sanctions have also failed to derail the Russian economy and undermine Putin. Further, China continues to support Putin, and India (among many other countries) continues to purchase Russian energy. Recently the BRICS countries, which includes Russia, added 6 new members, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Even the recent G20 statements omitted any condemnation of Russia’s invasion. The support for the war in the West is waning, especially in the US. So, how does this war end, and at what cost?
Mr. Holland, on the matter of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, I strongly agree with you. That’s why I referred to Russia as “Putin’s evil regime”, and that’s why it is so egregious that Trudeau and his government allowed this embarrassing, amateur gaffe to occur. Newspapers around the world are lamenting this error, as it will give Putin far more than any of his propaganda spewing troll farms could ever hope to produce. As of this writing no one in the Trudeau government has been held to account for this disgrace. Are you satisfied with that?
It’s hard for us ordinary citizens to know exactly what is going on and to decide what is what (when we do not know first hand) but when I look up this website: https://www.reuters.com/world/kremlin-says-canadian-recognition-veteran-nazi-unit-is-outrageous-2023-09-25/
Makes me wonder why folk do not find out the proper way of things before speaking out – especially in Government – when it causes havoc like protests. By the way, I doubt that the truck protest had anything to do with promoting Nazism because I understood they were freedom, not Nazism (which is the opposite of freedom).
I do feel for Ukraine and wonder why the nations did not protest dramatically against Russia coming in and trying to take over another nation, as you say Hugh, they help by sending ammunition but still keeping our fingers out.
Doug Beiers, RFK jr. is another certifiable nutcase, like many US politicians. War with Russia is not a goal of the US. Certainly its not Biden’s goal. Even Trump never criticized Russia or Putin because he owed millions to Russian Banks.
Greg Reuvenkamp, Nazi or not, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a clear violation of the UN Charter that Russia signed. Germany had lots of Nazis during WW2. That would not justify a Russian invasion of Germany today. By signing the UN charter, Russia agreed that existing borders are to be respected and are not to be violated.
The best way to understand how we arrived at the position we are in today, is to research the “why”. Two people I trust with this answer are:
1/ RFKjr, nephew of murdered President JFK, and son of murdered Robert Kennedy who was in the run for US President when killed. RFKjr is also running on the Dem ticket in the next Presidential election. He may change to an Independent as even tho he has substantial support from both parties, he is considered a wild card outsider (threat) to the establishment Democrats.
2/ Col Douglas Macgregor who does almost daily interviews about the Ukraine war situation. Just do a ‘search’ for him with tag “Ukraine” and you will find tons of content.
Here is a brief recent Sept 22 comment by RFKjr on his twitter/X account: “…“Even Zelensky’s team knew that the quest for NATO enlargement meant imminent war with Russia.” War was the U.S. plan all along. When I’m in the White House, peace will be the plan. #Kennedy24
https://twitter.com/RobertKennedyJr/status/1705341033721049367
Trudeau latest gaffe of leading the entire HOC in a standing ovation for a man proven to have served in the Ukrainian version of the Waffen SS is a huge propaganda win for Putin. The Kremlin has already weighed in with comment. Putin’s evil regime has been trying hard since before the war to equate the Ukrainian resistance with Nazism, and now Trudeau’s government have gift wrapped an easy opportunity to do this again. Liberal claims that this was only Anthony Rota’s error have already been disproved, as Hunka’s granddaughter posted a picture showing the man waiting for a personal audience with Trudeau. Another day, another disgrace foisted upon the Canadian people by this incompetent, unworthy Prime Minister
In couldn’t agree more, Hugh. Those anti-Ukraine protests in Toronto were disgusting. It makes one wonder if and how they are linked to the truckers convoy with similar tactics and thinking (or total lack of thinking).