[R-G] Harper Sahib at the G8

[Anthony Fenton]

Harper Sahib at the G8
 >by Rick Salutin
July 11, 2008
http://rabble.ca/columnists_full.shtml?x=73354

Stephen Harper's performance at the G8 this week in Japan emitted a  
bracing whiff of Canadian imperialism. Did you know there once was  
such a thing back in the days of Queen Victoria and King Edward VII?  
It doesn't mean that Canada had its own empire but that it identified  
with the British Empire and its rulers, along with other "white  
dominions" such as Australia and New Zealand, rather than with the  
rebellious colonials in places such as India. This led us into the  
Boer War to expand the Empire in Africa.

In the century since, Canada gradually adopted another posture: honest  
broker between the old rulers and ruled, known today as the developed  
and developing nations. This rested on a sense that Canada could  
identify with both sides, because it had been a colony, too. Stephen  
Harper shows no such sensibility. He's the Gunga Din of post-9/11,  
carrying water (and oil) to his masters, along with the white man's  
burden. How so?

He overidentified with the big guys there, like a yelpy pup among  
Great Danes. He took it on himself to explain that the G8 excluded  
nations such as India and China since its job is "to bring together  
the major countries, advanced countries of shared values." It's  
insulting, grandiose, delusional and ignores all the similarities "we"  
share with "them." Does he even know that Canada was once a colony?

He joined in piling onto Zimbabwe ("We've added the G8's powerful  
voice") for its "fraudulent election" and "illegitimacy." He showed no  
sense of perspective: that the U.S. held a fraudulent election in  
2000, or illegitimately tortures in Guantanamo, and that his own  
government continues to permit the Americans to practise on Canadian  
Omar Khadr.

He was at his most smug and patronizing as he lectured those "less  
developed" than us about climate change — a term he and others have  
managed to substitute for global warming. "The developing world is up  
against some simple mathematics, and we've simply got to make that  
point to them," he said. Did he want to add, as he likes to, that he's  
an economist and knows about this tricky stuff? "I could show you the  
graphs," he told the press. Did he expect the developing countries to  
squeal, Oh look, he has graphs. Do show us your graphs. And "this is  
not a philosophical position. This is a mathematical certainty." It's  
way more glorious than philosophy, folks; this is math! Bow down  
before it.

The plan they were supposed to gratefully accept wasn't even a plan.  
It's a wish stated in wishful terms of vision or goal. It has no start  
line for reductions, which could be measured from 1990, or any other  
year. It has no interim targets and exerts no pressure. It aims only  
to avoid "the most serious consequences of climate change" — omitting  
to say which effects are less serious. And even this non-plan won't  
happen unless they sign on first, and admit by the Harper logic that  
they have no choice.

The over-obvious irony is that China and India are developed. They've  
built postmodern, industrial, innovative economies. Their big flaws  
are social and moral, not economic. Canada, meanwhile, is  
deindustrializing, with full acquiescence by the Harper government,  
and declining into reliance on raw materials. We're back to hewers and  
carriers. It's rapid underdevelopment. Those nations must snicker  
faster than they can bristle as they watch our PM strut among the G8  
as he condescends to them. He's George Bush's poodle now that Tony  
Blair's moved on, and there's nothing to be gained by it.

Maybe it's Canada's role, or that of today's white dominions, to be  
more imperial than the Empire long after the Empire has relinquished  
its crasser forms and learned a few lessons. I mean, who still  
celebrates Victoria's birthday? Trust me, it's not the Brits.

Originally published in The Globe and Mail, Rick Salutin's column  
appears every Friday.