[R-G] The Profit Behind the Myths: New documentary refutes "benevolent" Canada

[Anthony Fenton]

http://www.dominionpaper.ca/articles/2546

March 20, 2009
The Profit Behind the Myths
New documentary refutes "benevolent" Canada

by Yves Engler

The Dominion - http://www.dominionpaper.ca

The new documentary "Myths for Profit" attempts to expose the truth  
behind several common beliefs about Canada's overseas comportment.

A major obstacle for anyone organizing to "right" a Canadian foreign  
policy "wrong" is the widely held notion that this country acts  
benevolently on the world stage. "Myths for Profit," a recently  
released documentary written and directed by Amy Miller, challenges  
this assumption head-on.

A summary of the film reads: "The Canadian government and the military  
would like us to believe that we are altruistic peacekeepers helping  
people around the world. But is this accurate?"

After exploring how Canadians see their country, "Myths for Profit"  
provides an entertaining history of NATO and a brief description of  
Canada's peacekeeping role in the Suez crisis. The film also delves  
into the role played by government agencies, such as the Canadian  
International Development Agency (CIDA) and Export Development Canada  
(EDC), in advancing investors' interests abroad. With helpful  
graphics, the film discusses the Canadian arms industry, pipeline  
politics in Afghanistan and some of the social and ecological  
devastation wrought by Canadian foreign investment.

The movie is probably at its best regarding Canada's bombing of Serbia  
in 1999. Under the auspices of "humanitarian intervention," Canadian  
military jets dropped hundreds of bombs on the country, destroying  
infrastructure and killing civilians.

The film is not without political limitations. It discusses the  
drawbacks of tied aid at length, but barely mentions how Canadian aid  
supports US-led military endeavours and has been used to keep poorer  
countries within the Western sphere of influence. Aid, the film might  
have made clear, is largely a tool to advance geopolitical interests  
defined by the global elite.

When discussing the Suez crisis, popularly understood as the beginning  
of "peacekeeping," "Myths for Profit" could have detailed Washington's  
support for the UN mission, put forward by Lester B. Pearson. A better  
understanding of Suez would convince viewers that peacekeeping  
(usually) advanced Washington's interests during the Cold War, a point  
made in "Myths for Profit."

The political objective of the film may be too broad for an hour-long  
documentary, a medium that doesn't lend itself to depth. It is not  
clear whether the uninitiated viewer will follow all of the movie's  
transitions, from NATO to peacekeeping and through the reconstruction  
industry to Canadian mining operations abroad.

Despite these weaknesses, "Myths for Profit" is an important resource  
for those working for a more just Canadian foreign policy. It asks the  
right questions and provides a number of answers.

For a documentary with no major institutional financing, its technical  
quality is impressive. Often quite funny, the film's images and comics  
make for a highly entertaining documentary.

"Myths for Profit" is being shown across Canada during March and April.

Yves Engler is the author of the forthcoming The Black Book of  
Canadian Foreign Policy. To help organize a talk as part of a book  
tour in May or June, please e-mail yvesengler [at] hotmail [.] com.