Zimpapers Logo

Phyllis Johnson Correspondent
An imperceptible shift in human and bilateral diplomatic relations went unnoticed this month. The shift was such a surprise that the national broadcaster aired a soft focus image in the apparent belief that the camera may have been looking at the wrong person, although the profile was later

confirmed in the print media.

The ability of most of the media to focus mainly inward led the public to miss a related event in October which, had it been noticed, would have explained the confusion over the face of the person presenting credentials to the President on behalf of what has been recently rather an unfriendly country, leading the anti-Zimbabwe diamond lobby.

The event in October was what could be called a revolutionary change in Canadian governance resulting from the ballot box, an election won by a young prime minister who appointed the most diverse government in the country’s history.

The young prime minister is Right Hon. Justin Trudeau, whose father, Pierre Trudeau, held the same post through the 1970s when he opposed colonial Rhodesia and apartheid South Africa, maintaining close relations with Cuba, and working with African leaders to impose sanctions on racially segregated regimes, not independent governments.

In the October 2015 national election, the eldest son of the former prime minister swept away the three-term, right-wing government of Conservative Stephen Harper who had funded the diamond lobby against Zimbabwe to protect the $1 billion diamond-mining business in Canada.

And indeed, since the election, the global mining giant with South African roots, De Beers, has closed down one of its Canadian diamond mines, citing low prices due to oversupply and technical challenges, although enigmatically announcing another bigger diamond-mining operation nearby.

This was the response of the markets and transnational companies in general as the country dropped 36 000 jobs in November. Many global mining companies trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada.

Justin Pierre James Trudeau was born in 1971 when his father was serving as prime minister and grew up in the official residence in Ottawa until the age of 12. He turned 44 years on December 25.

Young Trudeau, whose Liberal Party won 184 of the total 338 seats in Parliament for a majority government, appointed a cabinet of government ministers half of whom are women and half men, a 50 percent ratio never before seen in Canada or most other Northern countries, where gender parity in national government is rare.

Finland and Sweden have more women than men in their governments, while France and Liechtenstein have an equal number.

Norway and South Africa are close to parity.

Norway goes a step further with a law that ensures that 40 percent of corporate boards are occupied by women in government-run enterprises and in the private sector.

Soon after the cabinet was announced, a reporter asked Trudeau why he chose to ensure gender parity in his cabinet. “Because it’s 2015,” he replied, adding that he wants to lead a government that “looks like Canada”.

In his inaugural address, he spoke of the need for positive politics and a hopeful, optimistic vision, saying that politics does not need to be negative and personal.

He spoke of the need to listen to the people, and to learn about the needs of families and communities, adding that the defeated opposition party members “are not the enemy, they are our neighbours”.

He committed his government to integrity and respect for institutions and agreements, and called on like-minded people to work with him. “We are strong not in spite of our differences but because of them.”

Among the 30 ministers in the new government are two indigenous politicians and four of Indian ancestry as well as an immigrant from Afghanistan.

The issue of Canada’s invisible indigenous women was addressed when a former First Nations chief and crown prosecutor was appointed to the powerful post of justice minister. Another indigenous legislator was given responsibility for fisheries, oceans and the coastguard.

Trudeau found space in his cabinet for two people with disabilities, one of them a legally blind lawyer who is a paralympian medallist. He appointed as transport minister a former astronaut who later headed the Canadian Space Agency.

A medical doctor and family physician, who worked in Niger for a decade, was appointed as minister of health.

The renaming of the ministry of agriculture to include agri-foods has resonance with value addition and beneficiation. The minister is a former farmer and businessman who has been elected to parliament nine times and is a former secretary of state for veterans.

There is now a full minister of veterans affairs, as well as a heritage minister.

Missing from the cabinet are the faces of significant minorities who are of African, Chinese or Japanese extraction, although they have been represented in cabinet previously.

Regional balance is important in Canada as it is in Zimbabwe, and the cabinet minsters come from the east, the west and the middle of the country, from urban and rural areas.

Most of the cabinet are young but have experience in public office, although not at national level, and one-third of the cabinet have served in Parliament for more than a decade.

A handful are older with experience in national governance, including the foreign minister. Foreign affairs is often a more conservative portfolio, although it is an area that some Canadian governments have used to illustrate their differences with the United States, for example, over relations with Cuba.

A former journalist and deputy editor of the national newspaper was named international trade minister. Of Ukrainian parentage, she was refused entry to Russia last year due to her views on the situation in Ukraine.

In short, there may be issues of common concern such as UN reform as well as issues of divergence but things have changed in Ottawa and talking is possible.

Following the election on October 19 that was focused by the outgoing government on the Hijab and whether Muslim women in Canada could wear full face cover, and a debate over the past three decades about whether military and police officers who are Sikhs could wear turbans on duty, perhaps the most significant appointment was that of a turban-wearing Sikh who served in the military with rank of Lt-Col as Minister of Defence.

This may be why ZBC failed to find the focus on its camera and, seeking a white, Anglo-Saxon presence as the new Canadian ambassador, faltered on the face of Ambassador Kumar Gupta, a Canadian of Asian extraction.

After presenting his credentials to President Mugabe, Gupta said his mission is to build on the “love and warmth” that exists between the two countries and this too may have unsettled and confused the media about which country was presenting credentials, but he was echoing the call of his prime minister for positive politics.

While Canada, like Zimbabwe, sits uncomfortably close to a large and influential neighbour who often puts pressure on economic and political relations, the country’s history of setting its own foreign policy and maintaining relations with Cuba, for example, is likely to be continued.

Read the full article on www.herald.co.zw

Phyllis Johnson is founding director of a regional policy centre and think tank in Zimbabwe.

The first outing for the new Canadian prime minister was the G20 meeting in Turkey, which President Mugabe attended as chair of the African Union, and the next was the climate conference in France, the 21st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change when there was divergence of opinion between industrialised and developing countries.

While Canada in the era of Trudeau Senior was considered as part of the “like-minded” group of supporters of independence that then included Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Netherlands, that position changed dramatically under subsequent governments.

During Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle, it may be recalled that “humanitarian aid” included non-lethal support from the Canadian embassy in Lusaka for ZANU and ZAPU, including financial support for the families of liberation fighters who were at the front.

Trudeau Senior actively supported the birth of Zimbabwe in international meetings during the period he served as prime minister from almost 16 years from 1968-1979 and 1980-1984. He visited the country on a private visit after he left office.

This ambassadorial appointment may not be quite the same, therefore, as the United States persisting in sending black ambassadors to Zimbabwe when the face of government policy remains unchanged.

The Canadian face represents a new dispensation, new policy options, a new choice by Canadian voters, and a new opportunity to re-engage on matters of mutual interest.

Welcome to the country, Ambassador Gupta. Forgive us if you have to explain which country you come from. There is a history.

While the new ambassador refused to be drawn on the substantive issue of sanctions, actions will speak louder than words. Zimbabwe should watch this space, and cultivate it.

• Phyllis Johnson is founding director of a regional policy centre and think tank in Zimbabwe.