Prime Minister Mark Carney's approach to human rights appears selective, as he vocally criticizes Israel while remaining silent on abuses by Saudi Arabia, China, and India, according to a Postmedia editorial published Thursday.
During a trade mission in Jeddah, Carney was asked about critics who say he prioritizes business over human rights. He responded: “I do see that lecturing countries from afar is an ineffective strategy. It’s satisfying but it’s ineffective.”
Contrasting approaches to Israel and Saudi Arabia
The Carney government has issued multiple denunciations of Israel for its actions in Gaza and Lebanon following Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 attack, including pledging to enforce an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he enters Canada.
Yet during Carney's trade mission to Saudi Arabia, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said she raised human rights concerns privately with her Saudi counterpart. This quiet diplomacy contrasts sharply with the public pressure applied to Israel.
Saudi Arabia executed at least 356 people last year—a new record—and continues sweeping crackdowns on free speech and political dissent, the editorial notes.
Silence on China and India
China's occupation of Tibet and treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang was condemned as genocide by Canada's House of Commons before Carney took office. However, the Carney government has only voiced generalized objections to forced labour in China, and a Liberal MP who initially mocked the allegation remains in Carney's caucus.
Regarding India, a senior government official told Canadian reporters before Carney's February trade mission that the government no longer believes India engages in foreign interference or transnational repression. This claim contradicts an RCMP announcement Tuesday of a joint investigation with the FBI that resulted in arrests of leaders of three Indian crime networks involved in extortion, drug trafficking, kidnapping, and murder in Canada and the U.S.
Trade priorities shape moral stance
“In Carney’s Canada, it appears, silence gives consent,” the editorial concludes, criticizing the prime minister for applying different standards based on trade relationships.
