Angry in the Great White North

Joan Bryden of the Canadian Press has filed this story:

Canada deserves to be blasted by the top European human rights watchdog for washing its hands of Canadians facing the death penalty abroad, say opposition politicians.

"I think the Council of Europe, their position is completely understandable,'' Liberal foreign affairs critic Bob Rae said Wednesday.

"I mean the change in Canada's position is frankly disgraceful.''

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government announced earlier this month that it will no longer seek clemency for Canadians sentenced to death in countries such as the United States, where they are deemed to have received a fair trial. It also announced that Canada will no longer co-sponsor United Nations' resolutions urging a worldwide ban on the death penalty.

Hey, how about something like this: "Though I understand the concerns of the Council of Europe, this is an issue between Canada and the United States, with no involvment of European nations nor of European nationals. I for one don't appreciate the characterizations made by Secretary General Terry Davis, however obliquely, that Canadian politicians are equivalent to murderers."

Yeah, you heard that right. Canadian politicians are equivalent to murderers:

The opposition parties were responding to a media report Wednesday in which Terry Davies [sic: Terry Davis, the former British Labour MP], secretary general of the Council of Europe, accused Canada of "subcontracting'' the execution of Canadians such as Ronald Smith, a two-time murderer currently on death row in Montana.

"I'm just amazed that the Canadian government will wash its hands, just like Pontius Pilate,'' Davies said, referring to the Roman governor who caved in to mob demands for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

"It's reducing authorities to the same level as people who kill people.''

Smith, by the way, has admitted to kidnapping and killing Running Rabbit and Mad Man after they stopped to pick up the hitchhiking Smith. To repay their kindness, Smith forced the men into the woods and shot each in the head with his sawed-off rifle.

Is Bob Rae suggesting that Stephen Harper would shoot people in the head just to see what it's like? That's why Smith did it.

For Terry Davis, the concepts of national borders and democracy and sovereignty mean nothing. The Council of Europe is a transnational organization to protect rule of law and promote democracy wthin the 47 members states in Europe and Asia.

But besides erasing the notion of borders and cultures across Europe, Davis has decided that the Council of Europe has the moral authority to criticize Canada's decision on how to deal with a court judgment passed on a citizen who committed a violent crime in the United States..

Bob Rae might do well to recall Liberal Party values:

"generosity, unity, sovereignty, justice, and the courage to choose, the will to govern."

Unity? How about the unity that comes from telling third parties that whatever the situation, Canadians don't appreciate being insulted by those third parties who have no part in a debate.

Sovereignty? Our country, our government, our decisions. When we give up the full measure of our sovereignty to join the Council of Europe, then Davis can talk.

Courage to choose? We can choose our leaders and our policies. Not everyone will like them, but then that requires a measure of courage too.

Will to govern? I suppose that's what would seem strangest to internationalists like Bob Rae and Terry Davis. Canadians expressing the will to govern their own affairs instead of defering to some supranational unaccountable bureaucracy.

Those Liberal values were enumerated by Michael Ignatieff. I wonder if they still apply to this Liberal Party.

To tell you the truth though, I'm not sure whether it is Bob Rae or Michael Ignatieff who is out of place in this Liberal Party. I have to think that Michael Ignatieff might not like the government's decision to refrain from meddling in the course of justice in the United States on behalf of killer Ronald Smith, but also that Ignatieff would not stand for the morally superior Europeans who have no standing in the matter insulting Canadians politicians, whatever their politics.