Chretien on Harper's snub of the Olympics

Interesting development:"PM wrong to skip Olympics opening: Chretien." The lack of commentary from Chretien on Harper's government to date, as you'd expect from a former PM whose time is done, makes such remarks notable. Today Chretien was highly critical of Harper's non-attendance in Beijing, placing the snub in the larger context of the Canada-China relationship.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s decision to bypass the Beijing Olympics was a mistake that undercuts decades of Chinese-Canadian relations, Jean Chretien said today.

“We built something that has since been taken down,” the former prime minister told reporters after a speech to the Canadian Bar Association.

“And you can’t say that’s good.”

Chretien said he wouldn’t have hesitated for a second to go to China for the Olympics. While they have “a different system than ours,” China has the second-biggest economy in the world and there could be trade consequences for Canada’s high-level snubbing of the big event, he suggested.

...

Chretien, who led several trade delegations to China while he was prime minister, said Canadians had “a considerable advantage” during those trips because of its long-standing positive relations with the country dating back to the time of Dr. Norman Bethune, the Gravenhurst-born physician who worked as a surgeon in China during the second Sino-Japanese war in the 1930s.

Those ties were strengthened politically starting in the 1950s, when a Conservative government led by then-Prime Minister John Diefenbaker decided to sell Canadian wheat to China – a controversy at the time.

Those good relations continued with Lester Pearson, Pierre Trudeau - the first western leader to recognize China – Joe Clark, Brian Mulroney “and myself,” Chretien said.

CanWest is reporting a stronger rebuke from Chretien on Harper's non-attendance, with Chretien framing Harper's snub as "an irreconcilable political blunder." For Chretien to weigh in like this, knowing the attention that would be drawn to his remarks, during the Olympics, is quite the thing. Chretien clearly feels that Harper is doing serious damage to the relationship. And there's a message sent to China as well when the former PM speaks out so publicly on the issue.

Harper claims to be an advocate for human rights, that's his front on China. But his government has little to show for the posture it's taken. And his no-show in Beijing has been taken as a boycott by the Chinese.

When you look at Harper's China policy, you do see the all too familiar Harper my-way-or-the-highway approach. On the international scene, the "Canada's back" tough guy thing has been their hallmark to date. Ironic given the lightweights they've placed in Foreign Affairs, MacKay and Bernier, the latter having undercut any of Harper's "achievement" in this file to date.

And at home, Harper's efforts with Chinese Canadians have been electorally driven. They see Chinese Canadians in particular as a likely source of votes.

Given Harper's preoccupation with his electoral viability, it's fair to see his Chinese policy as similarly driven. And if there are those who feel that this is incompatible with Canada's long term interests, then let them speak, as Mr. Chretien did today.

Update (7:00 p.m.): An uncharacteristically piffling response from the PMO:

A spokesperson in Harper's office said Chretien attended only one Olympics opening ceremony during his tenure as prime minister.

Looks like they don't want to get into an argument with Chretien. They'll lose.