Trudeau’s Faustian Bargain

UN Watch’s tweets were the centerpiece of the article.

“Trudeau is trading Canada’s bedrock principles of fairness and equality for a UN Security Council seat,” said UN Watch director Hillel Neuer, referring to Canada’s multi-million dollar campaign to win votes for a 2021-2022 seat on the world body.

“By voting for a resolution co-sponsored by North Korea and Zimbabwe, Trudeau has entered a Faustian bargain with dictatorships that does not bode well for a free and democratic society.”

Neuer said Canada had “joined the jackals” in a separate tweet.

The article quoting UN Watch also appeared in the Montreal Gazette, the Ottawa Citizen, the Vancouver Sun, the Edmonton Journal, and the Calgary Herald.

In addition, a powerful column in the Toronto Sun quoted UN Watch at length.

“I speak from experience when I say the United Nations presents many such opportunities to strike a deal with the devil,” she said. Click here for video

She was telling the audience about how it is often “easier not to rock the boat” instead of standing up to “the mob” and cited the Canadian vote as an example of “this cultural corruption playing out in real time.”

“Canada has been, for a long time, balanced and fair-minded towards Israel at the United Nations. It has opposed the pull of the anti-Israel culture,” she said.

“But Canada is now seeking one of the rotating two-year seats on the Security Council. It faces a vote in the General Assembly.”

“Two weeks ago, Canada surprised Israel’s friends by voting for a North Korean resolution that challenges the legitimacy of Israel. This is a resolution that Canadian governments for years have voted against.”

Haley cited Neuer’s comment that Canada was making a “Faustian bargain,” and trading its integrity for a seat on the Security Council.

“I speak from experience when I say the United Nations presents many such opportunities to strike a deal with the devil.”

“Standing up for our principles, and our allies, is a constant struggle, which is another reason why I am so grateful to UN Watch.”

Thanks to UN Watch, Nikki Haley’s condemnation of Trudeau’s  shift was report by Fox News, Canada’s National Post, Israel’s Ynet, the Jerusalem Post, i24 News, Algemeiner and the Daily Wire.

Canada faced an angry backlash in November when it first voted in support of a controversial UN resolution co-sponsored by North Korea, Zimbabwe and others. It condemned Israel as the “occupying power in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including East Jerusalem” and said Israel’s actions impede the right of the “Palestinian people to self-determination.”

Last week, Trudeau responded to concerns from the Jewish community, the former U.S. ambassador to the UN, as well as from within his own caucus, when he said, “Canada remains a steadfast supporter of Israel and Canada will always defend Israel’s right to live in security.”

Speaking at a menorah lighting on Parliament Hill, he said, “I understand that many of you were alarmed by this decision. The government felt that it was important to reiterate its commitment to a two-states-for-two-peoples solution at a time when its prospects appear increasingly under threat.”

UN Watch, an organization that monitors the United Nations, launched a petition after last month’s vote urging Canada to change its mind. It collected nearly 40,000 signatures as Wednesday’s final vote was cast and referred to Canada’s decision as a “Faustian bargain.”

Hillel Neuer, director of UN Watch, said the resolution condemned Israel’s security barrier but it “omits to mention that it was built in response to the Second Intifada which killed or wounded 8,341 Israelis by Palestinian suicide bombings, suicides, stoning, stabbings, lynchings, rocket and other methods of attack.”

The campaign for the Security Council seat has been important to the Liberal government and the recently released mandate letter for Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne directed him to “lead Canada’s United Nations Security Council campaign” as one of the top priorities.

The campaign faces long odds, though, with both Norway and Ireland campaigning hard for the seat. Both countries have been lobbying for the seat for more than a decade, with Canada only announcing its intentions in 2016. Ireland will likely be the EU favourite, while the Norwegians will get points for out-sized foreign aid contributions each year.

In early December, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said Canada voting for the resolution was an example of “cultural corruption playing out in real time” and was “trading its integrity” for a seat on the Security Council.

“This is a resolution that Canadian governments for years have voted against,” said Haley. “I speak from experience when I say the United Nations presents many opportunities to strike a deal with the devil.”