Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne rises during a sitting of the Special Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic in the House of Commons in Ottawa, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian WyldOTTAWA -- When armed soldiers arrested Mali's embattled president earlier this month and forced him to resign on television in a coup that has been widely condemned by the international community, Canada was among those to speak out in unequivocal terms.
Yet there is a sense that despite sending hundreds of peacekeepers to Mali and investing hundreds of millions in assistance in the country in recent years, Canada has become largely disengaged from it thanks to a lack of political will and interest. The coup on Aug. 18 that saw president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita arrested and forced to resign was an "exclamation point" or culmination of all those factors coming together, said Jonathan Sears, an expert on Mali at the University of Winnipeg.
Yet the UN had to practically arm twist Canada into the mission and the federal Liberal government resisted repeated requests for Canadian troops to stay longer, all of which was seen as a signal of its lack of real interest in the country. Meanwhile, Mali remains one of Canada's top aid recipients; the West African nation has received more than $1.6 billion since 2000, according to the federal government, including almost $140 million in 2018-19.
Even before the coup, some critics, such as former Canadian diplomat Louise Ouimet, had started to question the degree to which Canada was really helping Mali as it struggles to overcome its longstanding problems and chart a sustainable path forward.
How about the Canadian gov't commit to Canadians first for a change....
Another fail!
Why is this guy on tour?
The Whole World Trembles when Super Influntial and Powerful Canada Condems Something!!! LMFAO!!
Thanks for the two helicopters though!!!
We know CTV wont teport on Trump taking down all the p e d o s, so Ill just leave this here
Another failed policy of Trudeau