World Economic Forum, NATO and the CBC

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The addresses at the World Economic Forum (WEF) by Xi Jinping Chairman of the People’s Republic of China and Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, are barely mentioned by the publicly funded CBC or the privately owned and controlled corporate mass media.

While ignoring important statements by leaders of two permanent member states of the UN Security Council, bearing on the peace and security of all Canadians, the CBC gives, to anti-Putin poster boy Alexei Navalny and NATO chief, Jan Stoltenberg.

CBC’s Moscow correspondent Chris Brown, routinely reports on the Navalny farce as the most important news Canadians should hear about Russia and President Putin. Often his dispatches are elbowed aside for more lurid Russophobic Associated Press reporting. The faceless CBC gatekeepers who bowdlerize journalists reports for conformance with the western propaganda playbook do it of course to ensure all reporting complies with CBC journalistic standards.

Today, CBC’s Murry Brewster filed a report that Canada's top military commander Admiral Art McDonald attended a virtual NATO meeting with NATO counterparts. Brewster also reports on a warm and fuzzy talk between US President Joe Biden and NATO chief Jan Stoltenberg. The NATO chief then announced he will “present recommendations on how to equip NATO for the future when allied leaders meet in Brussels later this year. He underlined that he wants NATO to take on a more global approach and work closely with democracies in the Asia-Pacific region.” (my emphasis DC).

Then Brewster adds, just in case his ill-informed readers didn’t know; “The North Atlantic alliance, which was founded to counter Soviet expansionism in Europe, has increasingly over the last few years grappled with the rise of a more assertive China on the world stage.” (my italics DC).

“Soviet expansionism” and “assertive China” are tossed off as factual reporting with nary a concern for corroboration. 

The key words in Brewster’s report quoting Stoltenberg that should set off alarm bells for organized labour, the peace movement and the NDP are: “…on how to equip NATO for the future.”

Equipping NATO for the future will cost the Canadian government and the Canadian people a lot of tax dollars. How much was not revealed by Admiral Art McDonald because it is a NATO secret kept from Canadians and apparently the CBC.

What those few words by Stoltenberg mean for Canadian working-class families is less money from the public treasury for people’s needs. It means more flowing to defense procurement to equip Canadian armed forces for deployment to Asia to confront China.

Prime Minister Trudeau has repeatedly stated that the defense budget will not be cut. That is double talk for the assurance that it can rise to pay for Canadian involvement in the NORAD BMD scheme, F35 purchases and now to fund a NATO pivot to Asia to provoke China.

What the CBC won’t do, report objectively on the policies of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China, the honest peace forces must do.

The World Economic Forum addresses of Xi and Putin reveal no interest in engaging in a new cold war.  Both decried world of sanctions and unilateralism as counterproductive to mutually beneficial economic growth, trade normalisation and combatting the global threats of the new corona virus pandemic and global warming.

The theme of both addresses was an appeal to abandon great power ambitions and work for a future of peace and mutual cooperation, normalcy in international relations based on the reality that the world comprises many economic models and evolved cultures and achievements all of which deserve respect and without which there can be no future for humankind.

The Peace Forces

Everyone has the choice of not being informed and clinging to outmoded phobias and prejudices.  Such lazy brain attitudes are just what the war planners count on.

The speeches of the leaders of China and Russia at the virtual World Economic Forum offer the Trudeau-Freeland Liberal Government the opportunity to re-evaluate Canadian military, foreign, trade and diplomatic policies and take a bold step towards lessening of global tensions and reduce the danger of nuclear war.

It is the purpose of the peace movement not to wait in vain for them to do it, and to go to the Canadian people and organize their support for a new foreign policy of peace and nuclear disarmament.