Edmonton Journal: Inconsistent foreign policy hurts credibility

[tuvor]

EDMONTON - The Harper government's inconsistent foreign policy on legal and human rights is undermining Canada's international credibility, a top legal expert says.

Last week, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he could not interfere in the legal case of Brenda Martin, a Canadian woman imprisoned in Mexico without trial for more than two years.

But today, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day personally asked senior Saudi officials to overturn a death sentence against former Montreal resident Mohamed Kohail. Day asked for a full judicial review and said the death sentence should be overturned.

"The problem with the Harper government's foreign policy generally is that it is inconsistent," said Michael Byers, who holds a Canada Research Chair in global politics and international law at the University of British Columbia. "You cannot have double standards. You can't treat your allies differently than you treat countries who are not your allies, because the moment you show inconsistency you lose leverage and credibility.

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http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=10dff3ba-e5f4-416e-9f01-fa0e1bb686f7&k=13684