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Question 12: Values and Culture

What are the best means for Canada to make its culture and experience known abroad?

 

 
 
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Contributor:russilwvong
Date: 2003-05-01 02:17:23
Answer:
Current policy seems to be working fine. One issue to watch out for is the reverse problem (I think Christopher Sands calls it the "eavesdropping" problem): partisan disputes and arguments within Canada will be heard in the US and elsewhere, potentially leading to unwanted friction. The "what a moron" comment in Prague--reported by the National Post as a way of criticizing the Liberal government--is only the most obvious example. The "Wimps!" article by Jonah Goldberg in the National Review, based on criticisms drawn from various Canadian sources, is another example.

To prevent this kind of blowup from continuing to damage Canada's relationships with other countries, particularly with the US, I think it's important to reduce the extent to which people seize on foreign policy issues as a useful weapon in partisan disputes. But I don't have any idea how to accomplish this.
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