The New York Times remark was meant to be light, but it appeared at the worst possible moment, saying, “[M]any Canadians were already giddy at the prospect that [Harry and Meghan] could be moving to Canada … and injecting some glamor into the sprawling, bone-chillingly cold country.”
The gibe was posted online on Jan. 11 at 9.30 a.m., just as Canadians were learning that Iran had admitted to having “accidentally” shot down Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752.
The Canadian retort to The New York Times was quick and bitter. “We lost 63 Canadians this week in the fog of war caused by a reckless president. No one is giddy,” tweeted Global Montreal sports journalist Brian Wilde, whose response was echoed by several others.
This little incident might seem trivial, but it is sufficient to reopen the anger felt north of the 49th parallel by the Jan. 8 air tragedy. Many of us are asking ourselves: Where is the empathy from our neighbor when Canadians suffer the main collateral damage in a confrontation between the U.S. and one of its enemies, in this case Iran? But in the past week it has been quite hard to find any empathy from the major American media outlets.
We do not ask for the U.S. to take responsibility for this air tragedy. The U.S. did not launch the surface-to-air missile at the civilian plane that had just taken off from Imam Khomeini airport. It did not impudently lie that the crash was caused by a mechanical problem. Therefore, it is Iran that must make apologies and offer compensation to the families of the victims, and it is also Iran that is being singled out these days at the ceremonies for the deceased and at demonstrations in the streets of Tehran.
Nonetheless, the U.S. cannot pretend that it is not involved. It did not directly shoot down the plane, but it was behind the incident.
The buildup of tensions began when the U.S. withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal, then took a dangerous turn with the assassination of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Iraq.
Given the situation, we would love to see Donald Trump send his deeply felt condolences to the relatives of the 176 victims and to the affected countries of Canada, Ukraine, Sweden, Afghanistan and the U.K., and make some symbolic gesture of sympathy. This could basically take the form of an official message to Canadian President Justin Trudeau. Instead, there has been complete radio silence on Trump’s Twitter account.
Alas, this is not the first time that Washington has failed to show any consideration when Canada has found itself caught in the line of fire of a conflict in which America is the central actor. One can cite the imprisonment of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor in China following the arrest, at America’s behest, of an executive of the Chinese company Huawei. China is responsible for the arrests, but the U.S. cannot easily wash its hands of the affair.
As these two Canadians rot in prison under reportedly lamentable conditions, Trump is preparing to sign a trade deal on Wednesday with the Middle Kingdom. Meanwhile, he waited six months before bringing the matter up with his Chinese counterpart, and he never made the Canadians’ release a condition of the negotiations. So it’s too bad for the loyal ally that has stuck its neck out on extradition laws.
Fortunately, many American politicians, professors and journalists have demanded action from the White House on the Chinese issue, including having America admit its role in initiating this diplomatic drama.
We await the same concern following the demise of Flight PS752, for a real show of sympathy from our neighbor and ally for the collateral suffering and anger being felt on our side of the border. Under the circumstances, this is the least one could ask.
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