Photo: The Canadian Press
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland addresses business leaders in Gatineau, Que., Monday, Oct. 17, 2022. Freeland says she did not mean to offend anyone in her recent comments about Africa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wilde
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said she did not mean to offend anyone after saying last week that Africans should be “ready to die for their democracy” and hinted that Canada could increase aid to the continent.
“If anyone finds my comments insensitive, then I’m very sorry,” Freeland said Monday.
“If … a white Western person has offended someone, the first response is to say, ‘I really didn’t mean to offend you.’
In a speech last week in Washington, Freeland urged democracies to come closer through trade and energy ties in the face of a dangerous new world order in which autocracies are trying to usurp democracy.
In a question session afterward, a man who said he worked for the African Development Bank asked Freeland about Western countries hinting at cutting aid to the continent to finance Ukraine’s needs.
The unnamed man, whom the Canadian press has not been able to identify, asked Freeland to address concerns that this would only increase Russia’s influence on this continent.
Freeland responded that Western countries really need to step up and “prove that we are real partners.”
But she also said that African countries should choose their own paths and dismissed the idea that they could simply fall into Russia’s orbit by accident.
“Democracy can only be defended by the people themselves, if they are really willing to die for their democracy,” she said last week.
The comment sparked a backlash on social media and raised eyebrows among Africa experts.
University of Ottawa professor Rita Abrahamsen said Freeland was right to say it was up to Africans to determine their own destiny, but warned that the conflict in Ukraine has become a sensitive issue.
“It is a strong feeling among many African countries that they are being bullied or patronized or that someone is holding aid hostage to support in the UN (forums) the war in Ukraine,” she said.
“Canada has to be very, very careful here.”
Abrahamsen, director of the Center for International Policy Studies, says Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has put economic pressure on a continent dealing with climate chaos.
“Emotions are running high around this on the African continent and that means words have to be measured very carefully,” she said.
“We’re looking at a continent where much of it … (is) close to famine conditions, acute famine. We are seeing massive flooding in large parts of West Africa; we are seeing a return of military coups.”
Freeland said Monday that the Western world must recognize that current problems stem from colonization.
“These are challenges that are imposed from the outside. And I think that means we have a high level of responsibility.
She hinted that upcoming budgets may include more humanitarian aid for Africa and noted Canada’s push to reform global financial organizations to better meet the needs of poorer nations.
“Today we need, if nothing else, to strengthen our engagement with the global south,” she said, referring to developing nations.
“What is important is that we take the lead from our African partners and listen to them about what specifically is on their agenda and what they specifically need.”
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