Syrian-Canadians demanding more from Ottawa

There is an article in the Globe & Mail about Syrian-Canadians demanding more from Ottawa in order to address the violence and suppression of the resistance by the Syrian government. I am a little perplexed at the position of the Syrian-Canadian citizen demands. 

On the one hand, there was a reason why Syrian nationals emigrated to Canada to begin a new life. I suspect that part of that is the oppressive nature of the Syrian regime. Now that Syrian-Canadians have secured a life that they can embrace, they want the Canadian government to affect change in a place that Syrian nationals chose to leave and begin anew in another country. This is confusing. 

On the other hand, anyone that understands international relations and politics, realizes that the Canadian government approaches these situations through multilateral organizations and agencies such as the UN/NATO or uses its influence through clandestine measures. Bringing both of these perspectives together suggests that the Canadian government has an obligation to its own citizens, first, and to ensure that its international obligations to stand for human rights are being voiced in the forums of global organizations.

While I am not arguing that the Canadian government could do more, Syria is not the only country in the world that requires the support of the international community to affect change and support human rights. It is only because Syria is the flavour of the day in the media that there is such a high profile. Other people and other nations need to also be considered in the international politics of human rights. How a nation balances its obligations to its own citizens and its international obligations is a difficult balance.

Rather than demanding that the Canadian government do more for the Syrian resistance movement, Syria-Canadians should work towards solutions that assist the Canadian government and the international community to support and, more importantly, intervene in Syria. The answer is not simple and the solution is complicated. Demanding that Ottawa do more, according to Syria-Canadians, neglects and overlooks the other implications involved in the priority setting of the federal government and the role they play on the international stage. 

Don't get me wrong: I am not defending the Canadian government's actions or lack of; I am suggesting that it is important to understand how the politics of national and international relations are intertwined and managed. Don't expect something that you know is beyond the scope of an individual government like the Canadian government.

At the same time that I can establish this argument, I support the need to address the issues in Syria and other suppressive regimes across the world. International agencies and organizations, and individual nations need to find a way to break-free from the constrictive binds that is international relations to affect real change throughout the world.

Unfortunately, intervention by the international community is either on the grounds of economic interruption to their own supply of material or goods; the real versus perceived threat of the belligerent nation; and whether one or more of the members of the Security Council at the UN is unwilling to support intervention. 

These are some of the struggles in making a decision by a "middle" power like Canada.