It's old news that UN special rapporteur on right to food, Olivier de Schutter, criticized Canada's food policy (or lack thereof) in not ensuring accessible food for all of Canada's people--including those up north, where a jug of milk can regularly sell for up to $20.
But then while researching something else, I came across this delightful little gem of a response from Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq in the Globe and Mail:
"In an interview with The Canadian Press, Ms. Aglukkaq said there are indeed serious poverty challenges in her home region.It's kind of funny to see a Canadian government official getting riled up with someone with no personal background of the issue offering criticism.
But she said she resents being told how to fix things by an outsider who has no first-hand knowledge of the North and who comes from a country that opposes the seal hunt.
“I never said that there is no hunger issue for aboriginal people,” Ms. Aglukkaq said in a phone interview from Geneva where she was attending global health discussions. “I come from there, I see it first-hand." (full article)
Because telling poor countries what they are doing wrong, (countries that most of us probably couldn't even locate on a map, never mind understand any local context or history) what they need to 'do' in order to be 'successful' (ie more like us), is kind of something Canada and Canadians tend to love doing-- ("build them a school!" "put all their women on birth control!")
We even have entire university programs dedicated to studying poor people and telling them how to just, like, develop already. (ie International Development studies--my degree.)
Anyway. Just wanted to make a point.
Okay. Back to sunbathing. peace and love to all.
