UAE vs Canada: Kenny vs Rae vs PMO vs Emirates Airline

Lots of sound and fury in the last few days on the continuing spat between Canada and the United Arab Emirates over landing rights for two UAE airlines and Canada's Camp Mirage:

First, Prime Minister Stephen Harper says:

“That’s just not how you treat allies, and I think tells us you better pick your friends pretty carefully in the future,” Harper told QMI Agency during a visit Friday to Welland, Ont. “I could never see [Canada] treating an ally like that. Could you imagine after 9/11 if the Americans had come to the Canadian government and said, ‘We need help on something to do with security’ [and we said] ‘Well, only if you do something on Buy America.’ I mean, give me a break.”

“When we, as a country, offer to be part of a international mission to help protect global security, then somebody comes along and uses that to try and leverage demands on our domestic airline industry, I don’t think that’s a situation we, as a country, want to be in,” Harper said. “What this teaches us in future and when we’re looking at other options is: Don’t get in a place where somebody’s going to try and use it to leverage some unrelated issue.”

To which Tim Clark, the president of Emirates Airlines, had this to say:

Prime Minister Harper's comments mark the latest round in what has become a Groundhog Day cycle of myths and misrepresentation of Emirates airline. I challenge Prime Minister Harper or any member of his government to produce one shred of evidence to support the false accusations which are repeatedly reported as fact by the Canadian media.

We have stated on many occasions that Emirates is not subsidised in any way, shape or form by the Dubai government: it never has been and never will be. Our financial statements audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the world's largest accounting firm, confirm that there is no evidence of subsidisation whatsoever. These accounts have been made freely available to the public through Emirates' website (www.emirates.com) and they clearly demonstrate that we do not receive any direct or indirect subsidies.

Then, Liberal Senator Colin Kenny chips in, arguing it's time to “Drop the Gloves with UAE”:

Why would I want to drop the gloves in dealing with the UAE? Because I think they're essentially a bunch of pompous thugs behaving like Canadians need them. We don't, and somebody should show them they can't treat us like the second-class citizens they hire to do virtually all the work in their seven fiefdoms.

Meanwhile, Liberal MP Bob Rae, his party's foreign affairs critic, is actually in the UAE this week and, on his blog, writes:

“…the Prime Minister and his minions [are] talking about “Canada’s national interest”, without once saying what that is, pointing fingers at the other guy for being fully at fault, attacking questioners’ patriotism, judgment, and good faith, the constant repetition of attack lines, going for the head and throat each time, a never-ending barrage of name calling, good guys vs bad guys, and on it goes. … The decision [by UAE] not to renew the agreement with Canada was not a wise one … It should be possible to discuss landing rights without being accused of being a bad Canadian. “

PMO spokesman Dimitri Soudas had this to say about Rae's visit:

Canadians expect that when Canadian MPs travel abroad that they represent Canada and Canadian interests. It would be extremely regrettable if canadian interests where undermined in any way. With regard to air rights, its rather surprising to see the Ignatieff Liberals take the position of the UAE, rather than defend the interests of Canadian workers and the Canadian economy at a time when we need it most. What the UAE was asking, was not in the best interest of Canadian workers. We trust Mr. Rae will recognize that during his fact finding visit and we urge him to convey that information to the UAE Royals.

And finally, here's how all this played in The National, the English-language daily in the UAE:

[Harper's comments are] likely to stoke simmering tensions between Canada and the Emirates, analysts have warned. Some say the diplomatic damage may be permanent.

“These sorts of comments are definitely going to add to the gulf of misunderstanding between the two countries,” said Taufiq Rahim, the managing director of the advisory firm GlobeSight. “I don’t see any restoration in good relations between the UAE and Canada in the near future, if at all.”

That opinion was shared by Sultan al Mansouri, the UAE economy minister, who warned in November that cordial relations had been “destroyed” and complained of “fiery” statements from the Canadian side.

Part of the problem was that Canadian politicians had not considered the culture of diplomacy within the Emirates, said Susan Crotty, an assistant professor at the Dubai School of Government.

“In this part of the world maintaining face is very important,” she said. “For the prime minister to make such inflammatory comments publicly, it is very likely it will be viewed as a serious affront. They are going to take it more seriously than elsewhere in the world.”