Last week, New York resident and “decolonization” expert, Nomma Zarubina was arrested in the United States on suspicion of being an agent of the Russian state. Usually, when we think of Russians interfering in our democracy, espionage immediately comes to mind. This does not appear to be the case with Zarubina. This decolonization expert allegedly aimed to build a network of contacts in the U.S. and elsewhere in order to influence, or, perhaps, “decolonize” North American perspectives.
Zarubina had previously appeared in Ottawa to meet with a cross-partisan group of MPs and think-tank experts to advocate for Siberian Independence. However, it’s not clear whether her plight to decolonize Siberia from Russia was legitimate or an act of influence and information-gathering on the part of Russia whom she was in contact with, contact she claims was for the benefit of Americans.
One of the least surprising things about the “decolonization” movement in the West is how beloved it is among operatives and politicians of China and Russia. Since the Soviet era, totalitarian states have used propaganda campaigns to zero in on the historical mistreatment of Indigenous people and minorities across North America in an effort to demoralize their rivals in the West.
Exploiting this modern discourse is another way to undermine geopolitical rivals like Canada at a time when we most need unity.
Under decolonial doctrine, Canada’s moral foundations can be attacked as rooted purely in the evils of imperialism and racial injustice. Twinned with decolonization is the moral panic about white supremacy lurking in the shadows of everything under the sun, whether it be education, public parks, or the legal system.
In 2019, the Chinese ambassador to Canada accused Ottawa of demonstrating “white supremacy” when it called for the release of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig after they were taken hostage following Meng Wanzhou’s arrest.
Given that the Chinese government has interfered extensively in our internal politics, utilizing corrosive buzzwords to attack Canada when it stood up for itself fits the bill.
In addition to potential conflicts in Taiwan and the South Pacific, both China and Russia have designs on the Arctic. It may lead to conflict that will test Canada like never before, and Canadians must feel that their country is worth defending.
Canada, the United States, and Australia, all countries with interests opposed to China’s, are the products of colonialism, and that is a fact. How we decide to treat that fact as a people has consequences.
It can be treated as a historical process that included nation-building, racial injustice, achievement, violence, democracy, and imperialism. This was more or less how Canadian history was viewed until the decolonization tsunami arrived.
Trying to swim with that tsunami by repositioning injustice as the central pillar of Canada’s history only plays into the hands of Eurasia’s totalitarian states.
For China and Russia, an ideal outcome of the decolonization movement in Canada would be for it to end up like South Africa; an ex-Dominion obsessed and paralyzed by decolonial racial strife.
South Africa is headed by a corrupt government that prioritizes appeasing its base by bringing up the memory of apartheid, which ended in 1989. It is currently kowtowing to Beijing by joining the BRICS initiative, which aims to form an alternative to the US dollar and the G7.
Is South Africanization really the future that Canadians want? A good rule of thumb is for whatever steps that Beijing and Moscow take, Canada should march in the other direction.
Russian and Iranian bots were documented as having fuelled both anti-Israel protests over the past year and the race riots that took place in England during the summer.
Is it so hard to believe that Russian and Chinese bots might be juicing the numbers of social media posts calling for radical decolonization?
It would be safe to bet money that they have.
Militant anti-western discourse is not new, but it is doubly corrosive during this new Cold War between the democratic countries and the powerful dictatorships of Eurasia. The threat is here at home too.
Anti-Canadian discourse masquerading as “decolonization” or “inclusivity” undermines the self-respect that motivates a nation to better itself, and more importantly, protect itself.
For both the gullible and knowing activists on the ground smashing up windows and campuses, their dream is nothing more than the disappearance of Canada. That is no exaggeration, it is written on the signs at demonstrations with slogans like “Abolish Australia” or “KKKanada” painted upon it.
One of the biggest disappointments of this toxic discourse has been how it has blighted the reconciliation process. It takes attention away from the efforts of those who do genuinely good work to improve Indigenous economies and build generational wealth.
There are plenty of Indigenous leaders in Canada who want their share of the pie and have worked very hard to build up industry in the resource and tourism sectors to create jobs. It is these voices who should be listened to, not the radical demonstrators who often are not even Indigenous.
Some of the very same activists and students who cheered on the anti-Canadian riots in 2021 espouse a visceral hatred for Canada, and will openly deny the documented oppression of the Uighurs in Western China.
Barring the very real possibility that they have no self-awareness, these agitators know full well how the Chinese government treats its religious, ethnic, and Indigenous minorities. The point is not to fight for justice, the point is simply to destroy Canada from within, inch by inch.
In effect, they are a fifth column, and should be treated as such.
More and more Canadians can see the results of their work. They have seen the Canadian flags burned, the property smashed, and the destruction of longstanding cultural symbols, and they are fed up.
Our society is geared towards a dream of global peace and harmony that will never be realized.
The sooner Canadians wake up, and have the confidence to reject the direction that decolonization discourse has taken, the stronger we will be.
National Post