Weaker in the world

The CP reports that the Cons' efforts to ignore the world outside North America (and the U.S.' war zones) are gathering momentum, as several Canadian consulates will likely be closed due to unnecessary budget cuts at the Foreign Affairs Department:

Up to 19 more Canadian diplomatic offices could be closing their doors, as the Conservative government continues belt-tightening at the Foreign Affairs Department

Sources say missions in Cambodia, Latvia and the Balkan states are among those being considered for the chopping block, as well as a number of small consulates in Africa. Late last year, the government closed two consulates in Japan, one in St. Petersburg and another in Milan to save money.

The department is coping with a budget decrease of $142.8 million in the coming year, and the cuts will continue through to 2009, a trend that began under the Liberals. Officials have been dropping broad hints for months that more cuts to missions are coming.

It's hard to see how cuts to Canada's representation abroad can do anything but reduce both the services available to Canadians elsewhere, and the potential to draw tourism and investment from the areas who lose their Canadian presence.

But the Cons (like their Lib predecessors) seem perfectly happy to pour time and money into making us more dependent on the U.S., while reducing our involvement around the globe. And whether through the direct effects of being tied to the U.S.' economy or simply a weaker bargaining position based on the Cons' chosen lack of alternatives, Canada as a whole figures to be worse off in the long run for its withdrawal from the world.