Canada's wait-and-see approach on Syria coalition right way to go 6

  Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird. (Reuters)


In Monday’s column I made an error when I said Canada wasn’t following suit with the U.S., Britain, France and something like 100 other countries in recognizing the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) as the “legitimate” replacement for the Bashar al-Assad dictatorship.
What I should have said is that Canada is “prepared” to recognize the SNC as the legitimate government — but not until we, Canada, are sure that whatever gang replaces the existing regime practices a modicum of democracy and respects the rights of minority groups, independents and women.

Foreign Minister John Baird made this clear in a speech delivered in Morocco to a Friends of Syria convention.

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/12/17/canadas-wait-and-see-approach-on-syria-coalition-right-way-to-go