The Lamb and the Tiger: From Peacekeepers to Peacewarriors in Canada by Stanley R. Barrett
| DOI | 10.1177/0020702020912467 |
| Published date | 01 March 2020 |
| Date | 01 March 2020 |
| Author | H. Christian Breede |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
In 1968, Canada sat on the committee for the first International Year for Human
Rights and sponsored at home an impressive program aimed at promoting the
universality and indivisibility of all human rights. That same year, the National
Conference on Human Rights turned the table not only because of the wide par-
ticipation from civil society but also because of its capacity to create space for
dialogue on human rights among all jurisdictions. Consequently, a first campaign
for ratification was orchestrated by a number of organisations in 1970. It is
well-known that the support of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, who wished to
constitutionally entrench a bill of rights – but not of economic and social rights –
nurtured such momentum. According to Tunnicliffe (175), provincial jurisdictions,
and firstly Qu
ebec, were mostly concerned by the way the Canadian government
would report to UN authorities about the domestic implementation of both
Covenants. A deal was made, and ratification eventually came.
Reading this last chapter of the book makes us realise where certain contem-
porary domestic institutions whose mission is to liaise between the international
and local authorities in the field of human rights are coming from. We are talking,
of course, of the mysterious Federal-Provincial-Territorial Human Rights
Committee, a by-product of the acknowledgment by Ottawa of provincial juris-
diction in the field of human rights. Also, any Canadian report submitted to a UN
monitoring body since 1976 shows an almost static – but necessary – structure of
such acknowledgment: a first chapter written by the federal authorities followed by
a series of provincial and territorial ones.
Resisting Rights is a very accessible book and can easily be used in the classroom
as introductory material to the complicated relationship between the Government
of Canada, Canadian provinces, and human rights. The bibliography offered at the
end of the book is rich and thorough. It is one thing to say that Canada is not
always the nice guy with regards to human rights, but it is another to demonstrate
it. Tunnicliffe succeeds at demonstrating her thesis. What the book does not do,
however, is to theorise the idea of a culture of human rights in Canada. It simply
reminds us that the federal government did not do it alone, often subscribing to the
universal ideal of human rights against its deepest political feelings, and learning,
as in the case of many other countries, to use the platform of human rights in
international relations.
Stanley R. Barrett
The Lamb and the Tiger: From Peacekeepers to Peacewarriors in Canada
Toronto: UTP Insights, 2018. 186pp. US$18.71 (paperback)
ISBN: 978-1-4875-2263-6
Reviewed by: H. Christian Breede (hans.christian.breede@rmc.ca), The Royal Military College
of Canada
The social implications of war are multifaceted. Moreover, many of the ways in
which war and society interact run the gambit from the obvious to the subtle and
110 International Journal 75(1)
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