The World Might Need Less Canada: Canada in Africa: 300 Years of Aid and Exploitation (Book Review)

By Asad Ismi YVES ENGLER Red Publishing/Fernwood Publishing 2015, 326 Pages, $24.95 Mainstream academics and journalists like to portray Canada as a positive force on the international stage, but Yves Engler’s new book, Canada in Africa, shows how frequently Canadian governments and corporations play a destructive role abroad. In Africa, Canada’s government and mining companies […]

Canadian Neocolonialism in Colombia

By Asad Ismi In May, the board of Pacific Rubiales, a Canadian firm and the biggest private oil producer in Colombia, announced its support for a takeover bid by the Mexican conglomerate Alfa and U.S.-based Harbour Energy. Pacific Rubiales operates Colombia’s biggest oil field, in the province of Meta, and during the past seven years […]

Bangladeshis Victims of Corporate Exploitation: Western companies responsible for deaths of garment workers

By Asad Ismi In April 2013, the Rana Plaza building collapsed in Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing 1,129 garment workers and injuring more than 2,500. The building contained four garment factories. This was the worst industrial disaster in Bangladesh’s history, and the worst in the garment sector’s history. As of late January, workers and their families were […]

U.S. and China’s Rivalry Over Africa’s Riches Intensifies: China Gains African Goods With Loans, the U.S. With Guns

By Asad Ismi In my report on France’s invasion of Mali published in the March issue of The Monitor, I wrote that, “According to U.K. journalist John Pilger, ‘A full-scale invasion of Africa is under way. The United States is deploying troops in 35 African countries, beginning with Libya, Sudan, Algeria, and Niger. The invasion […]