CANADA is one of Guyana’s traditional allies of which there has never been a cooling-off period or even an exchange over a disagreement. Within that context, my guess is that Guyana will not intercede with the Canadian Government over some undiplomatic words by Canada’s current High Commissioner in Georgetown.
There are two aspects to Mr. Sebastien Sigouin’s undiplomatic journey into Guyana’s sovereignty. One dimension is the words used. I quote him: “Democracy belongs to the Guyanese People. So, speak up, call on your elected representatives, on your National Assembly, on your government to take action and make the changes needed so that your electoral process is truly free and fair. It’s your right and your responsibility”.
These are pungent words that seldom enter the vocabulary of a diplomat posted to another country. The second part of the envoy’s advocacy is more worrying. He wants Guyanese to intercede with their government to accept a document that a substantial section of Guyanese society finds parts that are not well-researched, not credible or plausible. That document is the EU Observer Election Mission, 2025.
What is disturbing is the subtle demand by the envoy that the Guyanese people must embrace the findings of the EU Observer Mission. He did not mention the word, “sections” but referred to the report itself.
One can take that to mean the report in is holistic framework. I believe any independent academic analysis of that EU Observer Report would find large areas of intellectual incompetence.
For the rest of this article, I will dwell with the issue of democracy in Canada and ask Mr. Sigouin if he would like to advocate that Canadians should pressure their government to be more democratic and transparent. I start with what Nazim Baksh told me on the Freddie Kissoon Show. Mr. Baksh was one of the leading journalistic investigators for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Mr. Baksh said it is open knowledge in Canada that Ukrainian refugees are put up in fancy hotels while Asian and African refugees are confined to squalid areas. Shouldn’t Mr. Sigouin urge Canadians to speak up and demand that their government stop this manifestation of what appears as racial discrimination?
During the committal of genocide by the Israeli Government in Gaza, the Israeli Government accused the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees of having Hamas members on its staff. The Justin Trudeau Government immediately suspended funding for the agency without any investigation.
Later the UN said it found no evidence of Hamas having members on the staff. Did the Canadian people tell Mr. Trudeau he was undemocratic to suspend the agency’s funding?
In Canada, there is a far-right loony named Tommy Robinson. He gets away with any dangerous, illegal rhetoric including violent words against Muslims and immigrants. But in Canada you can get arrested for saying and wearing anything in support of the Palestinians. To use the words, “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free” can get you arrested in Canada as in all, I repeat, all Western countries.
I called the Canadian High Commission switchboard to speak to Mr. Sigouin for the purpose of this column. I was told that someone from Mr. Sigouin’s office would be in touch. I left my name, media status and number. No one ever called. I am assuming Mr. Sigouin did not want to speak to me. I wanted to ask Mr. Sigouin two questions – whether Canada accepts genocide was committed by the Israeli army in Gaza and whether he, Mr. Sigouin at a personal level, accepts genocide occurred in Gaza?
Finally, should Mr. Sigouin speak to his government on how his government treats Guyanese? All visa applicants take their papers to a tiny building on Water Street next to the famous pet shop — Toucan. It has a ramshackle ambience. The Canadian Government employs a private, obscure group named VFS to handle all visa applications.
The VFS is more secret than the CIA. Applicants are told that no one in the office is allowed to give out their names and there are no telephone numbers. There is an email address but that is not related to information about your visa application but it advertises Canadian tourism. Now, countries like Canada lecture the Global South on democracy, transparency and accountability, yet it employs a secret organisation to handle visa applicants who have to stand out in the rain and on the roadway itself.
I close by asking Mr. Sigouin if he is going to ask Canadians to speak out and put pressure on their government to accept that genocide is currently occurring in Gaza and to treat Guyanese visa applicants with more decency. I close by informing my readers that I am not a visa applicant for any country in the world.

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.