Powell River chapter activist Patricia Cocksedge introduces Yves Engler.
The Council of Canadians Powell River chapter hosted author-activist Yves Engler on November 18 for a talk on his new book, A Propaganda System: How Canada’s Government, Corporations, Media and Academia Sell War and Exploitation.
To watch a 55-minute video of Engler’s presentation by our friend and ally Claudia Medina, please click here.
Fernwood Publishing notes, “[This book] reveals why most Canadians believe their country is a force for good in the world, despite a long history of supporting empire, racism and exploitation. In A Propaganda System, Engler details the vast sums Global Affairs Canada, Veterans Affairs and the Department of National Defence spend on promoting a one-sided version of Canada’s foreign policy, which ignores the unsavoury history. Engler traces the history of the Canadian government’s information control during wartime and peacetime, which includes outright censorship and extreme media bias on topics such as Haiti, Palestine and the mining industry. In addition, Engler details how the corporate elite advance their agenda by funding university programs and think tanks.”
Scott Taylor of Esprit de Corps comments, “Engler provides a powerful argument to support his thesis that the Canadian military fields the largest PR apparatus in the nation. This fact runs in stark contrast to Canadians’ popular notion that we are a peace-loving country.” And James Winter of the University of Windsor notes, “The actual policy Engler documents will shock Canadians.”
In October 2012, Council of Canadians chapters helped support a 15-city tour with Engler for his book The Ugly Canadian: Stephen Harper’s Foreign Policy. At that time, Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow noted, “The notion of the Ugly Canadian may be hard to accept but it is true and I for one am deeply grateful to Yves Engler for this important book.”
In January of this year, the Peterborough-Kawarthas chapter helped launched Engler’s book Canada In Africa: 300 Years of Aid and Exploitation. Fernwood Publishing notes, “[This book] documents Canadian involvement in the transatlantic slave trade, the ‘scramble for Africa’ and European colonialism. The book reveals Ottawa’s opposition to anticolonial struggles, its support for apartheid South Africa and Idi Amin’s coup, and its role in ousting independence leaders Patrice Lumumba and Kwame Nkrumah.” Nigerian activist Nnimmo Bassey says, “Engler gives us a haunting chronicle of the bloodletting, destabilization and pillaging of Africa by agents and governments of Canada.”
Engler encourages readers to purchase his books at local independent retailers or to order them through Turning The Tide bookstore. Bookstore and academic orders must be placed through Fernwood Publishing. If you would like to sell his books as part of fundraising activity, please e-mail yvesengler(at)hotmail.com for more information.
