Foreign Affairs Nixes References to Investment in Syria

Canada was the third-biggest investor in Syria before the uprising began, not that the government wants you to know that.

Michael Petrou of Maclean's notices today that the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade has conveniently removed any mention from its website that Canada was (and still might be) the the third-biggest source of foreign direct investment in Syria. Most of that comes from a $1.2 billion Suncor/ Petro Canada natural gas project that as recently as last month was still functioning despite the ongoing violent crackdown against anti-government protesters in the Middle Eastern country. Petrou elaborates on the spin that DFAIT has gone through to distance itself from this less-than-glamourous fact and whether or not the Suncor project has been at all affected by sanctions levelled by the Canadian government against the Syrian government. Suncor has said that its operations in Syria do not support President Bashar al-Assad's regime, although as we reported last month, their explanation doesn't really past our muster. Oh, and at least 2,200 civilians have been killed since the uprising began in March.