One of our own has been caught in the crossfire of the Trump administration’s assault on the world order. Yet the responses from our administrators at Robson Hall, let alone from Ottawa, have been disappointing to say the least. I am speaking, of course, about the Honourable Kimberly Prost.
Judge Prost’s story began in Winnipeg’s Fort Rouge neighbourhood, where she was raised by a homemaker mother and a father who worked as both a brewery employee and hotel owner. She attended St. Mary’s Academy before enrolling at the U of M, graduating in 1981 as a gold medalist from the faculty of law.
Her first job out of law school was with the Canadian Department of Justice (DOJ), working in the Winnipeg regional office as a federal prosecutor. By 1987, she had joined the DOJ’s Crimes against Humanity and War Crimes Unit in Ottawa, later becoming director of the International Assistance Group. In that role, she negotiated more than 40 bilateral extradition and mutual legal assistance treaties on Canada’s behalf, while also helping shape the Rome Statute that would establish the International Criminal Court (ICC).
After serving as chef de cabinet to the president of the court, she was elected as a judge of the ICC in 2017 — only the second Canadian ever to hold that position.
Her current work is in Afghanistan, investigating possible war crimes by the U.S. government — vital work that should command attention from anyone who believes in truth and accountability.
How did the American government respond? With sanctions, of course — a Canadian judge, a Manitoban, a Winnipegger and U of M alumna has been punished for seeking the truth, and the best Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office can muster is a response from Foreign Minister Anita Anand, who said, “I have the utmost confidence in Judge Prost.”
Meanwhile, the U of M and Robson Hall have stayed silent — even the University of Ottawa has weighed in. Canada, as a middle power, thrives in a liberal, multilateral world order where the rule of law is paramount. Yet today, our prime minister appears to be focused more on chasing trade deals than defending the principles that sustain us.
The U.S. government, the alleged “leader of the free world,” has shown open contempt for those same principles, as the Trump administration cuts the U.S. Agency for International Development, imposes tariffs on allies and partners, sanctions foreign courts, pulls vital lifesaving intelligence from Ukraine, blindly backs Israel regardless of consequence and even cuts off military assistance to European allies.
Against this backdrop, Canada’s silence in the face of unjust U.S. sanctions on one of our own shows a level of cowardice that astounds me. I find it unbelieve that we would leave a Canadian high and dry like that. I understand that Canadians are not known to be confrontational, but how many punches to the gut will we take before Canada makes a principled stand against a bully?
Judge Prost’s career should be a source of pride for every student, Manitoban and Canadian. Instead, it has become a case study in institutional cowardice. If someone of her stature and prestige can be sacrificed in the name of not antagonizing our “closest ally,” what hope is there that this government will stand up for you?
