Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird is on a long visit to the Middle East. Like Canadian foreign policy in general these days, the exact purpose of the trip is a bit murky.

No doubt it will be another opportunity for Mr. Baird to demonstrate that the Harper government refuses to go along to get along, as he loves repeating. "We want to continue to promote Canadian values," the Minister says. That means "democratic societies that respect the rule of law," including the rights of women, minorities and gays. An ethical foreign policy, in other words, that won't sell its soul by co-operating with the likes of China, for example, except when it will.