BNN interviews Colin Robertson on what can be accomplished during Trudeau’s first official visit to China.
http://www.bnn.ca/video/canada-s-negotiating-position-in-china~941042
CTV National interview with Omar Sachedina
http://www.ctvnews.ca/video?playlistId=1.2919579
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau officially launched Canada’s campaign for a non-permanent seat on the Security Council In the lobby of the United Nations headquarters in New York on March 16, 2016.
Photo Credit: ICI Radio-Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau went to United Nations headquarters to officially launch Canada’s campaign to get a two-year temporary seat at the Security Council for the 2021-22 term. Among his arguments for were Canada’s leadership at the Paris summit on climate change, its acceptance of 25,000 Syrian refugees, and what he called “Canada’s pivotal role” in peace and security.
ListenLeader promises to revitalize historic peacekeeping role
He emphasized Canada’s role as a peacekeeper and vowing “to revitalize Canada’s historic role as a key contributor to United Nations peacekeeping, in addition to helping advance current reform efforts…
“And Canada will increase its engagement with peace operations, not just by making available our military, police, and specialized expertise, but also by supporting the civilian institutions that prevent conflict, bring stability to fragile states, and help societies recover in the aftermath of crisis,” said Trudeau.
Previous bid lost, an embarrassing defeat
Canada’s previous government had withdrawn from United Nations activity and was seen to have made a lacklustre run for a seat on the Security Council in 2010. It withdrew when it became evident Portugal would win the vote instead. It was the first time in 50 years that Canada lost a bid to win a seat on the council.
‘Time for Canada to step up once again’
After that government was defeated, newly-elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, “Canada is back” as a player on the UN stage. Echoing the same message in the lobby of the UN Trudeau said, “It’s time. It is time for Canada to step up once again.”
Canada’s chances of winning the vote for a temporary seat on the UN Security Council are good, in the opinion of Colin Robertson, former diplomat and vice-president and fellow of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. He notes the Canadian public is proud of Canada’s pioneering role in peacekeeping and is likely to approve of Trudeau plan to take a more active role in international affairs.
Reality check: Is securing a seat on the UN Security Council necessary for Canada?
By Monique Muise National Online Journalist, Politics Global News
WATCH: Global News chief political correspondent Tom Clark discusses what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s strategy is for raising Canada’s influence on the world.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau began a two-day trip to New York City on Wednesday, and kicked things off with what will likely prove to be the centerpiece of his visit to the United Nations.
The prime minister confirmed that Canada will seek to re-join the powerful UN Security Council after failing — for the first time ever — to secure a seat around the table in 2010.
The upcoming bid for a two-year term starting in 2021 is part of a broader rapprochement between Canada and the United Nations that began with Trudeau welcoming UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to Ottawa in February.
Observers have noted that the warming trend may be politically advantageous for Trudeau as he attempts to position himself as a champion of UN priorities like refugee resettlement, tackling climate change and stabilizing the situation in the Middle East.
READ MORE: Trudeau at UN promotes parental leave for fathers, gender parity
But beyond the politics, what, if anything, would a seat on the Security Council really achieve for Canada?
WATCH: Canada lost its last bid for a seat on the UN Security Council in 2010, something Justin Trudeau is looking to change with a trip to New York. Jacques Bourbeau reports.
According to Paul Heinbecker, who served as Canada’s UN ambassador during a period when it sat on the Security Council in the early 2000s, membership will allow Ottawa to influence policy at a high level, and that can be critical when dealing with health emergencies like the Ebola crisis, or mass refugee migrations.
“Canadians are looking at the world now and they’re seeing a lot of upset, a lot of instability, a lot of risk that they didn’t think that they faced before from terrorism,” said Heinbecker.
“These things come to your doorstep … so I think it’s very important that we have the opportunity to influence events.”
Colin Robertson, another former Canadian diplomat and now vice president at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, agreed with that assessment.
“If you think of, say, the House of Commons, you move from the back-bench to sitting in the cabinet. The Security Council is essentially the cabinet for the United Nations,” Robertson said.
Canada is also one of the major beneficiaries of stable international trade, added Robertson, and by securing a seat, the country “can take an active role in helping to create and preserve that system. Instead of being a watcher, we would become an active participant.”
Additionally, membership on the council fits in with the longstanding tradition of having Canada at the table, Robertson noted, and that’s not as small a consideration as some might think.
“It’s part of what our self-identity is about, more so than other places. Britain and France have long histories, this country doesn’t have a long history. But the history we do have is, in part, as a player on the international scene.”
Conservatives will support bid
Conservative foreign affairs critic Peter Kent said his party will support the Liberal government’s efforts to regain a seat on the Security Council in 2021, but “we would hope that the government doesn’t compromise the principled foreign policy positions that our government took, and which contributed in large part to our lack of success in 2010.”
The Conservatives have always contended that Canada lost out to Portugal because the Harper government took unpopular stands on gay rights in Africa, staunchly defended Israel and flagged human rights issues in countries like Sri Lanka.
“There were a number of countries who … in the end, on the day of the vote, those votes when elsewhere,” Kent said.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama on Thursday turned the page on years of shaky ties with Canada by staging a lavish White House welcome for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, making clear the new leader is a man after his own heart.
Trudeau, 44, the left-leaning Liberal Party leader and son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, took power last November. He already enjoys a closer bond with the Democratic president than his right-of-center predecessor, Stephen Harper of the Conservatives, managed in more than six years of dealing with the Obama administration.
“He campaigned on a message of hope and of change. His positive and optimistic vision is inspiring young people,” Obama said after meeting with Trudeau in the Oval Office.
“So, from my perspective, what’s not to like?” he added, also noting Trudeau’s commitment to the environment.
Keeping good relations with the United States is critical for Canada, which sends 75 percent of its exports to its southern neighbor. Trudeau brought along six Cabinet ministers in a sign of how seriously he took the visit.
Obama struck a warm, informal tone from the start and told Trudeau at a state dinner he “may well be the most popular Canadian named Justin.” Singer Justin Bieber is from Canada.
The White House dinner was the first for a Canadian leader since 1997. Obama never did the same for Harper, who irritated the administration by insisting it approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Obama blocked the project last year.
At an arrival ceremony on Thursday morning, Obama teased Trudeau about the failure in recent years of Canadian hockey teams to win the sport’s top honor.
“Where’s the Stanley Cup right now?” he asked. “I’m sorry. Is it in my hometown with the Chicago Blackhawks?”
Trudeau replied there was a high U.S. demand for Canadian exports, including three of the star players who helped the Blackhawks win the National Hockey League championship last year.
In Ottawa, Conservative Party foreign affairs spokesman Tony Clement said Trudeau’s visit had little deeper meaning, given that Obama would out of office in January 2017.
Even so, the next few months could be crucial for Canada, said Colin Robertson of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, a former senior diplomat with two U.S. postings.
Encouraged by Obama’s tone, American officials are starting to re-examine important elements of the bilateral relationship in a favorable way, Robertson said.
“The next administration is not going to have Canada on their radar,” he said in a phone interview. “But their reference point when they do … will be this review conducted under the best possible auspices.”
CPAC Prime Time Politics host Peter Van Dusen previews the prime minister’s trip to Washington with Colin Robertson (Canadian Global Affairs Institute), Christopher Sands (Johns Hopkins University).
Discussing the potential agenda of the Trudeau-Obama White House meeting on Question Period with Laura Dawson, John Manley and host Robert Fife.
http://www.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=823007
CBC Power and Politics host Rosie Barton interviews CIGI Director Fen Hampson and CGAI VP Colin Robertson on PM Trudeau’s upcoming summitry
Find at 1 hour and 15 minute mark
http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2678713362
On CBC The National on Trudeau’s international series of summits interview with Catherine Cullen
http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2678760522
Analysis
By Chris Hall, CBC News Posted: Nov 13, 2015 5:00 AM ETLast Updated: Nov 13, 2015 9:29 AM ET
Off to see the world. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau heads out today for a week-long stretch of international summiting, beginning Saturday in Turkey and finishing up next week in Manila. (Chris Wattie/Reuters)
Trudeau on refugees and Premiers meeting 1:57
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Chris Hall
He’s still flying high at home. And now Justin Trudeau takes off on his first foreign trip, a week-long journey to attend economic summits in Turkey and the Philippines that will bring him face-to-face with leaders of some of the most powerful countries in the world, each of them intent on gauging — and engaging with — the new prime minister.
For many of those leaders, Trudeau is the first Canadian prime minister not named Stephen Harper they’ll be dealing with on the world stage.
U.S. President Barack Obama has already lined up a formal bilateral meeting with Trudeau late in the week when the two are at the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation Summit in Manila.
Others are also setting up chats at the G20 meeting in Turkey this weekend. That list now includes China’s Xi Jinping, Mexico’s Enrique Pena Nieto and Italy’s Matteo Renzi, who, for what it’s worth, is three years younger than Trudeau.
What this all suggests is that beyond the grip and grin and the “family photos” that characterize these summits, there’s a strong interest in measuring the new Canadian leader through a more substantive discussion of the issues.
And Trudeau knows it, telling reporters on Thursday he intends to put the same issues before these world leaders that he put in front of Canadians.
“I’ll be talking about the fact that in order to create more global growth … that we need to be investing in our countries’ futures, we need to be investing in the kinds of opportunities that allow us to grow and continue to flourish as nations.”
But the global economy is not the only issue Trudeau will have to confront. The war in Syria, climate change and the new Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal will all be discussed.
Turkey, the host of the G20 gathering, is trying to cope with the influx of an estimated two million refugees who are fleeing the violence in neighbouring Syria and Iraq.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan added the conflict to the summit’s normal agenda of global economic issues, insisting the world needs to do more to respond to both the refugees crisis, while expressing concern over the coalition’s efforts to contain the ISIS threat.
Turkey believes Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has to be removed from office before any lasting peace can be brokered. But Erdogan’s new government is also worried that international efforts to arm and train Kurdish fighters — Canada is involved in the training — in the war against ISIS poses a threat to Turkey’s own internal security.
It’s a delicate balance for any political leader, let alone a Canadian PM whose government only took power last week.
Not always the closest of international partners, former prime minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President Barack Obama were nonetheless thrown together for much of the last decade. Obama’s tour of duty is almost over as well. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)
Trudeau’s already signalled that Canada intends to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of the year, and that his government will end Canada’s participation in the air strikes against ISIS targets.
“I made it very clear during the election campaign that it is Canada’s intention to withdraw from the bombing mission, but to do so in a way that is responsible and in coordination with our allies, to continue to demonstrate that Canada is committed to the fight against ISIS as a member of the coalition in the fight against ISIS,” he told reporters on Thursday.
He added the government would have more to say about that role in the weeks ahead.
Former Canadian diplomat Colin Robertson says that first pledge to help resettle refugees will be well-received. And he believes Trudeau’s decision to withdraw from the air mission in Iraq is a bigger media story than a real point of contention with the the U.S. because the Americans recognize the Canadian military’s expertise at training and in helping anti-ISIS forces identify legitimate bombing targets.
“As long as we are staying involved and helping with training — that’s a more important contribution,” Robertson says.
He also suggests that the bilateral meeting with Obama provides a chance for the two leaders to talk about climate change, North American energy security and the Pacific Rim trade deal.
“Obama is very much looking at legacy,” Robertson says. “The Trans-Pacific Partnership is part of that. So is climate change. So he and Trudeau will have a lot to talk about.”
China isn’t part of the Trans-Pacific deal, and David Mulroney, a former Canadian ambassador to China, says that makes the face-to-face discussions with Xi delicate.
China’s President Xi Jinping is hoping to have a one-on-one with Trudeau at the G20 in Turkey this weekend. They are two leaders who could share the world stage for a while. (Jason Lee/Associated Press)
His advice: “Don’t over-commit. Pick your issues, and they should be largely economic.”
The latter part is important. China is locked in a dispute with the U.S. and many of its Asian neighbours over its territorial claims in the South China Sea — claims based in part on the creation of man-made islands in a busy international shipping area.
Mulroney, who is now president of St. Michael’s College at the University of Toronto, says that, under Stephen Harper, Canada skipped many ministerial-level meetings with APEC members, sending diplomats instead.
“You can’t just say ‘Canada’s back’ to the other leaders. Well, we can say it, but it doesn’t mean anything if Trudeau doesn’t deliver. He has to re-engage with Asia.”
Mulroney says that means building relationships, establishing the bonds and trust so you can at some point raise what he calls the difficult issues such as security and human rights.
“Justin Trudeau needs to demonstrate that he has strong negotiating skills as well as the personal qualities that attracted and excited Canadians in the last election.”
That demonstration begins this week.
Question Period hosted by Bob Fife with Hon. Lloyd Axworthy and Eddie Glodenberg on Trudeau’s summitry and the Foreign Service
http://www.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=745180
http://www.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=745180
Interview with CTV host Amanda Blitz on Prime Miniser Trudeau’s letter to Canadian heads of mission to do public diplomacy http://www.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=744889
Michael Shulman, CTVNews.ca
Published Saturday, November 7, 2015 3:16PM EST
A former Canadian diplomat says a letter from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sent to senior diplomats earlier this week reaffirms the country’s trust in its officials and shows a marked departure from the Harper government, which missed “a lot of opportunities” on the international stage.
Trudeau sent the letter Wednesday to the ambassadors and high commissioners of Canada’s foreign missions, telling them a “new era” had begun for Canada’s international relations, in which they will play a vital role.
In particular, Trudeau said he and his cabinet will rely on the diplomats’ assessments and first-hand knowledge to advance Canada’s foreign policy agenda.
Newly sworn in Minister of Foreign Affairs Stephane Dion is congratulated by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a ceremony at Rideau Hall, in Ottawa, on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015. (Sean Kilpatrick / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Speaking to CTV News Channel on Saturday, former Canadian diplomat Colin Robertson called Trudeau’s approach “very sensible.”
“If the government is to achieve what is going to be an ambition foreign policy agenda, you need the people who will deliver it on your side,” said Robertston.
“And so sending this letter to our ambassadors and high commissioners — and essentially giving them freedom to do public diplomacy like the rest of the world — is very positive sign.”
Trudeau’s handling of the nation’s senior diplomats stands in opposition to the approach taken during Stephen’s Harper leadership. Harper’s Conservative government applied a policy of strict message control during his nearly 10-year tenure.
Robertson said that foreign policy was “tightly controlled from the centre” and officials would have to fill out forms called “message approval” that would be sent to the Department of Foreign Affairs, and eventually passed onto the Prime Minister’s Office for final authorization.
The government also vetted the speeches, had the final say on meetings, and crafted detailed talking points for events taking place abroad.
Robertson said this policy of tight, centralized message control caused Canada’s reputation to take a hit on the international stage.
“There were a lot of opportunities missed simply missed because of the time delay in which it took to get approval for high commissioners and ambassadors to speak,” he said.
“You can do it in Canada where you’re the one source of news, but when you’re abroad — where Canada is often striving to get some attention — if an opportunity comes and you don’t take it, it doesn’t come again.”
While Trudeau’s letter did not specifically mention putting an end to Harper’s policies, it did acknowledge that the senior envoys will be on the “frontlines of our diplomatic efforts.”
It also stated envoys will have “a government that believes in you and will support you in your work around the world.”
Trudeau further outlined a potentially expanded landscape for Canadian diplomacy.
“I expect that you will be engaged energetically in public diplomacy with other diplomats, host government officials, civil society, and the media — in all manner of ways — through direct contact, the media, and social media,” he wrote.
Robertson said this could mean that officials will be encouraged to incorporate greater “experimentation” in the way that Canada diplomacy is undertaken.
“If you’re going to have an aggressive foreign policy, particularly in a multilateral area, using all the tools that are now available makes a lot of sense,” he said.
“And then trusting the judgement of our senior officers to use these tools appropriately — mistakes will be made and they’ll have to be some tolerance for error. But far better to get out there and experiment to deliver the Canadian message than to sit sequestered at home.”
“To this country’s friends all around the world… We’re back,” said Justin Trudeau after being elected the country’s new prime minister.
Photo Credit: CBC
Canada’s next prime minister has vowed to resurrect the country’s active role in world affairs. “Canada, in a sense, left the field,” says Colin Robertson, a former diplomat and vice-president of Canadian Global Affairs Institute.
Under nine years of Conservative government, Canada engaged in peace and security dossiers in Afghanistan, Libya, Ukraine and the fight against ISIS. But it had withdrawn from the softer international initiatives and several United Nations bodies including the General Assembly.
‘We didn’t participate in the same way’
“It has been noticed by other countries that we didn’t participate in the same way in say, disarmament, refugees, migration, even though we held up our migration levels,” he says. “This particularly came to a head more recently with the Syrian and the larger, global migration crisis where we were seen to be less than generous.”
‘We’re back,’ says prime minister-designate
The day after he won the federal election, Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau announced that things would change. “To this country’s friends all around the world — many of you have worried that Canada has lost its compassionate and constructive voice in the world over the past 10 years. Well, I have a simple message for you: on behalf of 35 million Canadians: We’re back.”
Trudeau promised to resettle 25,000 refugees before the end of this year. He also called a meeting of the premiers of each province to discuss climate change and he invited them to come with him to the UN Summit in Paris in December. He will also have meetings of the G20, APEC, and he has said he wants to examine the recent Trans-Pacific Partnership before agreeing to implement it.
‘Earning our way back into good global citizenship’
Trudeau has vowed to withdraw Canada’s six CF-18 fighter jets active in coalition bombing raids against ISIS. But he would replace that with training or other peacekeeping efforts.
“So it is a fairly busy international schedule with both the classical peace and security issues, as well as trade and economic issues, and humanitarian and people issues on the agenda for Mr. Trudeau,” says Robertson.
“Earning our way back into good global citizenship requires money and time,” wrote Robertson in a recent editorial, adding, the new prime minister will have to decide where Canada wants to play a role in the world, what it wants to achieve and how much it will spend.
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