Posts Tagged 'Foreign Policy'

HomeTag: Foreign Policy

LIFEBOAT DRILL: CANADA, TRUMP AND THE WIDER WORLD

LIFEBOAT DRILL: CANADA, TRUMP AND THE WIDER WORLD

McLeod Group Blog, January 23, 2017

Preparation for the incoming Trump administration is, understandably, a high priority for Canada. In this, the Canadian government needs to think beyond immediate self-interest, and consider not just the long game, but the fact that we are not alone in checking the lifeboats, the davits and the life preservers.

In advance of the inauguration, the Trudeau government has done some hasty redecorating and furniture rearrangement. Multilingual former journalist and author Chrystia Freeland, now a tested deal-maker, ...

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BACK TO THE FUTURE: CANADA AND UN PEACEKEEPING

BACK TO THE FUTURE: CANADA AND UN PEACEKEEPING

McLeod Group Blog, January 17, 2017

How serious is Canada about global peace and security? The decision has been made to return to UN peacekeeping, but only in principle. Now comes the hard part: the what and the where. Do we understand what has been happening during our absence from the modern world of peace operations? Discussions have been based on a fair amount of misinformation (e.g. peacekeeping didn’t use to be complicated, or political, or dangerous).

So what’s missing now?

When dealing ...

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The International Assistance Review: What They Heard

The International Assistance Review: What They Heard

McLeod Group Blog by Stephen Brown, December 19, 2016

After completing its large-scale consultations as part of its International Assistance Review, Global Affairs Canada (GAC) recently published online a summary entitled “What we heard”. The review was a welcome opportunity for interested parties across Canada and around the world to express their views. GAC engaged over 15,000 people and organizations in 65 countries and received over 10,000 contributions. The task of collating all the information they received was colossal—and it ...

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CANADA’S INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE REVIEW: OPPORTUNITIES AND RED HERRINGS

CANADA’S INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE REVIEW: OPPORTUNITIES AND RED HERRINGS

McLeod Group Blog, May 20, 2016

In his Globe and Mail column on May 12, Jeffrey Simpson took note of seven major policy consultations currently under way: Canada Post, defence, communications and culture, innovation, productivity, missing and murdered aboriginal women, Via Rail upgrades and the legalization of marijuana, all expected to report back in 2017. The very next day, Friday the 13th, Global Affairs Canada (GAC) kicked off another one: an International Assistance Review.

“See a pattern here?” Simpson asked. “Consultation. ...

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Ding Dong, the Witch is Dead!

Ding Dong, the Witch is Dead!

Ding dong, the merry-oh!

Too mean-spirited? Ask Zunera Ishaq, the former English literature teacher and mother of four whose name (but not her face) was dragged through the courts and the media in the Harper government’s mean-spirited attempt to score anti-Muslim points as it limped into the home stretch earlier this month.

Ask Canada’s Aboriginal people, struggling with the issue of murdered and missing women, poor housing and water, bad health care and inadequate education.

Ask demoralized civil servants and Canadian diplomats who ...

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The One We Would Write: A Mandate Letter for Canada’s Next Development Minister

The One We Would Write: A Mandate Letter for Canada’s Next Development Minister

McLeod Group Blog, June 16, 2015

You will serve as Minister of International Development Cooperation, with full cabinet membership, reporting directly to me as Prime Minister. As Minister you will:

Policy

  •  Rebuild Canada’s capacity to be a strong global development actor after a decade of institutional neglect and distorted priorities.
  • Develop programs within a broad made-in-Canada framework that does not rely on norms and precedents of G7 and OECD member states. Engaging the South is critical to Canada’s future well-being, its economic, political and ...
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The Economy, Jobs and a Smart Foreign Policy

McLeod Group Blog, March 18, 2015

Every election since the beginning of time, it seems, has been about the economy. And a large part of that is about jobs. When politicians talk about jobs, they usually means jobs at home, but in today’s world, creating jobs across the street may depend on helping to create jobs across the world—not jobs that reduce Canadian opportunities, as so often has been the case, but jobs that do the opposite.

Lost in the din of ...

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Canada at the UN: Vacuum Cleaner Salesmen with Attitude

Canada at the UN: Vacuum Cleaner Salesmen with Attitude

McLeod Group Blog, Sept. 26, 2014

After several years of pointedly snubbing important UN General Assembly gatherings, Prime Minister Harper deigned to appear this year. His speech was full of his familiar platitudes about maternal and child health care, but without any reference – as always – to the reproductive health issues that kill so many young women and mothers. This deadly oversight notwithstanding, Mr. Harper has developed a proprietorial attitude towards maternal and child health, as though it is ...

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North-South Institute Ends with a Whimper

McLeod Group Blog, September 11, 2014

The pain and suffering of the North-South Institute is over. After almost 40 years of high-quality, award-winning work, the NSI has capitulated to its Canadian government tormenters and is shutting down. The official communiqué announcing the decision said that the Institute “has not been successful in diversifying and growing its funding sources to the extent required to ensure financially sustainable operations.”

This is polite shorthand for what really happened. The NSI depended for most of ...

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Mr. Harper’s Maternal and Child Health Summit, Part 5: What’s still missing?

Mr. Harper’s Maternal and Child Health Summit, Part 5: What’s still missing?

By Rieky Stuart and Stephen Brown

The Canadian government’s recent Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) Summit in Toronto has not lacked for cheerleaders, especially NGOs receiving funding under the MNCH initiative. Prior to the summit, only a few critical voices were cited in the media (mainly from the McLeod Group) and most journalists, such as Paul Wells, initially set aside their cynicism and were won over by the cause. However, the government alienated many by excluding the ...

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