House Foreign Affairs Committee recommends government boost aid spending
The House Foreign Affairs Committee has recommended that the federal government plan to boost foreign aid spending to meet an international target Canada has been persistently criticized for failing to meet. “The government of Canada should aspire to a plan that would see Canada spending 0.70 per cent of its gross national income (GNI) on official development assistance […]
Female farmers face climate change risks
Trenia Arana had been farming seven acres of land in central Nicaragua. But after years of severe drought, crop failures and growing debt, she finally decided to take up a job as a housekeeper last year. With her husband working in neighbouring Costa Rica, Trenia’s 11-year-old son must now tend to the family gardens before […]
Water, sanitation, and hygiene should be essential elements of Canada’s international development framework
Water is arguably Canada’s most precious natural asset, and is central to our identity as a nation in the world. One could reason that no other natural resource is both so valuable and so taken for granted. While so many of us may take the resource as a given, hundreds of millions of people around […]
Get rid of polio for good
It was just 22 years ago, in 1994, that Canada was declared “polio-free.” Until a vaccine was developed in 1955, polio crippled tens of thousands of Canadians, mostly children, peaking in 1953 when 500 died. Canada’s last major polio epidemic was in 1959, with just under 2,000 paralyzed. Many of us have family members who […]
Deadline for a better world is fast approaching
A year ago, 193 leaders gathered in New York and agreed on 17 goals to change the world. Eliminate poverty, end hunger, and achieve gender equality were among a few of these targets. The set deadline, 2030, is fast approaching and if Canada wants to continue its global leadership, we must act now. In 1970 […]
What everyone’s afraid to say: we can’t achieve the Global Goals
There is something that everyone is afraid to say: the Global Goals cannot be achieved. At least, not unless major changes are made in how progress is measured. At the recent United Nations General Assembly high-level meetings, the juxtaposition between a global gathering centred on peace and the malicious, violent explosions in New York and […]
How Canada can be a global leader on the Sustainable Development Goals
All eyes were on the United Nations two weeks ago as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made his inaugural speech to the General Assembly. The speech was forward-looking, laying out a hopeful and ambitious case for building inclusive and diverse societies, and recognizing that Canadians are unavoidably affected by and linked to “what happens beyond our […]
A fresh voice for Canada in world affairs
OTTAWA—Justin Trudeau is putting the force of his personality and fast-growing international reputation on the line as he bucks the trend toward bitter, beggar-thy-neighbour nativism by arguing at the United Nations for generous, inclusive government policy. Trudeau, who has attracted more global media attention than any Canadian leader in decades, is moving to make Canada […]
Hosting Montreal conference shows Canada is back on the global stage
Last weekend, the Canadian government successfully hosted the fifth Global Fund replenishment conference in Montreal. If the objective was to demonstrate that Canada can be called upon to rally the international community around urgent global issues, it was achieved. The fund almost reached the $13-billion pledge target ($12.9-billion on last count, with some pledges still […]
Politics this morning: Trudeau, Bibeau in New York City
Today is Tuesday, September 20. Here are the seven political events happening today that you should know about: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will give his first address as prime minister at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City today. He will likely try to rebrand Canada to the multilateral organization, which the previous […]
