That’s become the unofficial slogan of the 100-day-old Trudeau government, and it got a surprising endorsement from Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary-General.
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What Liberals mean when they say that of course is that under Harper we didn’t see the kind of love-fest recently on display between Ban Ki-moon and Trudeau.
Trudeau says seeking a council seat meshes with his government’s plan to renew Canada’s relationship with the world body, which cooled under the previous government.
The two ministers stressed the importance of “the long-standing military cooperation” between Canada and the United States, saying that they are prepared to maintain “close contact” to strengthen these relations.
The secretary general praised Canada’s role in the Paris talks and the Liberal government’s commitment to welcoming 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of February, and urged Trudeau to increase the amount the country spends on development aid.
“United Nations has been making quite clear that all these conflicts should be resolved through peaceful means, through engaging the parties, all the parties in inclusive dialogue. Their unique perspective will help guide us in developing policies that ensure our land, air and water are protected for future generations”, said Trudeau, in the statement.
Trudeau said Thursday he “highlighted to the Secretary General that part of Canada wishing to re-engage robustly with the United Nations and in multilateral engagement around the world includes looking towards a bid for the UN Security Council” as vacancies open up.
Heinbecker said former prime minister Harper “basically snubbed” the United Nations multiple times by choosing to not show up to events.
Canada’s contributions to peacekeeping missions have fallen to a few dozen troops in recent years from a high of several thousand in the mid-1990s. Mr. Ban will then head to Montreal on Friday, where he will meet Mayor Denis Coderre, Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard and members of the International Civil Aviation Organization.
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We therefore ask Prime Minister Trudeau to pursue, with urgency, his “Canadian solution” such that it will 1) lead to the immediate return of the illegal trash exports for environmentally sound disposal in Canada, 2) pay the Philippines for all the costs incurred, and 3) fix the legal loopholes that allowed the unlawful export of Canadian waste to the Philippines.
