Canada's Chance

Canada, as a middle power with few enemies, is one of the natural choices to help in rebuilding the UN. We have a reputation as a peace keeping country, belong to several multilateral groups, are wealthy, democratic, and arguably have at least some influence with the world’s sole remaining super-power. We have historical ties to the United Nations as well, ties that Annan pointed out in his speech to Parliament. “Canadians have been prominently involved in the United Nations since its early days. John Humphrey was one of the principal drafters of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. In 1955, Paul Martin Senior, the father of your present Prime Minister, helped overcome political and procedural obstacles to the rapid expansion of U.N. membership — paving the way for the near universality which is today one of our organization's most important assets. Lester Pearson even received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to resolve the Suez Crisis — a process in which he helped to invent the very concept of peacekeeping,” Annan said.

We have a couple of problems too. Our peace keeping abilities have been severely damaged due to budget cuts over the last couple of decades. There is a movement on the right in Canada to base our foreign policy strictly on that of the US. We are increasingly seen by other nations as little more than a colony of the US, which damages our credibility in many multilateral negotiations. Annan didn’t dwell on these, simply asking for more help.

Hopefully Paul Martin will see the benefit of providing that help. Canada’s goal of donations to the United nations for aid is 0.7 percent of gross domestic product. When the Liberals came to power our actual contribution was just under 0.5 percent. Our current contributions are half that...0.25 percent.

Our military resources are a bad joke. The only thing that enables us to carry out any missions at all are the skills and dedication of our individual military members. How long that dedication can continue with poor equipment, under staffing, and constant missions is anybody’s guess. That it has lasted this long is a tribute to Canadians in uniform.

We need to reach that 0.7 percent goal, possibly even surpass it and begin contributing a full 1 percent of our gross domestic product. We also need to rebuild our military and we need to do so with an eye to aiding the UN and performing peace keeping missions. We have neither the budget, nor the population, nor the political support to have a military designed to aid the world’s sole remaining superpower in its overseas adventures. We do have the wherewithal and political support to rebuild our military to carry out and support UN missions though.

At the Millennium Summit in 2000, the UN reached a consensus that, “...poverty, hunger, unequal access to primary education, lack of safe drinking water, and diseases like HIV/AIDS and malaria, as well as environmental degradation, are problems that concern the whole world,” Annan reminded us in his address to Parliament.

As a trading nation, we have the ability to address poverty and hunger. As a technologically advanced nation we have the ability to help to provide clean drinking water and education. As a wealthy nation we have the ability to help fight diseases such as HIV/AIDS and malaria. Doing these things is not only a benefit to the nations who receive the aid, not only a benefit to the rest of the world, but a benefit to Canada.

We are a trading nation and a wealthy nation looking to purchase goods and technology is a far better customer than a poor nation at war with itself. We are also a trading nation that is overly dependent on one customer. Any competent business person will tell you that such a relationship is a poor way to run a business because your best, often only, customer is in a position to put you out of business on a whim.

Multilateral institutions such as the UN are a good fit for Canada. We are not large or powerful enough to act unilaterally, but have a history of contributing greatly when needed by other countries. We have an international reputation for fairness. We have an international reputation for acting in the best interests of all involved.

Many predicted the untimely demise of the United Nations after the United States began its unilateral invasion of Iraq. Those predictions were wrong. The UN has rebounded, not least because even George Bush was forced to recognise that it is a necessary institution. Bush was forced to return to the UN to ask for help in instituting democracy in Iraq. Not only was Bush forced to acknowledge the authority of the UN, but UN involvement may serve to weaken attempts to install a government guaranteed to be friendly to US interests.

None of that is to say that the United Nations has fully recovered. It has stepped back from the abyss, but it is still threatened by the unilateral actions of the Bush regime and growing view that it has become obsolete in the post-Cold War world. Kofi Annan has asked for Canada’s help in building a bridge so the abyss can no longer threaten.

If Canada does want to be a leader on the world stage, this is our big opportunity. The leader of the United Nations has come to us and asked for help. He has done so at a time when it is clear that we must change the way we do things domestically. He has done so at a time when it is imperative that we escape from the shadow of our southern neighbour if we wish to survive as an independent nation. He has done so at a time when we can make a lasting contribution and help to make the world a better place.

There are some obstacles outside of our own country that we have to work to change. The first of those obstacles are within the UN itself. Annan himself recognised these hurdles in his 2003 progress report on the UN’s Millennium goals when he called for a review of the Security Council, the General Assembly, Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and maybe even the Trusteeship Council.

The continued existence of the presence of permanent members on the Security Council and their ability to veto the wishes of other countries should be the most carefully reconsidered. Why should China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States have more of a say in world affairs than other nations?

There are also concerns about how the wealthy states institute trade and aids deals, often to the detriment of poorer countries. Again, this is a natural place for Canada to lead. We are a trading nation, dependent on the US market. We are also a trading nation that, whether our politicians and those in the US admit it or not, the US is dependent on. That gives us a power that most do not share, a power to do the right thing and lead by example. We can offer aid and we can broker trade deals with an eye to the welfare of those in less developed nations.

Canada, more than ever before and arguably more than any other single nation, has a chance to work against imperialism by supporting the United Nations and working through other multilateral institutions. Doing that would not only amplify our voice on the world stage, but would be to our benefit socially and economically because of the opportunities it presents. Not doing so leaves us as little more than a satellite state orbiting around an indebted and failing giant.

I wish it was possible to trust Paul Martin and his Liberals on these issues. I wish that whoever forms the next government would be likely to continue to do the right thing. Martin’s political record is not one that offers much encouragement in these matters though, and the most likely party to ascend to power should the Martin government fail is little more than a group of fifth columnists who have not had an original thought since Mulroney was in power.

Our time is now. Let’s not squander it.

Related links:
Kofi Annan’s Address to Canadian Parliament
Toronto Star: UN Needs Canada’s Assistance
UN News Service Report on Millenium Goals
National Post: Kofi the Confident

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Reverend Blair was raised in Saskatchewan and currently lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He comes from a long line of social activists and cried on Tommy Douglas before his first birthday. His column appears biweekly on Vive le Canada.

Note: Kofi Annan’s Address to... Toronto Star: UN Needs ... UN News Service Report ... National Post: Kofi the...