Canadian Affairs Interview: Oversight of Canadian Arms Exports
Canadian weapons are meant to be subject to strict export controls, to prevent them from being sold to terrorists and war criminals.
Yet, Canadian armoured vehicles and sniper rifles are appearing on the killing fields of Sudan and Yemen, and Canadian components are spilling out of Iranian and Russian drones.
I spoke with Canadian Affairs, about whether the federal government has been wilfully blind about the purchasers of Canadian weapons, and whether we need better laws to regulate Canadian arms dealers.
Our negotiations at the UN Biodiversity Convention have drawn to a close.
Many of the diplomatic skirmishes were clashes of low cunning rather than of high ideals. However, I was uniformly impressed by the diligence of my colleagues on Canada’s State Delegation.
I believe we collectively succeeded in strengthening the foundation for implementation of the Convention.
I spent my last day in Rome wandering through the remnants of its ancient glories.
Rome’s long rise, slow decline, and staggering collapse under the weight of political corruption and social inequality has far too many parallels in the contemporary world.
Meeting with the Vatican Prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue
Interacting with the Vatican leadership is quite an experience.
It wields a unique power to shape international affairs, by influencing both governments and societies, from the global to the local levels. Its impact stretches around the world and across time.
I had a fascinating working meeting with Cardinal George Koovakad, Prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue (Vatican Cabinet Minister for relations with other faiths).
I am grateful to Cardinal Koovakad for our discussion, and I look forward to our continued collaboration.
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Meeting Senator Francesca La Marca in Rome
I was delighted to meet with Senator Francesca La Marca at the Palazzo Madama, the former Medici palace that houses Italy’s Senate.
We had a wide-ranging discussion on:
❦ Implementing the UN Biodiversity Convention; ❦ Access to nature as a civic imperative; ❦ Middle power alliances to counterbalance great power coercion; ❦ Sustaining pluralism and inclusive models of national identity; ❦ The Future of the EU and European defence mobilisation.
I found it a productive and extraordinarily thoughtful exchange, and I am grateful to her for her insights and help with my work.
Though the Western Roman Empire fell 1'550 years ago, Francesca and her fellow Senators clearly still strive to uphold virtus, gravitas, et fides.
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Day 2 of Negotiations: UN Convention on Biological Diversity
We completed our second day of negotiations on the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, in Rome.
A palpable tension is being evoked by some states, which are trying to use the Convention as a pawn in their larger games of global diplomacy.
All the while, species are disappearing at 1000 times the natural extinction rate. Humans, our pets, and our livestock now account for 94% of mammalian biomass, with wild mammals a paltry 6%.
Our survival will hinge on sense triumphing over schemes.
Day 1 of Negotiations: UN Convention on Biological Diversity
Our first day of negotiations at the @UN Biodiversity Convention in Rome focussed on perennial question of who pays how much to whom to achieve what.
In my view, no state can credibly claim any entitlement to international funds, until it acknowledges its ineluctable national responsibilities. Accountability is a precondition for generosity.
Our talks are unfolding in UN buildings that face the ruins of the Basilica of Maxentius, built as the Western Roman Empire was in its death throes. The view is a stark reminder of the wages of unenlightened political leadership.
We have begun our negotiations on implementation of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.
Is it ironic or apt that we are convening in Rome, amidst the ruins of a once‑great civilisation, which was laid low by political decay and social despotism?
My focus is on holding states accountable, for keeping their commitments to their citizens and to the community of nations.
The high words of the Convention are valuable only if they lead to meaningful deeds to halt mass extinction.
Negotiating the Implementation of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity
This week, I will serve as one of seven members of Canada’s State Delegation on implementation of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.
Our negotiations in Rome will be unglamorous and laborious. I defy anyone to read the diplomatic papers without suffering an urge to nod off.
Yet, the stakes are unutterably high.
We are in the gravest mass extermination since the end of the dinosaurs, driven not by natural planetary catastrophes, but instead by political choices.
Implementing the Convention would give life itself a fighting chance.
I will moderate a discussion between leaders of Canada’s Christian, Jewish, and Muslim communities, on Québec’s Bill 9.
The Bill would override both the federal Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the provincial Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, to ban the wearing of religious symbols in a range of public professions and limit religious expression in public spaces.
The Canadian Interfaith Conversation will host the event. It will be free and open to all.
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Nature Gathering in Toronto
We live in a difficult world, with polarised societies, strained economies, and cruel politics.
We can choose to accept to the wrongs of the world, or we can try to change the world for the better.
I felt energised to be part of a gathering of some of the most determined nature organisations operating in Ontario.
We discussed how to rouse and mobilise the greenpac.canadalove of nature that defines us as Canadians, to protect the natural world at a time when too many public actors tell us that we no choice but to sacrifice it.
Chrétien and Harper at the Royal Canadian Geographical Society
I am delighted that the Royal Canadian Geographical Society was able to host a conversation between former prime ministers Jean Chrétien and Stephen Harper at our headquarters.
Partisanship is an indispensable part of our democratic system. Yet, taken to extremes, it can also poison national debate and polarise society.
For all their political and social differences, Chrétien and Harper clearly share a mutual respect and love of country.
They showed that we can disagree with one another, without despising each other.
Harper’s laugh in this image came in response to Chrétien offering him a “Shawinigan handshake”.
The Company of Saddlers will launch London’s Festival of the Professions, next week.
It is one of the few mediaeval livery guilds still involved in vocational education and standards. I joined as a member of the Canadian Equestrian Team, in support of its commitment to skilled trades.
Canada has the world’s best-educated population. But we undervalue apprenticeship programmes.
Our economy needs more tradespeople, and our society needs to better recognise the dignity of their work.
I enjoyed sitting down with Sarah Barnes, Curator of Sport and Leisure at the Canadian Museum of History, to discuss the connections between sport, nature, and national identity.
The Museum itself, designed by Douglas Cardinal, is as much a work of art as the artefacts within.
As the world lurches around us, Canadian institutions like the Museum become still more important, to help us reflect on our shared future as well as to remember our shared past.
Serving in Peace, Pluralism, and Conservation. Ambassador-at-Large of the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption. Director of Policy for Nature Canada. Alumnus of the Canadian Equestrian Team. My web site is https://www.Maharaj.org/
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