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Analysis

“If you want to kill me, please kill me quick”
- April 12, 2019
The images, and voices, from Libya’s migrant detention centres are sickening. An online blog posted a letter written by an anonymous refugee from Darfur, detained in Libya. “RS” writes of having left his village, destroyed by the Janjaweed, to find …
By Patti Tamara Lenard
Africa, Canadian Foreign Policy, Fragile States, Human Rights, Refugees, United Nations
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Cyber Interference in the Federal Election? Part 1
- April 12, 2019
“We judge it very likely that Canadian voters will encounter some form of foreign cyber interference related to the 2019 federal election.” So says the Communications Security Establishment (CSE), Canada’s equivalent to America’s NSA and Britain’s GCHQ, in a …
By Paul Robinson
Defence and Intelligence, Democracy, Russia, Technology
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Cyber Interference in the Federal Election? Part 2
- April 12, 2019
Part 1 of this blog dealt with the fairly generic alarms raised by the CSE regarding election tampering by foreign cyber threats. As far as the specific threat to Canada is concerned, CSE says the following:

“Since the 2015 federal …
By Paul Robinson
Defence and Intelligence, Democracy, Russia, Technology
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Finding Asylum Just Got Harder
- April 12, 2019
Refugee advocates in Canada breathed a sigh of relief in October of 2015. Immediately upon the election of the Liberals under the leadership of Justin Trudeau, the doors opened to thousands of Syrian refugees. Tens of thousands of Syrians have …
By Patti Tamara Lenard
Canadian Foreign Policy, Refugees, USA
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Taiwan Hopes for “Oceans of Democracy”
- April 5, 2019
Republic of China (Taiwan) President Tsai Ing-wen, who takes pride in her Austronesian heritage through her paternal grandmother, made an 8-day voyage called “Oceans of Democracy” at the end of March to three Micronesian allies and Hawaii. This …
By Scott Simon
Asia, International Relations
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Out of Fragility: Evidence from Bangladesh, Part 1
- April 5, 2019
Almost 50 years ago, Bangladesh emerged as a new nation in 1971 out of a bloody war of independence with Pakistan that left three million dead and ten million refugees. It then found itself caught in a fragility trap with …
By Nipa Banerjee
Asia, Fragile States, International Development
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Out of Fragility: Evidence from Bangladesh, Part 2
- April 5, 2019
The Bangladesh government’s significant strides in delivering basic services to the population, thus reinforcing its legitimacy, discussed in part 1 of this blog, have been enhanced by an extraordinarily strong civil society — a unique community of non-profit, non-governmental …
By Nipa Banerjee
Asia, Fragile States, International Development
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Partnering with Japan for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific
- March 29, 2019
On March 7, 2019, Japanese Ambassador Kimihiro Ishikane gave a lecture at CIPS entitled “Japan and Canada: Strategic Partners in the Indo-Pacific?” The question mark is perhaps the most important part of the title. At this 90^th…
By Scott Simon
Asia, Canadian Foreign Policy, International Relations
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A New Face in International Development
- March 29, 2019
Maryam Monsef is the new face mandated to set the tone of international co-operation as Minister of International Development. Her arrival on March 1^st is the result of the crisis of integrity in the government triggered by the flow …
By John Sinclair
Canadian Foreign Policy, International Development, Refugees, United Nations, Women
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New Partnerships for Minister Monsef?
- March 29, 2019
Since March 1, 2019, Maryam Monsef has been the new Minister of International Development, adding to her responsibilities as Minister for Women and Gender Equality. A companion blog outlines the demanding new landscape in which she must operate. The aim …
By John Sinclair
Canadian Foreign Policy, International Development, Refugees, United Nations, Women
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Budget 2019: Peanuts for International Development
- March 22, 2019
From the international development perspective, Budget 2019 is the most disappointing federal budget since the current Liberal government was elected. Foreign aid warrants a mere three paragraphs. The first repeats past commitments and the third describes how the government will …
By Stephen Brown
Canadian Foreign Policy, International Development
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Aviation Industry Flying Under the Climate Radar, Part 1
- March 14, 2019
Monday, 13 July 2018 was a day for the record books. On that day the Swedish company FlightRadar24 tracked 205,468 flights occurring around the world, making it aviation’s busiest day in history. It would be a herculean task to determine …
By Ryan Katz-Rosene
Economy, Environment
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