Facing the Biggest Challenges of Our Generation
- Analysis
- December 18, 2018

The departure of Canadian troops from Afghanistan does not mark the end of Canadian aid to that country. To move forward, however, Canada must accept the strategic mistakes of the past and record the lessons learned, not only to avoid …
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Both Russia and those opposing its intervention in Crimea are making claims regarding the legality of its acts. Russia is asserting the right to use force in Crimea and, if necessary, in eastern Ukraine. The U.S., Canada, and European states …
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By Stephen Baranyi and Tag Elkhazin
The signing of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement/Army sparked optimism that the country could find a way out of its devastating cycle …
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Canada’s military mission in Afghanistan officially ends this month. It began in 2001 with the dispatch of a small number of special operations troops to oust the Taliban and punish al-Qaeda militants in wake of the 9/11 attacks, and grew

The Russian media had a good laugh on March 2 at the expense of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who denounced Russia by saying, “[y]ou just don’t invade another country on a phony pretext in order to assert your …
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Published in the Toronto Star, February 26, 2014
Never forget: these are charged words for Canada’s ethnic or religious groups when it comes to keeping alive the memory of historical atrocities “back home.” But they’re also charged words, in …
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By Kirsten Van Houten and Benjamin Zyla
Since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled the Taliban in 2001, NATO has provided extensive security and development assistance to Afghanistan. While NATO is slated to withdraw from Afghanistan later this year, the international …
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by Monica Gattinger
At the North American Leaders Summit in Mexico this week, Prime Minister Harper, President Obama and President Pena Nieto committed to tasking their respective energy ministers to meet in 2014 to “discuss opportunities to promote common strategies …
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The federal government announced a 7.5% cut in Canada’s Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) budget for the fiscal year 2012. In addition, former CIDA funds not spent (and thus lapsed) represented close to 10% of CIDA’s aid budget for 2012. The …
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On February 22, trade ministers from the 12 countries negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement will meet in Singapore. Reaching a final signed agreement is unlikely, given U.S. Congressional resistance to ‘fast tracking’ President Obama’s authority to sign off on …
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Shortly before the Prime Minister’s January trip to the Middle East, the Harper Government announced its choice to fill Canada’s long-vacant ambassadorial chair in Tel Aviv. Vivian Bercovici—a Toronto lawyer, occasional commentator on Israeli affairs and backroom Tory loyalist—is the …
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After years of sitting on the sidelines, Canada finally seems to be taking social media seriously as tool of diplomacy. Foreign Minister John Baird delivered a speech on Friday—appropriately in Silicon Valley, the world’s capital of technological innovation—embracing digital diplomacy …
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