Canada Taking a Stand!

If there is one thing I agree with the Conservative party it would probably be some of there foreign policy decision. Canada will not go to the The Conference on Disarmament, because North Korea is the chair of the conference. That is more than insane! We should boycott that conference till North Korea the only nation in the world that withdrew from the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty. That's like Libya on the Human rights council...Wait they were on the Human Rights council, And Saudi Arabia is on that council as well.... Interesting. On the commission's the status of women Iran and Thailand are on that council. Who picks these guys. That answer is the countries in the UN. That means countries like Libya can vote to elect countries that have similar human rights as them to get elected into the council, so that they can continue to what they are doing. Don't think it is just a few bad nations on these council. The Human rights council has more countries that aren't at all democratic than countries that are democratic. I have nothing against the UN, but the UN must restructure we don't want the people who are at the bottom of the barrel pointing at people that are clearly higher than them. That is why maybe it would be a smart move take North Korea the country that has been aiming for nuclear weapons shouldn't be the chair of the department that is suppose to look into countries like North Korea. I never though I would want to quote John Baird, but I give credit where credit is due.

"North Korea's chairmanship undermines the integrity of both the disarmament framework and of the United Nations, and Canada simply will not support that."

This is why we should continue to fight to eliminate other countries that are against the values of the council they are in. I think for many of the councils in the UN we should make a study to find out which countries are the best in practicing the values of that council, and then the top countries get in the council then we can have the people on the top look down at the people on the bottom

"It puts one of the world's worst offenders in the chair. It hurts the crediblity of the United Nations and it's a blow to any meaningful effort at disarmament," said Baird. "I think there's a lot of symbolism here but I think it is important that Canada put forward its voice strongly on this issue."

Read more here

No-Fly Over Libya

The UN Security Council has voted unanimously on a motion to impose a no-fly zone over Libya. They have also authorized countries to do anything they can to protect civilians in Libya from attacks by Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi's army. This could clear the airspace for strikes on Gadhafi's tanks and ground troops.

Dropping bombs on this dictator's troops and armor would be a good way to help end his reign of terror without getting directly involved in the war. We should not not put lives in danger to fight with the rebels, but we must help them while maintaining safety and help them transition to a fair, democratic government.

The UN Security Council has voted on a resolution that would not only impose a no-fly zone but authorize member states to take all necessary measures to protect civilians from attacks by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's forces. 

The vote late Thursday was 10 to zero in favour of the measure with five abstentions, including Russia and China.

Read more at CBC.

Related articles

• U.S. hints at Libya air strikes as Gadhafi pounds rebels (cnn.com)
• UN council votes for no-fly zone over Libya (thestar.com)

Cancun: a Failure

No matter how much the three main Canadian parties may say that the deal reached in Cancun is a "breakthrough," the facts remain that it was a failure. Most of the agreement was already decided in Copenhagen and there still is no binding agreement on lowering emissions. This is necessary to stop climate change and its consequences. With the Republicans in power in the United States and the Conservatives ruling in Canada, it doesn't seem like there will be any accord any time soon. It would take a miracle to produce an agreement. We will have to wait for next year in South Africa.

The verdicts are in, and all parties are calling the Cancun climate talks a success although the meeting concluded with no binding agreement for reducing greenhouse gases.

The NDP’s environment critic Linda Duncan arrived in Ottawa early Sunday morning, just hours after the environmental summit had wrapped up, calling the agreement that was reached a “breakthrough.”

Read more at the Globe and Mail. 

Related articles

• Cancun climate talks end with modest steps (cbc.ca)
• Cancun climate accords hailed as 'new beginning' (nationalpost.com)
• Much work in next year to build Canada's climate credibility (thestar.com)

Is Harper out of his Mind?

What is Stephen Harper saying? At a press conference, he said that his government would support any binding agreement to reduce greenhouse gases. He also called for countries who aren't interested in coming to an agreement, to discuss with the others. This group would include Canada. The Conservatives don't care for climate change. I do not understand how Harper can say this, as if he cares for a binding agreement. Canada is one of the countries that does the most to obstruct these talks. Last year, we got multiple fossil of the day awards, given to the countries that do the most to stop progress on coming to an agreement and the Colossal Fossil award. Unless Harper is about to do an about-face on this issue, which would be a pleasant, but very unlikely surprise, I do not know how he can say this with a straight face. Oh yeah, he cannot.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, pictured at an event in Nova Scotia on Friday, says he wants to see the world achieve a legally binding agreement to regulate and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. (CBC)

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says Canada would support a binding international agreement to reduce greenhouse gases.

 Read more at CBC.

Related articles

• Harper says Canada wants binding emissions deal (ctv.ca)
• Intense bargaining in final day of UN climate talks (thestar.com)

Endorsing UN First Nations Rights

The Tories have endorsed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, three years after it passed the General Assembly. Back then, not only did we not vote for it, Canada voted against it! And us being one of the countries in the world that usually takes pride in our Aboriginal culture. It's still better late than never. The life of First Nations in reserves is far from being the best and there are problems which need to be tackled. What we will see now is if the Conservatives will act on the signing of the Declaration. Probably not, because the agreement is non-binding and it's an easy way to gain popularity without doing anything.

Canada has finally endorsed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The Harper government announced the endorsement Friday after a meeting between Canada’s Ambassador to the United Nations, John McNee, and the president of the United Nations General Assembly.

Read more at the Toronto Star.

Related articles

• Tories endorse UN Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples (theprovince.com)
• Canada endorses indigenous rights declaration (cbc.ca)

Security Seat Lost

Canada did not get the UN Security Council seat. We withdrew from the race after failing to get the required votes in the second round. As planned, Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon blamed Ignatieff for the loss. But Robert Silver says it's Harper's loss. Since he made this a priority, and now Canada didn't get a seat, Conservatives are starting to claim that the UN is corrupt as they have always. This is going to reflect badly on the government.

If any Canadian woke up this morning still under the mistaken impression that Stephen Harper is some kind of political strategic genius, surely to God the results of the UN Security Council vote has put that once trendy canard to rest once and for all.

Read more at the Globe and Mail.

Related articles

• Canada quits race for UN Security Council seat (calgaryherald.com)

It's the Liberal Party's Fault

The Conservative Brainwashing squad is out in full force. Apparently, it's the because of the Liberals if we don't get the UN Security Council seat. So, if we do not get the Security Council seat, it's not because of what the Conservatives have or haven't done. It's because of those darned Liberals. This message won't get far at all. It is too farfetched to believe. Instead of blaming Liberals when we're not even in government, why don't they review the reasons why we didn't ge the seat if we don't. Then, we could arrive at the proper conclusion, not a partisan attack. Funny. The Foreign Affairs Minister said this.

On Wednesday, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon suggested the Liberals were trying to scuttle Canada's chances of winning. Speaking to a group of foreign ambassadors in Ottawa, he accused Ignatieff in particular of being "unable to put the interests of this country above the interests of his political party."

"One of the few persons who believes that Canada should not sit on the Security Council, unfortunately, is the leader of the Opposition, Mr. Ignatieff," he said.

Read more at CBC.

Related articles

• Tories ready blame for a UN Security Council failure (fullcomment.nationalpost.com)
• Canada nervous about winning Security Council seat (reuters.com)