There’s no superior culture in the world
We live in a very diverse world. Not only is each individual unique but, as people from different parts of the world have come into contact, it has become clear that each culture has different priorities. Do we have anything in common? I was very fortunate to have been brought up in a multicultural and…
The choice should seem obvious, yet around the globe governments still spend astonishing amounts of our money building military might
When discussing global issues, there’s a proverbial, weaponized elephant in the room. The topic is central to human suffering yet we seem unwilling to discuss it: the military-industrial complex. There’s a myth that there are good guys and bad guys and if we blow up the bad guys, the world will be safer. But the…
Ranking acknowledges what the university has been doing and how it has been contributing to sustainability
The University of Alberta has been named one of the world’s top 100 most sustainable post-secondary institutions for its ongoing efforts creating sustainability on campus and in the local and global community. According to the third annual Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Ranking, which lists participating universities by their contribution to a list of 17…
Building viable businesses and services on First Nations is the best way to build self-respect, self-determination and self-reliance
There’s little doubt that the condition of Indigenous people is desperate in Canada, especially for those living in the 600 or so small, isolated First Nations communities. Most Canadians know some facts about the quality of lives of the people in these communities but let’s refresh our minds with a few statistics. First Nations have…
The only way to stop people from fleeing their countries is to hold their governments' culpable for their citizen's suffering
Even when boundaries define arbitrary lines between territories, they embody deeper symbolic, cultural, historical and religious meaning that’s often contested for legitimacy. Our belief that borders are indisputable has at times led to remarkable efforts to establish permanent barriers as statements of sovereignty and against foreign intrusion. The Great Wall of China, built for defence…
The Chinese government wants to dominate all other nations, seeking submission on its terms. We must resist
The vote by Canada’s Parliament to declare the actions of the Chinese government a genocide against the Uyghur people highlights the growing discordance between Western democracies and the increasingly repressive and aggressive Chinese regime. The Chinese government also engages in cultural repression, surveillance or discrimination against its Tibetan, Mongolian and Korean minorities. China has benefited…
Genocide is the outcome of nationalistic, populist movements that tolerate hate speech and discrimination and incite violence
If left unaddressed, the rising extremism and persecutions in China and India will undermine the well-being of millions of people. These acts will also set a precedent the international community will regret for generations, both in terms of the human cost and the undermining of many gains made in human rights over the past several…
Putting the health of the people in the South Caucasus at risk puts us all at risk. Diseases spread and mutate rapidly in refugee camps
When teaching history, it’s rare that an issue more than 100 years old becomes a current events lesson, but that’s what happened as I began teaching about the Armenian Genocide. The Ottoman Empire is responsible for the death of 1.5 million Armenians, primarily under the cover of the First World War. The empire collapsed after…
The image of the hip and virtuous leader that some media and voters hold of our prime minister is not what leaders of other nations see
After boastfully declaring that he would enhance Canada’s place on the international scene, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau failed in his bid to secure a United Nations Security Council seat. Canada’s place in the world has been effectively eroded under his watch. Foreign policy matters, so Trudeau is right in drawing attention to it in his…
We can’t simply watch global events unfold. We have a valuable contribution to make and we’re up to the challenge
Canada’s foreign policy has strayed from its traditional path, losing the traction it once had on the world stage. Canada’s last two attempts to secure a seat as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council failed. Our international standing as a neutral middle power and an honest broker has lost its shine. Our…