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Les trois piliers

Thank you for participating in the Dialogue on Foreign Policy. The interactive web site is now closed. The Minister's report will appear on this web site once it is released.

Ce forum est bilingue, et les participants peuvent rédiger leurs commentaires dans la langue de leur choix.

Canada - U.S. Relationship

Participant: banquosghost

Date: 2003-03-10 22:01:05


"Perhaps this is the proper time for Canada to step forward and propose that UN headquarters be moved out of New York to Canada which has long had a reputation as an honest broker and peacemaker."

Now there's an idea worth pursuing!

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Canada - U.S. Relationship

Participant: fatmomma

Date: 2003-03-12 21:27:35


YES, I agree 100%. The UN spends a large amount of money in the USA. The Americans have opted out of the War Crimes Tribunal. I wonder why? They don't want to obey any rules but their own. Same reason they have not paid their UN dues. A Canadian was just names to head the War Crimes Tribunal.
Why shouldn't Canada have a more active role in the UN.

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Canada - U.S. Relationship

Participant: codc01

Date: 2003-03-13 02:49:39


Even though i agree that the UN should be moved out of the US, I think Canada would not be a good location - switzerland would be a much better location in my mind.

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Canada - U.S. Relationship

Participant: fatmomma

Date: 2003-03-14 01:00:43


codco The UN has headquarters in Geneva' Switzerland already. We are looking at the New York site

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Canada - U.S. Relationship

Participant: codc01

Date: 2003-03-14 12:51:51


I know, i meant we should move all the UN stuff to Geneva, no more New York :)

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Canada - U.S. Relationship

Participant: fatmomma

Date: 2003-03-15 13:05:32


I think we cannot concentrate the UN in one country or continent. Canada is becoming a more neutral, peace seeking country and would be a excellent choice of locations. We may be a small country in numbers but we are very large in size. I look at Canada as one of the important parklands for the world. We need more presence within the UN. We cannot expect or trust the USA to protect Canada's interests.

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Canada - U.S. Relationship

Participant: cfallon

Date: 2003-03-17 13:12:24


But why do you think the UN will protect our interests?

The UN has failed in some many places and times over its history that we need to be realistic about what it has achieved to date.

Our government should protect our own interests. That's why we pay taxes.

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Canada - U.S. Relationship

Participant: fatmomma

Date: 2003-03-17 23:14:49


Our government can't protect us. We have a tiny military. We live right next door to the biggest bully in the world.



why hasn't the UN worked because the USA has not been supporting it financially or morally. So many other countries have not paid their dues either.

It is clear that the UN needs to get some teeth and make many changes and do this without the US on board.

One positive step at the UN was setting up the International Crime Commission.
The USA didn't want to belong to that organization because it doesn't want its military and leaders tried for War Crimes.

It is still a young organization and there have been several changes in major governments. It needs to change to reflect this change; we must accept that the USA as the sole super power doesn't feel the need to play by our rules.
I do not understand why Canada shouldn't have a larger presence in the UN. We may be a small country in numbers but we have a large territory, and many untapped resources to protect.
The UN should carry on and make some serious changes to the way it is run

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Canada - U.S. Relationship

Participant: codc01

Date: 2003-03-18 13:26:29


I agree with cfallon, the UN will not protect us, it is actually NATO which protects us... But i also think that the UN's role should be changed, but its not the UN structure or rules which must change, its actually the role of the nations which are part of the UN!!! Nations don't stand up for what is right... If they did, it would make a big difference.

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Canada - U.S. Relationship

Participant: 1419

Date: 2003-04-25 01:56:33


For heaven's sake, don't bring the UN HQ as it exists today to Canada. The UN has existed too long as bureaucracy and has become stagnant and ineffective. We don't need something like their HQ in Canada. Rather, dismantle the UN and re-build a World Coalition that the US and the rest of the world will support and to which they will all pay their dues. Give it a military rapid reaction force that can be deployed quickly to avert civil rights abuses before they escalate into giant genocides. Give it modern media facilities, physical and electronic presences, and new people. With a suitable cost-sharing formula, Canada could offer to house such a force on behalf of the world. (Putting it in Saskatchewan would also help curb the declining population there)

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Canada - U.S. Relationship

Participant: fatmomma

Date: 2003-04-26 21:26:49


The UN has good framework and only needs to be reworked to bring it up to date of a changing world powers. It does need many changes but to dismantle it and start from scratch is foolish. International relationships are sometimes difficult to establish; we are expecting too much from the UN under its present structure. The UN must be able to enforce collection of all dues coming to it. It needs to be able to enforce its regulations. It does not need 5 permanent countries that are able to veto any resolution. At this time; under the present administration; the only World Coalition that the USA would support is one they have complete control of. This would defeat the purpose of any such organization. We need the UN, with or without the USA on board. If the USA will not return to rebuild the UN; we must make the UN very strong to
counterbalance the uneven power that the present USA has over all other countries. One country cannot be allowed to make and enforce all decisions for the rest of the world.
The American President has great powers that can be used or abused. The present administration is very aggressive and demanding but may not be the worst we could face in future years.
We may either have to join them or become very strong if we wish to protect our sovereignty. I would like to see less American ownership and control of our core assets. I am not in support of allowing more American ownership of our telecommunication or cable companies.

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Canada - U.S. Relationship

Participant: 1419

Date: 2003-04-30 00:38:02


As many comments have noted, the UN does some good work and the world certainly needs a body like it. But unlike private corporations which renew themselves under competitve pressure or governments which renew themselves under electoral pressure, the UN has no mechanism for renewal and revitalization. Recall the UN was itself a rejuvenation of the League of Nations. Its decline is the just the natural decay of time. The stream of failures of its Security Council to act in a timely fashion over the last decade is the most visible signal that now is the time to dismantle and rebuild a fresh organization. Canada and the world should exploit the non-payment situation to pressure non-paying countries like the US to help rebuild an organization that they would be too embarrassed not to be part of and not to support by paying on time. Tapping our creativity to actually do this would be a dialogue exercise in itself and a suitable follow-on for DFAIT to sponsor when this discussion forum ends tomorrow.
To everyone, thank you for the opportunity to participate. And to the odd US citizen lurking out there, we Canadians don't really want to come across as whining about big brother South of us all the time, but we would rather you regard us as a trustworthy constructive conscience whose advice is hopefully worth listening to.

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Canada - U.S. Relationship

Participant: fatmomma

Date: 2003-04-30 22:28:14


We do not need to start a new organization again from scratch. The USA at this time is not interested in listening to International voice. This is why the have not been paying for and supporting the UN even though their citizens were strongly in favour of it. We may want to regard the USA as a trustworthy constructive force; Canada serves as a conscience that the present USA government does not care to listen to. I am not whining I am seriously complaining about the present USA administration disregard for the wishes of other countries or even many of their own citizens

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