Before I begin, I would like to make a personal observation. As I address the Assembly, I am conscious that I am speaking to virtually the entire world. In my previous career I was an astronaut, and I had the opportunity to see the entire world from the vantage point of space. I have flown over all of our countries and I have reflected a great deal on our planet, Earth. I have realized that Earth is the cradle of all humankind, that we all come from the same place and that, frankly, we have nowhere else to
go. We must therefore find a way to get along with one another and take care of our planet — a planet that we are visibly damaging.
Space offers the unique perspective of seeing beyond one’s own national borders. In that sense, the United Nations offers that same perspective. I am honoured to be here today on behalf of Canada’s newly re-elected Government, led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. I would like to begin my address by respectfully acknowledging that the land on which we are gathering today is the traditional unceded territory of the Lenape people.
We are assembled today at one of the most challenging times in generations. The world is facing simultaneous and cascading crises, including climate change, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and threats to international peace and security, which serve to exacerbate inequalities, test our resilience and shine a bright light on the shortcomings of our systems and institutions.
But it is not the first time that this institution has faced such formidable challenges. We must not be querulous or fainthearted in the face of the hardships and difficulties of our modern world. That is not why we are here. We must learn from the vision and courage of those who have gone before and we must think of the hopes and aspirations of those who will inherit the world we leave behind. From the ashes of the Second World War, our parents and grandparents responded to the unprecedented social and economic collapse of the 1930s and 1940s, with its accompanying death and destruction, by building a new international order based on rules and strong international institutions to bring stability, prosperity and peace to the generations that followed. They did not wring their hands in despair. They rolled up their sleeves and went to work. Climate change, COVID-19 and the rise of authoritarianism and inequality are the challenges of our time. They are ours to solve and overcome. In doing so, we must look to the future with optimism. Just as our parents and grandparents stepped up to the challenges of their moment, so too must we recognize and seize our own opportunity to shape the future.
There is no more perfect example of where multilateral solutions and political will are needed than in addressing the impact of climate change. Like all of us in this Hall, Canada is not immune to the climate crisis. Earlier this year, our west coast faced a record-setting heatwave, with temperatures in some places reaching more than 49°C. Hundreds of people died and an entire town in the province of British Columbia was destroyed. That is our new reality. We know that the world expects leadership from the United Nations. When we attend the twenty-sixth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in November, young people around the world will be looking to us to increase our ambition and strengthen global cooperation. We cannot let them down. It is in our hands. Our Organization has a steadfast and dedicated partner in Canada. We are doing our part at home, including by putting a price on carbon, which will rise to $170 per tonne by 2030, and by increasing our emissions reduction targets. We are also doing our part internationally, including by recently doubling our climate finance contribution to $5.3 billion over the next five years.
Over successive generations, we have worked together to make multilateralism evolve to meet our needs, expand it into new areas and refine our old approaches. Together we have embraced hope, confronted fear and innovated to try to improve lives around the world. It has been complicated, difficult and often slow, but more often than not we have overcome the obstacles through a combination of ingenuity and political will. That capacity for human ingenuity still exists. It is that collective political will that we must rekindle. The future is in our hands. In this very forum, some argue that national sovereignty is the sole basis for international relations and that it is the essential purpose of the Charter of the United Nations. In response, I would say that challenges such as climate change remind us beyond any doubt that a multilateral response remains necessary. Governments acting alone cannot overcome the problems facing our world. Our founders knew that, said so and proved it with their actions.
The cost of turning inward will be catastrophic for people around the world and lead only to rising inequality. Last year, as all of our Governments focused on our domestic responses to COVID-19, we went backwards where meeting some of our Sustainable Development Goals was concerned. Extreme poverty spiked for the first time in three decades. The pandemic forced us to take stock of growing inequalities within
our own societies, with seniors, racialized people, women, the LGBTQ+ community and indigenous peoples bearing the worst of the economic slowdown. The pandemic also fanned racism, antisemitism and Islamophobia and exacerbated inequalities between countries, with the richest among us having speedy access to vaccines while citizens in poorer countries have struggled for their health and well-being. We know what must be done. We just need to choose to do it. It is in our hands.
In the immediate term, as the pandemic continues to rage in most parts of the world, we must focus on scaling up the production and equitable distribution of vaccines, as well as on the economic realities facing least developed and middle-income countries, such as rising debt levels and liquidity challenges. Addressing those inequalities and fostering a more robust spirit of global solidarity in the face of daunting challenges reflects the values and interests of the entire United Nations, not just those of Canada. It is in our hands.
We know that isolationism also contributes to growing authoritarianism. In the face of the COVID-19 crisis, some have seized opportunities to erode civil liberties, freedom of expression and other universal human rights. However, we do not need to look far back in history to know that politics based on lies, deception, exclusion and inequality creates hardship and pain for people around the world. The spread of systematic misinformation and propaganda on social media and through the Internet has made us realize that the digital revolution comes with risks and dangers we cannot ignore. Canada will continue to stand firm against the forces of lies and fear, oppression and hate and criminality and corruption, for that is fundamentally who we are as Canadians.
Our commitment to human rights and the rule of law extends well beyond our shores. Canada will continue its work to promote respect for the rights of people everywhere. For example, we will continue to press for democracy and the rule of law in Myanmar, where the overthrow of the elected Government by the Tatmadaw has caused much hardship and suffering to the people of Myanmar. We support all efforts to end the military dictatorship and ensure the rights of all peoples of Myanmar, including the Rohingya, whose lives are threatened by a genocidal regime.
Canada will continue to lead efforts to maintain judicial independence, media freedom and the rule of law. We must all continue to fight against impunity. I stand here before the Assembly to say that that is not something we simply talk about; it is something we do. Two days ago, we welcomed back to Canada Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who were imprisoned by the Chinese Government after Canada applied both Canadian and international law in response to a request for extradition of a Chinese citizen. Canada observed the rule of law and two Canadian citizens paid a heavy price for that commitment. We did so as a matter of principle and we are proud of the courage of our two citizens, the good faith and resilience of their families and the determination and creativity of our diplomats. We continue to oppose the way in which those two citizens were treated. In that connection, I want to recognize the support of our many international partners in standing with those Canadian citizens, as well as those who helped in the development and signing of the Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations. Our solidarity in defence of human rights and international law is an important signal. We must continue to stand together, united in our shared determination to defend our values and principles. There is a reason why respect for human rights is one of the three pillars of the United Nations. Canada will never forget that experience and that lesson. We will continue to press for an end to arbitrary detention, wherever and however it occurs.
(spoke in French)
The institutions and rules we have established over the 76 years that the United Nations has existed have given us decades of world peace and growing prosperity. There have been no world wars and extreme poverty has been considerably reduced. However, the benefits of multilateralism have not always been evenly or fairly distributed, and the potential for peace is yet to be realized in far too many places. Every region of the world is affected by instability — whether in the Americas, the Middle East, Africa, Ukraine, Haiti, the Sahel or Afghanistan — and far too often we lack the political will to build peace.
I visited the Middle East earlier this summer and listened carefully to Israeli and Palestinian leaders and representatives of civil society. Canada fully recognizes Israel’s right as a State Member of the United Nations to live in peace and security. We also believe that a two-State solution is the best way to address the needs and concerns of both Israelis and Palestinians, and we encourage direct negotiations to achieve that.
Conflicts, regardless of their geography or cause, are not simply a matter of national sovereignty. Insecurity somewhere invariably leads to insecurity elsewhere, and we all pay the price. The solutions to those problems are in our hands.
We know that climate change, food insecurity and conflict will continue to exacerbate the challenge of forced migration and humanitarian need in the years to come. Make no mistake. It will affect all of us and it requires that we address those issues together. The numbers of refugees and other forcibly displaced people are already hitting record highs, year after year. We must listen to their voices and give them a place at the table. Humanitarian assistance must keep pace, but should not be viewed as a substitute for addressing the root causes of the problems forcing people to flee in the first place.
For its part, through dedicated asylum policies, Canada will also provide a refuge for those who put themselves at personal risk by defending democracy and upholding human rights. Canadians are a welcoming people. When we saw the tragedy befalling the Syrian people, we opened our hearts and our homes, bonding together to personally help people rebuild their lives. Where some see risk, we see opportunity. In just a few short years, in communities across Canada, Syrians have built businesses, raised their children and become part of the fabric of our country, just as many other communities have before them.
That is Canada’s competitive advantage. We welcome people in need, but we also understand that their hard work, talents and cultures enrich us all. Many flee to Canada to find a place where they can not only build a new life but from which they can build a better world. Now, faced with a heart-wrenching situation in Afghanistan, Canadians have once again shown their openness to those who do not wish to live under Taliban rule but prefer to stand up for democracy, human rights and gender equality. In fact they have overwhelmingly called on us to do more. In response to Canadians’ generosity and welcoming spirit, we have now committed to welcoming 40,000 Afghan refugees so that they too can contribute to our success while we continue to support their efforts for a more peaceful, tolerant world.
Our participation in the United Nations comes with a commitment to freedom, truth and the rule of law. We also have a responsibility to speak out on behalf of those who have been marginalized or rejected.
We are proud of Canada’s achievements in the area of gender equality, both at home and abroad, but we are not complacent. We will continue to strive to remove the barriers that prevent women from fully participating in the workforce and the economy, for example, by working to provide access to affordable child care, at $10 per day, for every young family in Canada. A recovery that does not promote the full participation of women in the economy cannot be fully successful. At the international level, we will continue to work to improve girls’ education, prevent early and forced marriages and support local women’s movements around the world.
We also have a responsibility to hold one another and ourselves accountable. The rights of indigenous peoples have been the subject of deep national reflection in Canada due to a heightened public awareness of past failures and the ongoing challenges facing First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples. We are committed to pursuing a path of reconciliation and we know that the eyes of the world are upon us. Earlier this year, we established a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and made the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples the law of the land. Prime Minister Trudeau has tasked every member of his Cabinet with its implementation. We are also committed to making systemic changes in response to the tragedy of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. We recognize the hardship that racist colonial policies have inflicted on successive generations of indigenous peoples. The Canadian Government remains fully committed to protecting the rights of indigenous peoples and improving their standards of living.
I am optimistic. We have heard this past week about the urgent and compounding problems that we face as a global community. We know that there is a digital divide; that millions of children have been locked down and locked out of schooling; that pluralism faces a struggle against the forces of extremism and even terrorism; and that many are bewildered in the face of new technologies that can invade our privacy, uproot our families and change the face of work. But we have
the necessary solutions and tools at our disposal. If we listen to each other and bring those critical issues to the centre of our work together, we can make progress. It is in our hands. We have a United Nations that, over the past year, has proven that it is up to the operational challenge of delivering in the most difficult of situations. We have a menu of bold ideas and proven solutions. Here I would like to thank the Secretary-General for putting forward his report entitled Our Common Agenda, which we must all consider seriously. We know what must be done and we must marshal the political will to do it. That will require a shift in mindset.
It is no secret that we spend too much time talking and not enough time making decisions. Our parents and grandparents rose to the challenge in 1945. Now it is our turn to work together to set the course for a fairer, more just and sustainable future for all. It is in our hands. My most distinguished predecessor as Foreign Minister and winner of the Nobel Prize, Lester Pearson, put it this way.
“The fact is that to every challenge given by the threat of death and destruction, there has always been the response from free [people]: it shall not be. By those responses [we] have not only saved [ourselves], but...ensured [our] future”.
In that noble effort, Canada can be counted on today and in the days, months and years ahead.