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For far too long, Canada has been content to let her international image and reputation warmly bask in the residual glow of glories and

Van Doo's Paratroopers in Part Said, 1956

good works long gone past. However, our squeaky clean image is quickly diminishing in the worlds eyes.

Post World War Two, this countries most prominent moment on the world stage arguably came during the Suez Canal Crisis. For his leading in role in organizing the first UN Emergency Force that was then deployed to Egypt, as well as spearheading negotiations amongst the disputing parties, Lester Pearson, then the Minister of External Affairs and later to be Prime Minister, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. When the prize was announced, the selection committee stated that Pearson had been responsible for “saving the world.”  Since that time, Lester Pearson has been considered the father of the modern day idea of peacekeeping, and peacekeeping has been a central pillar of ‘Canadianess.’

As the leader of a minority government from 1963-1967, Pearson also oversaw several other key developments in how Canada is perceived, both by herself and the world. The adoption of universal health care, an open immigration system and the current Canadian flag were all realized during Pearson’s tenure as Prime Minister. Pearson’s work has also helped foster the image of Canada as a helping, caring nation. The still as of yet unrealized goal of developed nations contributing 0.7% of their Gross National Income (GNI) towards  official development assistance (ODA) was born of out of a commission that Pearson headed for the World Bank in 1969. Tying these accomplishments together presents a rather typical viewpoint of Canada; a nation of peacekeepers that provide the basics of healthcare to all their citzens. A country that provides high levels of aid to the world, works for the betterment of the planet and also actively encourages immigration into it’s expansive borders,  where new citizens are charged with both assimilating to the tenets of a liberal democracy, while also retaining elements of the culture from ones homeland. Unite all the people who hold those ideals under the red maple leaf and you get: Canadians. These giant progressive leaps forward have served as the foundation for Canada’s stellar international reputation for decades.

Canada’s claim as a peacekeeping nation has been severely undercut by the realities of how many boots we have we have on the ground that are available for peacekeeping missions. As of October 2009, Canada ranked 56th amongst nations with 179 military and police personnel attached to peacekeeping missions. Those numbers put us just ahead of Cote d’Ivore, Cameroon and Zimbabwe. Of course Canada’s contributions to the NATO mission in Afghanistan have severely limited the numbers of bodies that could be made available to peacekeeping missions, but our contributions have been on the decline well before the start of the quagmire in Afghanistan.

Canada’s continuing neglect of our obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions has severely diminished our reputation as a pragmatic and responsible nation throughout the world. At the recently wrapped up Commonwealth Nations summit Canada was singled out repeatedly for it’s inaction on this front. Ban Ki-Moon, the Secretary General of the UN was one of these voices, prodding Canada, as a member of both the G8 and the G20 to step up and take action. The time for aspirational targets has passed. It is time to move forward with implementing policies to see those goals realized. Delay tactics will no longer suffice either. The world has openly called for Canada to provide leadership on this crucial matter. It is long overdue that we heed that call.

The beginning of the Copenhagen summit today should provide us with some opportunities to do so. With Barack Obama at least bringing in a US administration that respects science and is cognizant of pesky details like reality, some forward momentum is actually possible with one of the necessary players now at the negotiating table. Canada, as the US’s largest trading partner (and vice versa), as well as having outlined nearly identical emmission targets, is in an opportune place to work towards bringing about the successor to the Kyoto Protocol (something, that way back when Canada was an ardent supporter of.)

A similar opportunity has presented itself in Afghanistan. President Obama recently announced that the US will be sending 30000 additional troops to the long neglected mission, with a timetable for withdrawl starting in July of 2011. Prime Minister Harper has repeatedly stated that Canadian troops will not remain in theatre past 2011. Here to is a similar alignment of objectives. Canada’s Military Forces have been stationed in one of the most volatile areas of Afghanistan, Kandahar Province, for many years and should be a great source of hard fought knowledge as strategic goals in Afghanistan are adjusted. Mr. Obama gives every impression of being wise enough to realize that an Afghanistan with a strong central government is, as Rory Stewart calls it, an ‘illusion’ that nation building cannot realize. If Canada can provide a sane voice making the same argument, she will have taken a responsible first step forward in foreign affairs. Our men and women returning home from Afghanistan will free up more personnel to engage in peacekeeping and peacemaking endeavours, not faux nation building.

Canada is by no means one of the major powers on the world stage. Her population is relatively small and consequently so is the countries GDP, military strength and level of carbon emissions. Regardless, she does have an important place in international affairs. I have always felt we are in a unique position to serve as a bridge between our American friends and the rest of the world. When Canada is not fulfilling her duties as a responsible nation, the world takes notice and expects more from us. We should expect the same from ourselves.

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