Address by Minister Dion before the 62nd General Assembly of the Atlantic Treaty Association

October 11, 2016 - Toronto, Ontario

Check against delivery. This speech has been translated in accordance with the Government of Canada’s official languages policy and edited for posting and distribution in accordance with its communications policy.

I would like to thank the NATO Association of Canada for asking me to speak at the opening of the proceedings of this 62nd General Assembly of the Atlantic Treaty Association. I would also like to commend all of the organizers, in particular my former colleague, Bill Graham, and Hugh Segal, the association’s chair.

Allow me to start by underlining Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s commitment to NATO’s essential role in maintaining stability and security, both regionally and internationally. I also want to show how Canada’s return to peace operations comes on the heels of its renewed engagement with NATO.

The Government of Canada stands by the Atlantic Alliance’s [NATO’s] founding objective to unite Europe and North America in defending and promoting the interests and values we have shared since the postwar era. Canada will honour its vow to protect alliance members and promote freedom and economic development.

Since its inception in 1949, NATO has adapted to the pace of international change. Not only has it admitted new members from the former Eastern Bloc, but it has also supported peace efforts beyond its territory, such as in Afghanistan.

This military and political alliance is considered the most successful in history. This success would not be possible if we failed to put into practice a maxim that is well known in international relations: diplomacy without arms is like music without instruments.

NATO combines both—diplomacy and arms—and very recently demonstrated this yet again. Russia’s brutal and unacceptable treatment of Ukraine and the fears of former Eastern Bloc members, particularly the Baltic countries, stemming from Moscow’s aggression, have led NATO to strengthen its presence in Eastern Europe, while at the same time engaging in diplomatic dialogue with Moscow.

And Canada is doing its part. We stand shoulder to shoulder with NATO and Ukraine when we convey our views on the crisis directly to Russia. I have voiced to my Russian counterpart how Russia’s actions represented—and still represent—a clear breach of international law and undermined peace and security in the region. And I will continue to do so.

Within NATO and through its strengthened bilateral relationship with Ukraine, Canada will support Ukrainians in their quest for a secure, stable and prosperous country that could serve as a model in the region and become in itself the best rebuke to President Putin’s attempts to determine its future.

Canada is taking a pivotal role in enhancing NATO deterrents, including through the deployment to Latvia of 450 Canadian military personnel, and the command we will assume of the multinational battalion in that country. For humankind, it is unfortunate that the most developed countries are using significant military resources to establish deterrents in Eastern Europe as opposed to the many troubled spots around the world where resources would be needed. But Canada will proudly be there in Eastern Europe with its NATO Allies, as long as it is necessary.

NATO is an important lever for peace, though it is not the only one. The multilateral system, with the UN at its heart, contributes significantly to peacekeeping and international security.

In this regard, I would like to reiterate a truth that we forget a little too often when we survey the current state of our global stage: violence worldwide has dropped to its lowest level ever.

The conflicts that still exist in the world today are asymmetrical: they do not involve states in direct armed conflicts with each other, but rather, a state and an insurgency or resistance group or, sometimes, a terrorist or criminal network.

Yes, with these current conflicts we still face untold deaths, suffering and more than 60 million displaced people. Yes, we must do more in the face of these incredible challenges. But the fact remains that, as I speak, there are no classic wars between states. What an impressive achievement! And if the ceasefire holds in Colombia, an entire hemisphere will be conflict-free for the first time in history.

This progress exists thanks in large part to international institutions, diplomacy and dialogue.

Hence Canada’s desire to re-engage in these institutions, including the UN. Today in New York, for example, Ambassador Marc-André Blanchard, Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations, has brought together several of his fellow ambassadors and will be reaching out on an urgent basis to see what can be done to address the appalling situation in Syria in the wake of Russia’s veto at the UN Security Council on Friday. This could include action at the General Assembly to address the unfolding humanitarian crises in Syria. And NATO’s role is increasing in the region. I was at the NATO Summit when we decided that NATO’s training of the Iraqi forces would not only be done in Jordan, but in Iraq itself. Canada welcomes this decision. We have tripled our training efforts in Iraq and are ready to collaborate very closely with NATO for this joint endeavour.

Yes, we will be back in multilateral institutions, particularly in peace operations, in order to strengthen this precious peace, to mitigate existing conflicts and to do our part to rebuild states and societies after conflicts—critical actions if we are to prevent their return.

Canada—a country that exactly 60 years ago, during the Suez Crisis, helped make the concept of peacekeepers a reality, at Lester B. Pearson’s urging―will once again play an active role in peace operations and post-conflict reconstruction.

Recently, the Government of Canada launched a $450-million program called the Peace and Stabilization Operations Program [PSOPs] and pledged up to 600 Canadian Armed Forces personnel to be available for possible deployment to UN peace operations.

We have done so not only because Canadians want to be where the pursuit of peace and protection of civilians requires us to be, but also because it is in Canada’s national interest. Canadians face threats that do not respect borders and leave no country immune.

Canada will return to peacekeeping with its courageous and effective armed forces, its professional diplomats and its wide and solid expertise in development assistance.

Of course, while our country is returning to peace operations, we do so in a world that has changed.

Let me repeat: conflicts today are not what they used to be―whereby two countries desiring peace but untrusting of each other would welcome a UN peacekeeping force standing between them.

Conflicts today are indeed asymmetrical. They require a more contemporary, multi-faceted and comprehensive approach, including military, diplomatic and humanitarian responses, as well as security and development initiatives, brought together under the broad umbrella of “peace operations.” Peacekeeping has now become peace operations.

These asymmetrical conflicts also demand a military intervention that is in close cooperation with local authorities and often with a range of international and regional partners such as NATO, the European Union, the African Union and many others.

Today, peace operations take place in a world where global insecurity is being fuelled by what might be called “a syndrome of distrust.”

Communities and populations that have lived peacefully side by side, forging family ties, have come to fear, hate and attack each other. This is made more complex by the presence of criminal gangs and extremist groups that have no interest in peace, but rather exploit the absence of functioning state institutions.

The Cold War has been replaced by the exacerbation of tribal tensions, the clash of old nationalisms, the revolt against glaring inequalities, the corrosive impact of endemic corruption and, of course, increased sectarian extremism, culminating in globalized terrorism.

When a neighbour, immigrant or refugee is marginalized or persecuted because of political, religious, ethnic or racial differences, all the ingredients are in place to exacerbate distrust and provoke an explosion.

Millenarian, apocalyptic ideologies have emerged—one of which is a perverse distortion of the Qur’an that condemns to death all who refuse to submit to it. This deadly ideology, whose first victims are Muslims themselves, must be fought with the utmost determination by the entire international community.

Canada must do its part in this fight. And it will do it. That is why my colleagues the Minister of National Defence Harjit Sajjan and the Minister of International Development Marie-Claude Bibeau and I are in the process of consulting our allies, most of them being NATO members: to make sure that our peace-operation deployments are optimal and to have the greatest impact.

To ensure greater coordination with all others contributing to UN peace operations, next year, Canada will host an international conference building on the one held in London [United Kingdom] last month.

The Government of Canada is resolved to make Canada a determined peacebuilder. Inspired by responsible conviction, I am proud to contribute to this effort in order to promote human rights, democracy, diversity, inclusive and sustainable growth, and peace.

Contacts

Chantal Gagnon
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
343-203-1851
chantal.gagnon@international.gc.ca

Media Relations Office
Global Affairs Canada
343-203-7700
media@international.gc.ca
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