The Choice at the Crossroads in History, the Trend in Line with the Times

 A Global Community of Shared Future: China’s Proposals and Action By H.E. Cong Peiwu, Chinese Ambassador to Canada This year marks the tenth anniversary of President Xi Jinping's idea of building a global community of shared future. Recently, when I met with my Canadian friends, many of them expressed great

Tigers, rabbits, and foxes: the physiology of international tensions

 All animals exhibit a fairly similar physiological response to threats. This is widely known as the “fight or flight” response, as elucidated first by Harvard physiologist Walter Bradford Cannon in 1914.Thus all animals react to stress by sending nerve signals to secrete substantial extra adrenaline from the adrenal medulla into

Holding Mining Accountable for Actions Abroad

 The core argument of the mining industry is that C-300 (The Responsible Mining Bill) would cause reputational damage to mining companies. This is nonsense. C-300 didn’t cause reputational damage in the case of the allegations of murder against Blackfire in Mexico. It’s not even clear that C-300 would apply to

Cuba-Canada Relations are Strong, Comprehensive

 Canada has had a friendly relationship with Cuba for nearly a half century. Canada first befriended Fidel Castro when former Prime Minister Trudeau to a visit to the island nation in the mid 1970's. Since then Canadian business and investors have been active in the country and Canadian Tourists have

Canada’s Presence in Afghanistan: Why We Are There And Why We Would Do A Disservice To The United Nations And Ourselves If We Didn’t See The Mission Through

 The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) is that august organization's single largest special political mission. Nineteen UN agencies are in Afghanistan to help the Afghan people and its democratically elected government establish a solid and secure democratic society. Twenty thousand troops from 37 countries (including over 2,500 Canadians

A New Russia Emerges

 Canada and Russia are kindred spirits. We share the coldest climates in the northern hemisphere, a multicultural population spread over vast landmasses, and regional governments that blame all their problems on a federal or central authority. In Canada, the provinces blame the feds, while in Russia, regional governments blame president

An interview with Russian Ambassador to Canada Georiy Mamedov

 Ottawa Life will takes you into the heart of the new Russia. We will look at the business opportunities, bilateral relations, cultural and arts scene, and tourism potential and get the pulse of a country very similar to our own. We begin our series with Russia's man in Canada, Ambassador

An Interview with Gen Ray Henault: There’s No Life Like It

 In this three-part series on the state of Canada's military preparedness, Ottawa Life's top writers examine Canada's peacekeeping deployments around the world, capacity and equipment challenges, and pressing infrastructure replacement needs. We begin our series on national defense with the first of three interviews with Gen. Ray Henault, Chief of

Awakening the giant: The return of Poland

 In this issue of Ottawa Life, we begin the first of a two-part series on Poland. That is to say the new Poland – a country with a most intricate history of war and ideological conflict, but also one of sophisticated art and culture. Polish influence extends to Canada and

The Kyoto Protocol in Canada: Legacy or lunacy?

 By Hank Reardon Prime Minister Jean Chrétien says he will put the Kyoto Protocol on climate change before Parliament for a ratification vote before year-end 2002. The announcement of the Kyoto Protocol ratification vote comes before an implementation plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) has been finalized and before