Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered his sales pitch to an influential American audience on Friday morning.
Mr. Trudeau spoke to the Council on Foreign Relations, a respected New York think tank, to promote Canada as a wise investment and trusted trading partner.
The idea was to capitalize on the momentum generated by US President Joe Biden’s visit to Ottawa last month. The centerpiece of this visit was a new Canada-US strategy for the extraction, development and processing of critical minerals.
As the Canadian government works to shore up this national industry, the Prime Minister stressed that democracies must work together to protect their values and economic interests in the face of rising authoritarianism.
He said it was important to build democratic values into decisions about where to source minerals, and not just tell companies not to get them from countries like China.
“Instead, we should simply commit to sourcing essential minerals from places that prohibit forced labor, that have safety standards, that pay their workers a living wage, that have strong environmental protections, that work in partnership with indigenous peoples,” he said.
Experts say potential investors and developers now want to know how Canada plans to modernize the regulatory process to tap into the country’s underground wealth.
Kirsten Hillman, Canada’s ambassador to the United States, acknowledges the appetite for clarity and says it’s a high priority, though details are unlikely to come on Friday.
Contrary to popular belief, Canada’s licensing procedures are actually more efficient than those in the United States, although she agrees that they need to be improved.
“I’m not saying that’s enough. And I’m not saying we don’t want to keep modernizing and improving, Hillman argued Thursday. But we already have a natural advantage in this area, and we will continue to improve it. »
Hounded on foreign aid
Justin Trudeau spent most of Thursday promoting efforts to advance sustainable development outside of North America, particularly in the Global South.
He was roughed up at a rally when former CTV anchor Lisa LaFlamme repeatedly questioned him about his government’s latest federal budget, which reflects an overall reduction in development aid spending. about 15%.
Prior to 2019, the Liberal government in Ottawa had pledged to steadily increase aid each year, “and we have,” replied the prime minister.
The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year and other crises around the world, including in Afghanistan, one-time and large increases in spending, he said. supported.
And while it’s likely there will be more humanitarian disasters before the end of the fiscal year that will require Canada to make additional commitments, “the baseline continues to rise,” Mr. Trudeau.
“We increased it massively because of the pandemic, because of various crises that we had to respond to. »
“Constant Vigilance” for Women’s Rights
Her appearance was to showcase an investment of $195 million over five years — plus $43 million each year thereafter — in advancing women’s rights around the world.
He said the program, Women’s Voice and Leadership, had helped more than 1,500 organizations since its launch in 2017. This far exceeded the original target of 400 groups, which are receiving the aid unconditionally.
“We know that these types of initiatives – advocating for women’s rights from this grassroots community level, led by women, impacting other women – are one of the most powerful ways to effect changes,” said the Prime Minister.
Abortion rights have been under legal siege in recent months in the United States, the Liberal leader acknowledged as he seized the opportunity to portray his government as pro-choice, and his conservative rivals as the opposite.
In the past year, American courts have been the scene of upheavals in access to abortion, in particular with the decision of the Supreme Court, last June, to overturn the judgment Roe v. wadethe landmark 1973 decision that established federal abortion rights.
Advocates feared the legal stalemate over access to the abortion pill, mifepristone, could end the same way, before the top court chose late last week to maintain the status quo. – for the moment.
The US Department of Justice is fighting a Texas court ruling that, if upheld, would effectively void the drug’s 23-year-old Food and Drug Administration approval.
“Oh my God, when are we going to stop having to question this every time,” Trudeau said, describing his reaction to the latest decision. Women still have to defend fundamental rights that should have been and have been recognized a long time ago. »
He noted that during Mr Biden’s speech to parliament last month, the president “had to berate” Conservative MPs who did not stand up and applaud the importance of women’s rights.
“There is no place where we do not see attacks on rights that one would have hoped to take for granted today. »
The dangers to abortion rights in the United States demonstrate that even the most basic rights must be defended with “constant vigilance”, said Hillman, the first woman to hold her diplomatic post.
“Human rights, women’s rights, individual security and all kinds of minority rights around the world, these are things that we cannot take for granted,” she argued earlier. Thursday before the United Nations.
“We see in the United States that once rights are acquired, you cannot take them for granted. You have to keep making sure that you build and strengthen them. »