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Participant: pepe
Date: 2003-02-13 22:21:49
RE: Pillar #3: I have to disagree here. Cultural promotion should be the domaine of the department of Canadian Heritage, and quite frankly if we are so insecure as to have such a department in the first place well... that begs another question about the re-org of government overall.
Therefore, I'd suggest DFAIT needs only 2 pillars: 1. Foreign Policy/Aid focused on limited priorities where Canada can make a difference. This is critical in a post 9/11 world and I would hope that Minister Graham looks very closely at where Canada can play a role and where we cannot in contex of overall strategic priorities of the government of Canada. Focus on where we can make a difference (i.e. Aid, ICJ, etc.) and drop the areas where we won't (i.e. cutural promotion?!?)
2. Promotion of globalization. In fact this should probably be the most important pillar of foreign policy as whether you are for or against globalization this a reality in the 21st century. I would argue that in fact having a larger global middle-class and the promotion of fair trade (read rules based where the WTO has accountability to ensure that the US and EU actually follow the rules) is probably the first step towards solving many of the problems that currently exist in the world. When citizens have a stake in the economy and prosperity, this allows for the fostering of stronger democracies and growth. In other words economic policy should be at the centre of foreign policy and not vice-versa.
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