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Question 4: SecurityIn promoting the security of Canadians, where should our priorities lie? Should
Canada give a higher priority to military combat operations? To sectors such
as intelligence gathering and analysis? Or should we focus on broader security
measures, such as combatting environmental degradation and the spread of infectious
disease? What should be our distinctive role in promoting global security? |
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| Contributor: | francesd |
| Date: |
2003-05-01 21:05:56 |
| Answer: |
Dear Mr. Graham;
I appreciate this opportunity to add my voice to those of other Canadians as we search for the foreign policy for the next decade. Here are my views:
1) I agree with the emphasis on multilateralism through the UN that we have taken so far. I believe that peace will only be achieved in the world as we build up the practice of international law and learn how to enforce it on an international scale. The only use of force should be multilateral forces directed by the UN to enforce international law.
2) I believe that international security will be achieved when all people have clean water, clean air, enough basic food to eat, and reasonable shelter for their climate. Education and Health Care for all are the next priorities. International aid should go to make sure that people are learning how to provide these things for themselves and our technology should be made available to all. for example, we must deliver proper health care to all the people in Africa who are suffering from AIDS.
3) In the Middle East, as much emphasis should be placed on stopping new settlements in the West Bank and ensuring that evenutally there will be a Palestinian state which is not divided up by superhighways and Israeli settlements as is now placed on making sure that all terrorism stops. This is a war. All terrorism must stop on both sides.
4) I do not wish to see an increase in military spending in Canada. However, if there is such a thing, it should be spent on excellent search and rescue equipment which can be used to patroll Canadian waters and borders and also be loaned to other countries as needed. It should be spent on building up Canadian peace-keeping and police capacities that can be loaned to other countries to teach peace rather than war based on law rather than force. Your offer to put RCMP into Iraq is a perfect example.
5) Getting involved in the American Dream of some technological defence screen is just ludicrous. It will be no more effective than the Patriot missile system and will be incredibly expensive. It is a total waste of resources. I would be totally against us getting involved in such foolishness. We can't afford it. Let's make friends with the Americans another way.
Thank-you for listening.
Frances Deverell |
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