WHAT’S THE NEXT MOVE FOR CANADIANS

By William Doyle-Marshall

“Bringing about real change will take more than just individual people – or even individual governments. What is needed is nothing less than a total renewal of the relationship between Canada and the First Nations peoples. I am also proud to say that, as promised, we have begun the process to create a national public inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada.” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made this announcement while speaking to the Assembly of First Nations Special Chiefs Assembly in Gatineau, Quebec, earlier this week.

   He made it clear that a priority moving forward will be to make significant investments in First Nations education. He promised to deliver increased funding for First Nations education and to work on education reforms for First Nations children that are led by First Nations.

  Since taking over the reigns of government The Prime Minister and Ms. Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau have participated in numerous affairs locally and overseas including the National Remembrance Day Ceremony. They were received in audience by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. Trudeau was in London, on his way to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, in Valetta, Malta, and he attended the Leaders Event in Paris at the 21^st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21), under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

   Trudeau, announced ahead of the Malta conference that Canada will contribute an historic $2.65 billion over the next five years to help developing countries tackle climate change.

Canada is committed to ambitious action on climate change, and is focused on the economic opportunities of our environment and creating the clean jobs of tomorrow. The science on climate change is indisputable and its significant impacts are already being felt by economies and communities, particularly in the world’s most poor and vulnerable countries, he noted.

   Canada’s positive contribution will support the transition to low-carbon economies that are both sustainable and more resilient. Countries in need will receive support, in particular the poorest and most vulnerable, to respond to climate change and adapt to its impacts.

This contribution will support the commitment Canada made under the 2009 Copenhagen Accord to work with partners to jointly mobilize, from a wide variety of sources, US $100 billion annually by 2020.

    Trudeau, announced also Canada’s contribution of $15.3 million over four years (2015-2019) to improve the lives and futures of young people in Africa. This investment will help offer the training needed to find and keep good jobs, with a focus on reducing poverty and encouraging economic prosperity. The Prime Minister made the announcement while attending the Malta Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. Canada is partnering with Digital Opportunity  Trust (DOT), a Canadian-based company headquartered in Ottawa, on a project that will help young women and men develop job and entrepreneurial skills, including in the use of technology.

   Trudeau also  announced support for the Vietnam Cooperative Enterprise Development project that will help reduce poverty and contribute to equitable economic growth in Vietnam.The Government of Canada will partner on this project, providing $12.9 million over five years (2015-2020) to help increase the competitiveness and productivity of Vietnamese agricultural cooperatives.

Prime Minister, Trudeau, issued a statement recognizing the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. He joined Canadians and people around the world in recognizing the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. “Violence against women is a violation of the most basic human rights. It destroys lives, tears families apart, impacts entire communities, and has no place within our society,” he stressed. The Prime Minister acknowledged that the day serves as an important reminder that women and girls and particularly indigenous women and girls continue to be vulnerable “to violence in our society” and this must change.

   The Prime Minister promised that the Government of Canada will continue to raise awareness of violence against women, help prevent it, and support the victims who have experienced it, both here at home and around the world. “As leaders, as parents, as community members, we need to make sure we are combating misogyny in all its forms, wherever it is found,” Trudeau added  He urged all Canadians to make a commitment to stopping violence against women and girls.

Welcoming refugees from the Syrian conflict as they settle here in Canada is major conversation among media practitioners, scholars and some opposition politicians. Some Canadians are forgetting that this country has always been a compassionate nation. Mean spiritedness has unfortunately fell into the political ring over the past decade and from all appearances the Liberal Government is moving to correct the situation.

 Long before the last federal election the Green Party and the New Democratic Party have been pledging to work in a manner that would bring Canada back to the kind of country it had been in the past rather than to promote propaganda of fear.

“The Green Party’s platform in regards to short term and long term on refugees and immigrants: called for an overhaul of existing policy. “There are 50 streams to be able to come into Canada and we need to be able to help to streamline policies when we have refugees and when we have immigrants so that the process for them to become citizens,” says Fran Hunt-Jinnouchi, a candidate in last October election. “We need to be able to ensure that the skills and the education that they are bringing are recognized quicker. That is the case in most parts of the world but here in Canada our population and the number of children we were having is exactly decreased except for Aboriginal population which is growing faster than any across the country,” she observed.  

December 10, 2015