Join co-editor Ambassador Paul Heinbecker and contributing authors Jorge Heine, Ernie Regehr, Cyrus Rustomjee, and Ramesh Thakur as they discuss their recent publication, "Canada Among Nations, 2009-2010: As Others See Us." Marking the 25th anniversary of the series, this edition of Canada Among Nations assesses Canada's prospects in a world in which the United States will become more pre-eminent than predominant. The rise of China, India, Russia and Brazil as well as the increased significance of Europe and the further development of Africa are all transforming the context in which Canadians live. The volume includes contributions by leading Canadian and foreign practitioners and scholars, several of whom will be speaking at the event.
Canada will need to formulate sound policies on key issues such as energy and environmental sustainability, nuclear nonproliferation, human rights, and trade and investment in key areas such as Afghanistan and the Middle East. Astute bilateral diplomacy and constructive engagement in multilateral forums such as the United Nations and the G20 will be crucial to Canada's success. Contributors to this volume critique Canada’s performance on the world stage, offering advice on initiatives Canada can take in its own and in the common interest.
Agenda
6:00 to 7:00pm - Panel Discussion
7:00 to 7:30pm - Reception with the authors (Refreshments will be served)
About the Speakers:
Paul Heinbecker, CIGI Distinguished Fellow
Mr. Heinbecker is the inaugural Director of the Laurier University Centre for Global Relations and a Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), both in Waterloo, Ontario. He writes extensively for the print media in Canada and abroad and comments frequently in the electronic media on international relations, especially in regards to Canadian foreign policy and diplomacy, US foreign policy, the Middle East, Afghanistan, arms control and disarmament and United Nations reform, on which he has edited a book, "Irrelevant or Indispensable?" He teaches a course on Canadian foreign policy at Laurier and lectures at universities and other institutions in Canada and abroad.
Jorge Heine, CIGI Distinguished Fellow and Chair
Jorge Heine is CIGI Chair of Global Governance at Wilfrid Laurier University and a Distinguished Fellow at CIGI. A vice-president of the International Political Science Association (IPSA), he was previously Ambassador of Chile to India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka (2003-2007), and Ambassador to South Africa (1994-1999) as well as a Cabinet minister and Deputy Minister in the Chilean Government. A lawyer and political scientist, he has been a visiting fellow at St Antony’s College, Oxford and a research associate at The Wilson Center in Washington D.C. He has held postdoctoral fellowships from the Social Science Research Council and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and has been a consultant to the United Nations, the Ford Foundation and Oxford Analytica.
Ernie Regehr, CIGI Fellow
CIGI Fellow Ernie Regehr is co-founder of Project Ploughshares and adjunct associate professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at Conrad Grebel University College, University of Waterloo. He has served as: Advisor to the Government of Canada on numerous delegations to multilateral small arms and nuclear arms control conferences; Canada’s representative on the United Nations Group of Governmental Exports on Arms Transfer Transparency which led to the establishment of the Conventional Arms Register; Commissioner of the World Council of Churches Commission on International Affairs and part of its study on responsibility to protect; Track II Diplomacy efforts with the Africa Peace Forum in southern Sudan. Current research includes nuclear nonproliferation issues, and work on a “limits to force” project examining the role and utility of the resort to collective force to reverse state failure and protect vulnerable people. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Cyrus Rustomjee
Cyrus Rustomjee is the Director of Economic Affairs Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat. Previously, he was Chairperson of South Africa’s non-bank financial sector regulatory authority and of the Minister of Finance’s advisory board on financial policy and regulation. In 2007 Cyrus headed the G-20 Secretariat during South Africa’s term as G-20 Chair. He has served in the Executive Boards of the World Bank and IMF. Cyrus holds graduate qualifications in Politics, Philosophy & Economics, Commerce and in Private Law & Business Economics. He holds a post-graduate diploma in Banking, Masters in Development Economics and Ph.D in Economics.
Ramesh Thakur, CIGI Distinguished Fellow
Ramesh Thakur is a Distinguished Fellow at CIGI and the former Vice Rector and Senior Vice Rector of the United Nations University in Tokyo (1998-2007)and Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations. In September 2008 he was appointed inaugural director of the Balsillie School of International Affairs. He was formerly professor and head of the Peace Research Centre at the Australian University in Canberra (1995-1998); and professor of International Relations and director of Asian Studies at the University of Otago in New Zealand (1980-1995). Dr. Thakur was a Commissioner and one of the principal authors of The Responsibility to Protect (2001), and Senior Adviser on Reforms and Principal Writer of the United Nations Secretary-General’s second reform report (2002). He was a member of the National Consultative Committee on Peace and Disarmament in Australia, having previously been a member of the Public Advisory Committee on Arms Control and Disarmament in New Zealand.
This event co-sponsored by CIGI and the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs of Carleton University in Ottawa.
