Archive for December, 2018
Africa: What to expect in 2019
Africa in 2019 will continue to cope with a number of difficult and debilitating challenges: Terror, civil conflict, climate warming and drought, corruption, poor governance, weak rules of law and inconsistent and lacklustre leadership. For all of those reasons, sub-Saharan African migrants will still attempt, in great numbers, to enter Europe by crossing the Sahara […]
Russia: More of the same in 2019
Based on its current behaviour and existing trends, what can we expect from Russia in 2019? Unfortunately, we should expect more of the same. This conclusion about the continuation of this state of siege in Moscow’s relations with the West flows directly from the nature of Russia’s regime. Without a marked change in the regime’s […]
The online threat to democracy
When U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in late October 2018, one of the clear messages he delivered to Putin was to stop meddling in U.S. elections. Bolton underlined that Russian interference, particularly in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, had damaged Russia’s own interests and also been “particularly harmful […]
Denmark: Europe’s No. 1 for ease of doing business
Denmark is Canada’s neighbour in the North. We have one of the world’s most open economies and one of Europe’s strongest, characterized by a balanced budget, a stable currency, low interest rates and low inflation. Furthermore, the World Bank’s 2018 index ranks Denmark as the No. 1 country in Europe for ease of doing business. […]
Promising trends on CETA’s first birthday
Canada and the European Union’s ambitious, forward-looking vision of closer trade relations a decade ago has now been a reality for a year. On Sept. 21, 2018, we marked the first anniversary of the provisional implementation of the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada. One year on, the agreement is already delivering positive results. By eliminating tariffs on almost 98 per cent of industrial goods, CETA has […]
Afghanistan: Transforming the way we trade
Afghanistan is strategically located as a hub between rich and resourceful Central Asia and the fast-emerging economies of South Asian nations. Canada and Canadian investors can play a pivotal role in the transformation of the land-locked country by helping it to become a land-linked and regionally reintegrated country. Boosting regional and global trade would lead […]
Riding global trade’s shifting winds
Given the shifting winds of the global trade and economic landscape, it would be a win-win situation for Taiwan and Canada to take their already strong economic and cultural ties to an even higher level, and for both countries to work together to meet the new imperative for greater diversification in trade and investment. While […]
PeaceGeeks: Shedding light on extremism
My colleague Ahmad Al Zghoul and I arrived at the National Arab Youth Alliance offices 90 minutes before our workshop started. We arrived early to prepare and were surprised when 16-year-old Elias Al Terawi — one of the workshop participants — arrived, sporting a broad smile. Surprised by Elias’ enthusiasm and early arrival, we greeted […]
Spreading Nelson Mandela’s kindness
Every year on July 18, staff at the South African High Commission observe Nelson Mandela International Day by volunteering at an Ottawa charitable organization that supports the needy, vulnerable and weak. The day, which is the freedom fighter’s birthday, was adopted by the United Nations in December 2009 and has been celebrated every year since. […]
Mass migration is ‘probably the biggest challenge now facing Western countries’
Scott Newark was a Crown prosecutor in Alberta until 1992. He also served as executive officer of the Canadian Police Association, director of operations to the Washington D.C.-based Investigative Project on Terrorism and as a security policy adviser to the governments of Ontario and Canada. He is currently an adjunct professor in the terrorism, risk […]
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