Tag: Featured
A residence built with Moroccan charm
If you don’t pay attention, you might just miss the small sign and street number of the Moroccan ambassador’s residence on busy Aylmer Road. It’s not far from the plush fairways of the Royal Ottawa Golf Club, nor from the Champlain Bridge to Ottawa. In fact, it’s just far enough away to stand alone on […]
Iran sanctions relaxed: Opportunities and risks
In early February, Global Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion announced that Canada had amended its economic sanctions against Iran. This implements the Liberal government’s response to the January determination by the International Atomic Energy Agency that Iran has met the requirements for sanctions relief to begin under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). A number […]
South Africa’s looming crisis
South Africa’s economic, social and political outcomes drive sub-Saharan Africa. At least it did for a few years at the end of the last century and the beginning of this one. After all, South Africa for many years harboured sub-Saharan Africa’s most dynamic economy, its most vibrant political system, its most advanced infrastructure and its […]
A false spring?
Since the end of the year, there has been a shift in tone in Russian-Ukrainian relations. At Russia’s initiative, talks on the conflict in the Donbas between representatives of Russia, Russian-supported rebels, Ukraine, the EU, and now the U.S., have become more intensive. For two of the key negotiations, President Vladimir Putin has replaced officials […]
Modern Russia: An ambassador’s look at priorities and challenges
Editor’s note: Alexander Darchiev, ambassador of Russia, made a rare public speech at Carleton University in February. To provide a look at Russia’s official positions on current conflicts and issues, we reprint an edited version of his speech here. First of all, I would like to thank Carleton University and Larry Lederman [chairman of the […]
Foreign policy: The first 150 days
Now that the Trudeau government has been in power for more than 150 days, we have begun to see what shape Canada’s foreign policy will take under its leadership. There have been some surprises, while other actions have mirrored campaign promises and resurrected classic liberal values from the past. The biggest move so far — […]
Imagine a billion African migrants
As overwhelming as the European refugee crisis is, Klaus Schwab, executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, predicts much worse may be ahead. “Look how many countries in Africa, for example, depend on income from oil exports,” Schwab told Bloomberg Business ahead of the forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. “Now imagine one billion inhabitants […]
2016: A year worthy of worry
As a year of grave concerns, 2016 is giving us plenty to think about. Terrorism, war, economic and political instability, refugees, climate change, unemployment, rising food costs — the selection is vast, the problems complex. How much they concern you also depends on how confident you are in the abilities of national leaders to address […]
Vicki Heyman on the art of American diplomacy
Vicki Heyman is every Ottawa art lover’s dream. The wife of U.S. Ambassador Bruce Heyman, she is a self-appointed cultural envoy and the life force behind Contemporary Conversations, a series that has brought some of the United States’ most interesting and accomplished artists to the capital. Marie Watt, Nick Cave, Eric Fischl and Stephen Wilkes […]
‘Our top crisis is violent extremism in its various forms’
Michael Grant is one of Canada’s two ambassadors to the United Nations. He graduated from Concordia University in 1992 and joined the foreign service in 1994. He’s held several positions in Ottawa and was director of the Middle East division before becoming ambassador to Libya in 2012, while his wife, Heidi Kutz, was serving as […]
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