Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and honourable members.
Thank you for inviting me to appear before the committee today. The mandate of this committee is crucial, as it assesses Global Affairs Canada's ability to fulfil its important functions and achieve its essential objectives.
There is no shortage of challenges. Global warming, an existential threat, is upending everything from food production to transportation and global public health. Massive flows of migrants, many forceably displaced, are destabilizing societies and changing governments in many countries. The number and strength of democracies worldwide are diminishing and authoritarianism is on the rise.
Two major wars, each engaging Canada's national interests, continue with no end in sight. The UN Security Council, on paper the most powerful organ in the UN system, is seriously dysfunctional, raising questions about its fitness for purpose. Indeed, some major powers are, through BRICS, fashioning and expanding an alternative model of global governance that they believe better serves their interests.
Global Affairs Canada's mission is to represent and promote Canada's values and interests in this volatile and unstable environment, not only by pursuing a coherent foreign policy, but also by coordinating the efforts of trade portfolios...