bout de papier, Vol. 8, No. 4 (1991) — Fall 1991 // Automne 1991, pp. 37–38
In the past year we have been exposed to a barrage of references to a “new world order”, and the PAFSO Professional Committee was quick off the mark to help members to define what this is all about, and what it means for Canada. On 15 May 1991, the Committee hosted an evening seminar on the theme “Canada and the New World Order”, ’, which was moderated by François Taschereau. About 110 members and associate members participated.
The evening was organized into three workshops animated by outstanding speakers, preceded by overview discussions and presentations by: Bernard Wood, head of the Canadian Institute for International Peace and Security; Jeremy Kinsman, Assistant Deputy Minister for Political and International Security Affairs; and a wrap-up by de Montigny Marchand, Undersecretary of State for External Affairs.
Mr. Kinsman’s thesis was that the profound changes that have occurred on the world scene in the past couple of years have given rise to possibilities for Canadian diplomacy unparalleled since the end of the Second World War. The most obvious change is a new Soviet Union, with all its internal problems, that has ended its global competition with the USA and freed its dependent allies in Eastern Europe. He noted that among the integrating factors of the new world were the revolution in communications — which in practice means there is virtually no secret diplomacy — and the victory of democracy which not only demands that leaders respond to public opinion, but also goes a long way to provide leaders with a basis of trust among themselves. With these tendencies, however, there also appear disintegrating features like the revival of ethnic nationalism, growing tensions between the haves and the have-nots, and of course the staggering abundance of armaments in the world. While some observers fear that the new order is simply a world dominated by the military might and fiat of the USA, Mr. Kinsman suggested, on the contrary, that a major problem could be to keep the USA interested and involved in the world at a time when the neglect of its own domestic social and economic problems will force its attention inward.
Bernard Wood noted that the world response to the Kuwait crisis was as close as might have been expected in the classical tradition by the framers of the United Nations Charter. He saw this as a positive precedent, but to sustain an effective international system, it is essential to tune up the machinery of the United Nations while continuing to support it. He mentioned the need to address environmental issues effectively, and expressed support for Canada’s initiative on conventional arms trade. There is still a long way to go before we can convince the majority of the world that there are rule-based systems of order.
M. Jocelyn Coulon, rédacteur aux affaires étrangères à Le Devoir, a dirigé la discussion à l’atelier I sur des questions d’ordre politique et stratégique connexes portant sur le même thème : « Comment nous régirons-nous? » Il prévoit un monde relié par des réseaux plus denses d’alliances multilatérales et bilatérales, mais dans lequel les souverainetés nationales restent toujours primordiales. Selon ses prévisions, le Canada jouerait un rôle moins important en Europe et, d’après lui, l’avenir du Canada réside dans le continentalisme; le Canada devrait être disposé à payer pour se doter d’une force militaire souveraine et indépendante afin de conserver sa « marge de manoeuvre » sur le continent. Néanmoins, a-t-il fait remarquer, L’OTAN continuerait à jouer un rôle important et elle doit déjà, d’ailleurs, relever un remarquable défi, soit celui que lui posent certains pays de l’Europe de l’Est qui voudraient en joindre les rangs. La question qui se pose est celle de savoir si des « communautés d’esprit » axées sur la sécurité régionale peuvent grandir ailleurs dans le monde. On commence à penser à un système de sécurité dans le nord-ouest Pacifique, tandis que les efforts de la Ligue arabe et de l’Amérique latine semblent avoir échoué.
Sylvia Ostry, currently chairman of the Centre for International Studies at the University of Toronto, led Workshop II through the economic issues in “How will we compete?” She briefly described the three main economic models driving the new world economic order: the pluralist, consumer-driven economy of the USA; the mixed social welfare and market economy of Europe, best exemplified in Germany; and the producer-oriented managerial
38 bout de papier Vol. market of Japan. These are the very economic giants with which and in which Canada must compete to survive. Mrs Ostry saw Canada as a “muddled” market economy incorporating aspects of the first two systems, while maintaining our more nuanced value system, but lacking the centralized management capability. The key economic problems for Canadian competitiveness are not the cost of capital and exchange rates, but labour productivity. Canadians must make major intangible investments in research and development and in training. The educational support system must be focused on improving the quality of the supply of labour. Indeed, the shortcomings of the Canadian educational system with its lack of country-wide standards and little emphasis on excellence, absence of skilled technical training and high illiteracy rates represent the country’s stiffest challenge.
Le troisième atelier, dont les thèmes étaient le Nord-Sud et l’environnement, a vu M. Marcel Massé, président de l’Agence canadienne de développement international, se demander « Comment survivrons-nous? » Il a évoqué les leitmotives de l’interdépendance (verticale et horizontale entre les particuliers et les États) et de l’autosuffisance. Cette dernière notion doit s’appliquer dans plusieurs sens : environnemental, économique, politique (les governements doivent avoir le consentement de ceux qu’ils régissent), social (la gestion des tensions sociales) et culturel (l’accent sur les valeurs des communautés). De fait, les participants à cet atelier sont mêmes allés jusqu’à invoquer le rôle de la moralité et le fait que l’on ne tient souvent pas compte des considérations d’ordre moral. M. Massé a affirmé que nous devons définir des principes moraux pour guider nos actes et qu’il existe des principes d’équité qu’il faut appliquer dans l’utilisation des resources mondiales.
In each of these discussions, participants also looked at the role that Canada and Canadian foreign policy should be playing in the new world. There was a a remarkable consensus, as Mr. Kinsman suggested, that there is indeed a distinct opportunity and even a special mission for Canada. The war in the Persian Gulf became a time for reconnection with some of the core values underlying Canada’s foreign policy. The Canadian public provided overwhelming support for the government in the crisis because our response was based on a call for the rule of law, fairness and support for the United Nations system. Canada’s foreign policy is viewed by much of the world as value-driven, even-handed and non-aggressive, and therefore we can take initiatives like the one on conventional arms proliferation that other countries either cannot or will not take. Mr. Massé spoke in parallel terms, asserting that there is a “Canadian specificity” in the world. Canadians, he said, were willing to pay a share of personal prosperity to ensure social and economic safety nets for the poorest in our society. In like manner, Canada can represent the ideal of developing rules of the game to ensure fairness in development and the distribution of wealth in the world.
Dans son exposé récapitulatif, M. de Montigny Marchand a fait observer que le nombre de choses qui pourraient rapidement se gâter dans le « nouvel ordre mondial » est renversant. Il pourrait y avoir implosion de l’URSS; l’échec de la ronde de l’Uruguay risque de bouleverser le système commercial mondial; une réaction brutale à la suite d’espoirs déçus en Europe de l’Est est possible; rien ne garantit que la Conférence des N.-U. sur l’environnement ; et le développement atteindra ses objectifs cruciaux; et on peut imaginer de nombreux : scénarios cauchemardesques dans les pays très volatiles et très populeux du • Tiers-Monde. Néanmoins, comme Pierre Trudeau avant l’habitude de dire, le pire n’est pas sûr. La nouvelle situation mondiale a effectivement impose des impératifs a Affaires extérieures et Commerce extérieur Canada, notamment sa démarche a l’égard de ses ressources humaines (formation et recrutement) et ses attitudes et démarches relatives a la collectivité canadienne dans son ensemble. One participant from the floor expressed great scepticism about the apparent recourse to old rhetoric and old ideas in confronting realities in a world that was radically new and different from those of the post-war era. To this, the panellists were pretty solid in replying that the classical responses were not necessarily without use and value. Indeed, as Mr. Wood pointed out, the only problem with Wrong and Robertson’s world view was that it was forty years ahead of its time. The efforts to build a world system based on rules and fairness through the agency of alliances and organizations like the United Nations had never been truly applied before because of Cold War politics. Perhaps now the new world order would breathe new life into these principles. Canada, both for its own survival as well as that of the world, will be at the forefront of the struggle.
View the original scanned pages / Voir les pages numérisées →
Originally published in / Publié à l’origine dans bout de papier, Vol. 8, No. 4 (1991) — Fall 1991 // Automne 1991, pp. 37–38. Read the rest of this issue / Lire le reste de ce numéro →
