Trudeau’s U.N. speech was on target
I’m writing after reading Anthony Furey’s column on Trudeau’s UN speech where Furey professed his preference for the diplomacy of Trump over our Prime Minister’s chosen words. I take umbrage with his analysis which is off the mark.
Furey states Trudeau wasted the time of international diplomats by discussing Canadian problems. He further suggests it set us back diplomatically by revealing we have these problems, we’re giving the “bad guys” something to use against us.
The thing is, every time we bring up human rights issues in other countries, they bring up our treatment of Indigenous peoples (and rightly so). By talking about the problem, Trudeau is showing how seriously he takes this issue. I can hear the other side already, “But those are just words, what about action?” The first step in correcting a problem is recognizing that you have one.
The best way to lead is by example. How many countries around the world have populations underserved, discriminated against? I’d say, most. Trudeau might’ve been discussing Canadian issues, but which attendees could not look within to their own policies? Trudeau was setting an example.
Furey prefers the offensive stance Trump took to the defensive nature of Trudeau’s speech. That the world has far more problems than some pesky issue we have with our Indigenous Peoples. Really? I think most of the world’s problems could be boiled down to how we treat others. (I know, simplistic, but maybe some of the simple answers are the best ones).
We may not know what Trudeau’s speech meant to the many that heard it or what its effect will be. However, we did get to see the immediate effect of Trump’s speech: the escalating of nuclear tensions between North Korea and the U.S. I’ll take quiet diplomacy any day over the bullying, militaristic stance of the current U.S. President. We’ll go far much farther in the world trying to be better people, trying to uphold the rights of all individuals, than we will by threatening to blow entire nations up.
Diane Ferguson Williamsford