THE MAN BEHIND PM’S FOREIGN POLICY
OTTAWA• Last spring, University of Ottawa Prof. Roland Paris was one of many academics trying to influence Canada’s political elite. In an open letter, he declared that Canada needed to return to the idea of “working constructively with others” on the world stage.
Now, Paris has the prime minister’s ear as Justin Trudeau’s foreign affairs adviser. To understand Trudeau’s approach to the world is to understand what Paris is likely telling him. For that, there is a long trail of clues.
Paris has served for the past nine years as an associate professor at the University of Ottawa, where he was responsible for setting up the school’s Centre for International Policy Studies. The 48-year-old father of three is now on leave from the university while working in the Prime Minister’s Office.
Asked why Trudeau would tap Paris, friends and colleagues describe him as a scholar with energy, a strong analytical mind and contacts at all levels of the international system. All fit with the type of government Trudeau has promised to install in Ottawa.
Paris has also been a vocal advocate for a return to the type of foreign policy that has become associated, rightly or wrongly, with previous Liberal governments. This includes a strong emphasis on working within international organizations such as the United Nations, as well as being a mediator and bridge-builder.
“He’s a liberal internationalist,” said University of Ottawa Prof. Errol Mendes, who worked with Paris in the Privy Council Office about 10 years ago. “He believes that Canada does have a role to play in promoting multilateralism, punching above our weight but also being mindful that there are finite resources.”
Colleagues say Paris was working with the Liberals even before the election. They say his fingerprints are clearly evident in the party’s election platform, particularly its emphasis on re-engagement with the UN and peacekeeping.
The previous Conservative government was seen to have divided the world into friends and enemies, limiting Canada’s involvement in international organizations such as the UN and the Commonwealth. It felt these were flawed institutions that gave dictators a soapbox and lent legitimacy to authoritarian regimes.
Paris was openly critical of the Conservative government’s approach to the world. In a Globe and Mail article last year, he called the Tories’ 10 years in power the “decade of diplomatic darkness,” and argued that Canada had become marginalized by Tory “tub-thumping.”
His view was that Canada has been more effective working within the UN system, for example, leveraging its ties with a host of different countries to influence debate on big issues. This, in turn, gives it more influence with the United States, which — “completing the circle” — gives it more influence with other countries and the UN.
“Canada is not powerful enough to dictate to others, even if we wished to do so,” Paris wrote in an open letter published by the Literary Review of Canada in March. “We have succeeded in international affairs by building bridges, not burning them.”
Paris went on to criticize the Conservatives for withdrawing from the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, boycotting a Commonwealth summit over Sri Lanka’s human rights record, and refusing to sign an international arms trade treaty. Most assume the Liberals will adopt a different approach to each.
Not everyone agrees with Paris’s enthusiastic support for multilateralism. Fen Hampson, director of the global security and politics programs at the Centre for International Governance Innovation in Waterloo, Ont., said Paris supports the UN and other international institutions “by instinct and inclination.
“But if it’s just going back to the future, back to the UN, then today’s problems, and particularly big ones, that’s not simply the arena where you want to park them,” Hampson said. “And creative diplomacy sometimes means working outside the UN environment.”
Foreign policy expert Derek Burney, who served as Canadian ambassador to the U. S. and chief of staff to Brian Mulroney, also has concerns about attachment to the UN. But he also said Paris has a certain pragmatism — in addition to his expertise — that will be important in his new job.
In his open letter, which was ostensibly written for whoever won the federal election, Paris also called for the start of free trade talks with China as part of an overall shift toward the Asia- Pacific region, though there was no mention of China’s human rights record.
He’s a liberal internationalist ‘We have succeeded in international affairs by building bridges, not burning them.’ — Prof. Roland Paris
He also supported the TransPacific Partnership, though the Liberals have so far not endorsed the trade deal.
One thing Paris recommended and which the Liberals have already done, however, is to begin working with the U. S. on climate change. “Our two countries should resolve to make North America the most responsible producer of natural resources in the world,” he wrote.
The Liberal government has also suggested it will reestablish channels with Russia to talk about some issues such as the Arctic, returning to a more balanced approach on the Israel- Palestine conflict, and becoming more involved in peacekeeping. Paris recommended each in his letter.
Trudeau and his inner circle did not boast significant foreign policy experience or expertise, which would explain why they acted so quickly to appoint Paris last month just as the prime minister was leaving on his first trip abroad.
Since then, Paris has been present for most, if not all, of Trudeau’s meetings with foreign leaders. That includes sitting in on the prime minister’s discussions with U. S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping, and briefing Trudeau before the recent UN climate change talks.
Carleton University foreign policy expert and friend Stephen Saideman believes Paris “is going to be relied on heavily” by the new government when it comes to foreign issues. He doesn’t think that’s a bad thing.
“If you have an eye for talent,” Saideman said, “this is one of the guys you’re going to pick.”