Council bid on refugees

‘Diversity ... peace’

MONTREAL, May 23, (Agencies): Canada’s UN ambassador said Sunday that the country’s experience welcoming Syrian refugees helps qualify it for a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council, part of its push for a more active role on the world stage.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in mid-March that Canada would seek a rotating seat on the council during the 2021-2022 term.

“Our experience with Syrian refugees, our experience living together in diversity with lasting peace and prosperity is an example for the world,” the country’s UN ambassador Marc-Andre Blanchard told public broadcaster CBC on Sunday.

Canada has welcomed more than 26,000 Syrian refugees following a campaign pledge by Trudeau, and has plans to take in up to 31,000 more by the end of the year.

The Security Council has a total of 15 members, five of them permanent — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — and another 10 that serve rotating two-year terms.

“In recent months, Canada’s leadership has stood out with agreements on climate change, Syrian refugee issues, drugs recently and indigenous people last week,” Blanchard said in French. “These are all examples of Canada’s multilateral re-engagement.”

Canada is also asserting its peacekeeping experience in its push for a Security Council seat.

Ottawa aims to provide “expertise for rapid strategic deployment in conflict zones” and even command forces training, Blanchard said.

The country currently has 84 police, nine military experts and 20 soldiers deployed on peacekeeping missions, but those numbers could grow as Ottawa plans to take over command of the UN stabilization mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and replace Brazilian forces before the end of the year.

A UN member since 1945, Canada has already served on the council several times.

But it suffered a blow when it was passed over by the UN General Assembly during a 2010 bid to join the council.

The assembly chose Portugal and Germany instead — both from the same Western region to which Canada belongs.

Candidates for Security Council seats typically undertake vigorous lobbying campaigns courting the UN’s 193 members.

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Authorities in Canada have announced the reopening of eight shuttered work camps south of the wildfire-ravaged oil town of Fort McMurray, paving the way for energy firms to restart production.

Municipal authorities announced Sunday evening a “phased re-entry” for camps near Nexen’s Long Lake and ConocoPhillips’s Surmont facilities, both of which have stopped production due to the fire.

“Assessment work to return ... camps to operations may begin immediately,” the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, which oversees Fort McMurray, said in a statement.

The municipality is also reopening camps near Enbridge Inc’s Cheecham terminal, which the company has said was returning to full service.

It is not immediately clear when any of the oil facilities themselves will be fully operational. A ConocoPhillips spokesman said the company does not yet have a timeline. Nexen and Enbridge did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The inferno in northern Alberta, which by Sunday evening was more than 500,000 hectares, has caused the evacuation of Fort McMurray’s entire population of nearly 90,000 since it began early this month.

It also caused the evacuation of oil facilities and work camps around the city and triggered a prolonged shutdown that has cut Canadian oil output by a million barrels a day.

Producers have since signaled a gradual increase in operations as rain and cold weather helped firefighters beat back the flames.

The announced re-opening of the work camps came two days after the municipality lifted the evacuation orders on Suncor Energy Inc and Syncrude oil sites and some nearby work camps north of Fort McMurray.