UN Photo/Logan Abassi
On November 14-15 in Vancouver Canada will host an international conference for Defence Ministers to discuss UN peacekeeping. Canada’s Department of National Defence expects upwards of 500 delegates from 70 countries to attend that pledging conference. In the summer of 2016 it was Canada’s promise of 600 military personnel, 150 police and $450 million over three years for UN peace operations that led to the decision to hold the conference in Vancouver.
However, recent reports in the National Post and Toronto Star indicate that a Canadian deployment will not be announced ahead of the Vancouver Ministerial. In an August press release coinciding with the publication of the “Canada and UN Peacekeeping” 2017 fact sheet, WFM – Canada President Walter Dorn stated that “It remains to be seen whether this government will finally make good on its promises to re-engage in UN peace operations. Or will Canada, a country that has aspirations of being elected to a two-year term on the UN Security Council, stand before the world this November hosting a peacekeeping pledging conference while reneging on its own pledges?”
