THUNDER BAY -- Derek Burney says Canada is facing new threats on every front.
The former ambassador to the United States, in a new book Brave New Canada ($29.95, McGill-Queen’s University Press), co-written with Fen Hampson, says if Canadians want to continue to compete in an increasingly competitive world, drastic changes are needed in both the country’s foreign and domestic policies.
Ignoring the problem will undoubtedly see Canada left behind.
“We believe there are several things in terms of policies and priorities that Canada needs to change if we intend to safeguard our interest against the threats and if we expect to take advantage of the new economic opportunities that are out there,” said Burney, a Thunder Bay native who also serves as chancellor at Lakehead University, where on Thursday he delivered a speech to students and faculty detailing some of the theories outlined in the book.
The threats are many, Burney said.
“I think the biggest threat is the kind of terrorism that we’re seeing in the Middle East today,” said Burney, a one-time chief of staff for former prime minister Brian Mulroney.
“Hacking of cyberspace, environmental degradation, I mean these are phenomena that were not conventional 20 years ago and we really don’t have institutions in the world capable of dealing with them, as the ebola crisis today illustrates.
“So we’re suggesting how some of these multilateral institutions should be formed, how Canada’s contribution to them should be calibrated, for the ones that are working, not the ones that aren’t.”
Where violent threats are concerned, Burney said he believes Canada needs a much stronger security footprint.
He pointed to Asia as a particular concern down the road.
“The area of future conflict, we predict, is going to be east Asia,” Burney said.
The book touches on ways Canada should reset its relations with the United States, and showcases the authors’ theories of how the country can seamlessly adapt to the new global landscape.
Complacency is another threat to the country. A failure to act could be disastrous he said, which is why he wanted to get his message across to students.
“They’re the future. I talk a lot about complacency. We talk a lot about the comfort of the North American cocoon. I think if we can get a message to the younger Canadians that there’s more to the world than North America and that they should be less risk-averse than their predecessors, that’s a good message to get out.”
