YouSaid · the spoken record

Justin Trudeau

lines on the record: 48
first: 2016-09-24
most recent: 2020-09-24
sittings or episodes: 3
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“If we meet this moment, if we rise to this challenge, I know that, like our grandparents did 70 years ago, we will lay the foundations of a better world.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“At the same time, we are struggling against the consequences of our own actions, which are causing the level of carbon in the atmosphere to become unsustainable. Everywhere around the world, people are becoming mindful of this reality. They’re refusing to accept inequality. They’re refusing to close their eyes to the peril we’re facing. Our citizens will no longer shrug off as someone else’s problem a failing status quo. And that’s a good thing. Because there is the path forward. After a wildfire rips through a forest, life adjusts and begins anew. After an earthquake hits a city, people work together and rebuild. As we face these layers of crises, this is what we must do. We must understand our opportunities and our responsibilities to take real action, together. To protect each other, to support each other.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“Canada has always supported the work of agencies like UNICEF, the World Food Programme, and the UNHCR. Not only will we keep supporting these efforts, we’ll keep increasing our international assistance budget every year. There’s so much more still to be done. Children all over the world are wearing masks to go to school, or are not going to school at all. Older people are dying. Demonstrators are being killed. Sea levels are rising and forests are burning. People who think only of themselves continue to increase inequality and conflict. It is time for us, as the United Nations, to join forces and do what we were created to do: to ensure peace and security and to avert global crises. These days we are fighting a battle unlike any other against an invisible virus.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“And I know other countries — your countries — see this too. Instead of hunkering down and hoping that we come out the other side ok — let’s remember that we’re all in this together. Instead of crossing our fingers and hoping that the big powers will figure this out — let’s look at what we can do to make a difference together. Let’s use our shared power not just to get a vaccine, but to get it out to everyone. Let us be inspired by our citizens’ call to restore the global economy while we tackle climate change. In other words, let’s not wait for someone else to act. Let’s do it ourselves. Each one of us, here in these United Nations. Each one of us uniting around a shared future. Canada has a long history in peacekeeping and we will continue to step up, and continue to move the dial on lasting peace by empowering women.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“The only way to make things right and the only way to build a better future for our children and grandchildren is by working together and by standing up for each other, no matter what cards we are dealt. The Rohingyas in Myanmar, the demonstrators in Belarus, the people of Lebanon, the citizens arbitrarily detained in China, the indigenous peoples in Canada and around the world. Genuine and constructive global collaboration is the only way forward. But who are we to demand that? Canada is not a country that can make a lot of difference on these major international issues. Like so many others, we are subject to the whims of the super Powers. But, as Canadians, we know that we are not alone. As Canadians — a trading nation where we trace our origins to every corner of the planet — we know that we are in this together.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“We are in deadlock. The international approach we’ve relied on since the second half of the 20th century was built on an understanding that countries would work together. But now those same countries are looking inward, and are divided. We need to recognize where we are. The system is broken. The world is in crisis. And things are about to get much worse unless we change. Right now, we have a chance — not a big chance, but a chance — to shift course. To realize that the only way through this is together. Putting some people ahead of others does not work. A healthier, cleaner, more equal future cannot be the privilege of a lucky few. It must be the right of us all.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“And our citizens are paying the price. We need a new way of thinking. On climate, on inequality, on health. Because the way we’re doing things just isn’t working well enough. Too often, concerted action is blocked — the needs of our citizens are denied — as a result of gridlock at decision-making bodies. And why? Because there are few consequences for countries that ignore international rules. For regimes that think might makes right. Few consequences for places where opposition figures are being poisoned while cyber tools and disinformation are being used to destabilize democracies. Few consequences when innocent citizens are arbitrarily detained and fundamental freedoms are repressed. When a plane of civilians is shot from the sky. When women’s rights are not treated as human rights. When no one has any rights at all.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“This is what I heard from so many of you at the meeting on financing for development that Canada hosted last spring with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the Prime Minister of Jamaica, Andrew Holness. We need to do more to ensure that children around the world are fed and can attend school. If we do not, the consequences will be dire. We are facing a global humanitarian crisis. And of most concern in all of this is that this pandemic, and the crises it has brought to light, are not even our greatest threat. Right now, our world is facing a climate reckoning. We are at this point because of our collective inability, over the past decades, to make the tough decisions and sacrifices needed to fight climate change and save future generations. The pandemic has not changed that. Our shared failures have continued.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“That is what the crisis of COVID-19 has shown, beyond a shadow of a doubt. That things have to change. And not just on the world stage — but at home, too. We are not doing enough for the most vulnerable — whether it is the elderly, who are dying in health-care facilities, or the homeless, for whom every night is a struggle. We are not going far enough to eliminate systemic injustice, whether it be racism against black or aboriginal people, homophobia or sexism. In the difficulties of our citizens, we can see the failures of our institutions — of our world. After the pandemic decimated their economies and basic services, many countries are now on the brink.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“Our parents and grandparents chose to get up and rebuild. They set up multilateral institutions, such as the United Nations. They created international financial institutions, such as the World Bank, the IMF and other Bretton Woods institutions. And they laid the foundations for a rules-based international order through which we enjoyed an unprecedented period of common prosperity in the second half of the twentieth century. We had a system — we had a generation — that learned from crisis and set us on a better path. In their era, those systems worked. But that was 50, 60, 70 years ago. Today, all those institutions no longer serve us well enough on what they were designed for — defending multilateralism and international law. Protecting human rights and open markets.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“Mr. President, fellow delegates, my friends. Thank you for the opportunity to address this Assembly. Like many of you, I have spoken in this forum before, but never like this, at a time like this. The world is in crisis. And not just because of the last few months. Not just because of COVID-19. But because of the last few decades. And because of us. This is our wake-up call, and we cannot ignore it. Time and time again, history has shown us that the price to pay for turning away, for failing to act, is much too high. Our parents and grandparents remember all too well what things were like in the 30s and the 40s. Economies collapsed. Governments — and systems of government — crumbled. Millions died. That was the world they faced. That was the challenge they had to meet. And this is what they did about it.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“The reconciliation that we seek holds lessons for us all. We cannot build strong relationships if we refuse to have conversations. We cannot chart a more peaceful path if the starting point is suspicion and mistrust. And we cannot build a better world unless we work together, respect our differences, protect the vulnerable and stand up for the things that matter most. As I said last year, I know that it will be hard work. But I remain confident — for Canada’s experience shows it to be true — that any challenge can be met if we meet it together.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“We say to ourselves and to one another that good enough just is not good enough, and that better is always possible. It is always possible to do better when people are at the heart of the decisions we make. People, as the theme of this general debate reminds us, are the key to building a peaceful and prosperous future. It is a future that we all want for ourselves, for our children and for our grandchildren. It is a future in which indigenous people in Canada and around the world have the right to participate as equal partners. It is a future that we can build if we work together. Our efforts to build a better relationship with indigenous peoples in Canada are not only about righting historical wrongs. They are about listening, learning and working together. They are also about concrete actions for the future.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Families and communities can then hope for a better quality of life. We are also working hard to deliver progressive trade agreements such as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with the European Union, which comes into effect today. CETA will expand opportunities for businesses, create good, well-paying jobs for workers and deliver meaningful economic growth — the kind of growth that benefits all our citizens, not just the wealthiest. We have the opportunity — and I would argue that we have the responsibility — to ensure that trade agreements include strong provisions to safeguard workers’ rights, to protect the environment and to ensure that the benefits of trade are felt more broadly. When we do that, we do not just grow our economies, we live up to our values.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Right now we have a system that encourages wealthy Canadians to use private corporations to pay a lower tax rate than middle-class Canadians. That is not fair, and we are going to fix it. We are investing to make education more affordable and accessible so that every Canadian can get the training needed to find and keep a good, well-paying job. That is particularly important at a time when automation is challenging the traditional definition of work. At the international level, we have reaffirmed Canada’s commitment to reducing poverty and injustice, while also putting gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls at the heart of our development efforts. We have adopted that approach because we know that supporting women and girls leads to economic growth, and that peace and cooperation can then take root.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“It was an opportunity for us to discuss the various ways of implementing the Paris Agreement and to maintain the international momentum towards a more sustainable future for all. Likewise, the global community has a responsibility to do all that it can to reduce inequality within and among countries. In Canada we are working hard to achieve that goal. We improved child benefit payments. Our new programme gives nine out of 10 families more money to help with the high cost of raising their kids, and because of that we expect to reduce child poverty in Canada by 40 per cent. We raised taxes on the wealthiest 1 per cent so that we could lower them for the middle class, and we are continuing to look for ways to make our tax system more fair.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“For our part, Canada will continue to fight for the global plan that has a realistic chance of countering it. We have a responsibility to future generations, and we will uphold it. We have a chance to build in Canada and around the world economies that are clean, that are growing, that are forward-looking. We will not let that opportunity pass us by. In Canada that means imposing a tariff on carbon-related pollution. When that is done properly, it is the most effective way of reducing emissions while continuing to grow the economy. It also means continuing to work with other countries to bring us closer to the goals we have set for ourselves. Last week in Montreal, we welcomed environment leaders from over 30 countries to participate in a working meeting.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Indigenous and northern communities are particularly affected by its stark reality. In communities across the north — places like Paulatuk, Kugluktuk, and Tuktoyaktuk — community members are finding sea ice conditions more dangerous and unpredictable for travelling and hunting in the winter. In Canada’s western Arctic, the permafrost is melting and huge pieces of tundra are eroding into the ocean. Around Baffin Island, Inuit elders are finding it difficult to forecast the weather like they used to, so difficult that many are now reluctant to even try. At home, we are working hard to help those communities adapt and prepare for the future. At the international level, our commitment is unwavering. There is no country on the planet that can walk away from the challenge and reality of climate change.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Some may choose to engage with our Government based on historic nations and treaties, others will use different shared experiences as the basis for coming together. The choice is theirs. That is precisely what self-determination demands. Although that path is uncharted, I am confident that we will reach a place of reconciliation, that we will reach a place as a country where nation-to- nation, Government-to-Government and Inuit-Crown relationships can be transformed — a place where the standards enshrined in the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples are fully realized not merely by Government mandate, but in true partnership with indigenous peoples. Part of that new partnership will involve addressing the shared challenge of climate change.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“The time has come to think outside the box, to move away from the limits imposed by old outdated colonial structures and to make room for innovation and structures that respect the inherent rights of indigenous peoples to govern themselves and to determine their own future. For the federal Government, that means making changes to how we operate. The departmental change I mentioned is part of fulfilling that responsibility. For indigenous peoples, it means taking a hard look at how they define and govern themselves as nations and Governments, and how they seek to relate to other orders of Government. Indigenous peoples will decide how they wish to represent and organize themselves.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Over time, programmes and services will increasingly be delivered by indigenous peoples, as part of their move towards true self-government and the full implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. We believe that this separation is the best way for Canada to meet its sustainable development commitments, while following the principle of self-determination, which is at the heart of the Declaration. We are in uncharted territory. No one has paved the way for us, but we cannot wait. The time has come to take our own journey together.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“In her new role, she will lead our Government’s efforts to better support indigenous peoples as they strengthen their distinct political, cultural, legal and economic institutions and assume autonomy over their own affairs, including the recognition and implementation of self-government as an expression of self-determination. At the same time, we recognize that in Canada the federal Government has a historic responsibility for providing services to indigenous peoples and an ongoing role to play. To better do that work while at the same time supporting indigenous self-determination, in consultation with indigenous peoples, we will create a new Department of Indigenous Services, led by our former Minister of Health, Jane Philpott.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“It is our responsibility to take better care of the environment that we all share. As I said here at the signing ceremony of the Paris Agreement, we are all implicated, in all senses of the word. We are all responsible, and our new ways of doing things must take that into account. In Canada that means new relationships between the Government of Canada and indigenous peoples — relationships based on recognition of rights, respect, cooperation and partnership. We recently made changes to our Government structures to help with the transition to those new relationships with indigenous peoples. We are dismantling the old colonial bureaucratic structures and creating a new Department of Crown- Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs, led by Carolyn Bennett, an experienced and effective advocate for indigenous peoples in Canada.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“The Sustainable Development Goals are as meaningful in Canada as they are everywhere else in the world. We are committed to implementing them at home, while we also work with our international partners to achieve them around the world. That is important, because poverty and hunger know no borders. We cannot pretend that those solvable challenges happen only on distant shores. The need for greater equality and decent work are real and persistent human needs — ones we cannot afford to ignore, especially in our own countries. It is up to each of us to ensure that all of us, including indigenous peoples, have better opportunities. It is our responsibility to ensure that true equality is unconditional. Equality applies to us all, regardless of our gender, origin, beliefs or the person we choose to love.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Construction work on nearly 4,000 homes has been completed or is under way, helping to fulfil SDG 11, on making communities safe and sustainable places to live. And across the country, we are also working on a national housing strategy to give more Canadians access to housing that is safe, affordable and adequate. Our efforts also include a sharper focus on indigenous communities across Canada and around the world as it relates to SDG 5, on combating gender- based violence and giving women and girls equal opportunities to succeed. We need women and girls to succeed because that is how we grow stronger economies and build stronger communities. That is why our Government will be moving forward shortly with legislation to ensure equal pay for work of equal value.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“They also consider ways to create and manage educational systems that are managed within the communities, by the communities and for the communities. Those important notions are in line with Sustainable Development Goal 4, on quality education. For many indigenous peoples in Canada, among other things, those investments will enable laying the foundation for reaching Sustainable Development Goal 8, on decent work and economic growth. We know that no one can hope to have a true and equal chance of succeeding without good health, a solid community, a well-paid quality job, quality education and safe and affordable housing. Of course, that also applies to indigenous peoples. That is why our efforts include working with indigenous communities to help build and refurbish homes.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“I will give a few examples. Many will sound familiar because they are closely aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — goals that apply to all of our countries without exception. Our efforts include investments to help bring safe and clean drinking water to all indigenous communities, part of Sustainable Development Goal 6, on clean water and sanitation. So far, more than two dozen long-term drinking-water advisories in indigenous communities have been eliminated, and we have a plan to bring to an end those that remain. Those efforts take the form of new investments to eliminate gaps in the education of First Nations. The new agreements recognize the power and authority of First Nations.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“We know that the world expects Canada to strictly adhere to international human rights standards — including the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples — and that is what we expect of ourselves too. We are working closely with indigenous peoples in Canada to better respond to their priorities, to better understand how they see and define self-determination and to support their work of nation rebuilding. Along with indigenous partners, we are co-developing programmes to ensure the preservation, protection and revitalization of Métis, Inuit and First Nations languages. In short, we have been working hard, in partnership with other orders of Government and with indigenous leaders in Canada, to correct past injustices and to bring about a better quality of life for indigenous peoples in Canada.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“In the words of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, the Declaration provides the necessary principles, norms and standards for reconciliation to flourish in twenty-first-century Canada. That is not an aspiration, that is a way forward. Last year, at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Canada’s then Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs finally corrected Canada’s position on the Declaration, and announced that we are now, without qualification, a full supporter of the Declaration. In partnership with indigenous peoples, we are moving ahead with a thorough review of federal laws, policies and operational practices to get our house in order and make sure that our Government is meeting its obligations, including international obligations under the Declaration.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“We now have before us an opportunity to deliver true, meaningful and lasting reconciliation between Canada and First Nations, the Métis Nation, and Inuit peoples. At a time where we seek to reconcile, we should be guided by the basic standards adopted in this Hall 10 years ago this month. I know that in the past Canada’s position on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was disappointing. We actively campaigned and voted against such rights, only to finally accept them reluctantly by saying that it was simply a document of aspirations. However, they are not aspirations. The Declaration is very concrete for indigenous peoples and for those who who worked long and hard to make that document a reality.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“For far too many indigenous women, life in Canada includes threats of violence so frequent and severe that Amnesty International has called it a human rights crisis. That is the legacy of colonialism in Canada, of a paternalistic Indian Act, of the forced relocation of Inuit and First Nations communities and a systematic denial of Métis rights and history, of residential schools that separated children as young as 5 years old from their families, punished them for speaking their own language and sought to extinguish indigenous cultures entirely. The good news is that Canadians get it. They see the inequities, and they are fed up with the excuses. And that impatience gives us a rare and precious opportunity to act.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“For too many indigenous peoples, that lack of respect for their rights persists today. Today there are still children living on reserves in Canada who cannot safely drink, bathe in or even play in the water that comes out of their taps. There are indigenous parents who say goodnight to their children and have to cross their fingers in the hope that their kids will not run away or take their own lives in the night. Young indigenous people in Canada struggle to get a good education. Although residential schools are thankfully a thing of the past, too many indigenous youth are still sent away, far from their families, just to get the basic education most Canadians take for granted.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“It chose to deny and undermine their rights and their dignity. They were victims of a Government that sought to rewrite their unique history and eradicate their languages and cultures by imposing colonial traditions and their own way of life. They were victims of a Government that refused to protect their lands and waters and that rejected their principle of always thinking seven generations ahead. In short, we rejected the very idea of entire generations of indigenous peoples defining their own lives with the dignity and pride they are due. We have deprived Canada of the significant contributions that those generations could have made to the progression of our great country. The inability of successive Canadian Governments to respect the rights of indigenous peoples in Canada causes us great shame.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“But that is not, and has not always been, true for everyone who shares our land. Canada is built on the ancestral land of indigenous peoples, but, regrettably, it is also a country that came into being without the meaningful participation of those who were there first. Even treaties that were developed to provide a foundation for proper relations have not been fully honoured or implemented. For First Nations, Métis Nation and Inuit peoples in Canada, those early colonial relationships were not about strength through diversity or a celebration of our differences. For indigenous peoples in Canada, their experience was mostly one of humiliation, neglect and abuse. They were victims of a Government that did not respect them; their traditions, their assets, their way of governing or their laws.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“I want to tell the Assembly our story because I know that the challenges we have faced, and continue to face, are not unique in the world, nor are the solutions. An approach that values human dignity and emphasizes fairness and real opportunity for everyone has a home in Canada and in every country. It is an approach that does not just serve domestic needs but makes the world a better, more peaceful, more prosperous place for all. This year Canada celebrates the 150th anniversary of out Confederation. But Canada is much older than that. It has been home to the descendants of settlers and immigrants for hundreds of years, and indigenous peoples for millenniums. We are a country that is built on different cultures, different religions and different languages all coming together. Such diversity has become our great strength.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“A good quality of life and an environment that we take care of. Equality for all, no matter where. That is what counts in the eyes of Canadians. Throughout our history, we have worked tirelessly to realize our ambitions both at home and elsewhere in the world. Today I would like to speak about the difficult lessons that Canada has learned along the way. Canada is not a wonderland where the difficulties experienced by others do not exist. We face the same challenges. Canada is continually evolving. Canada remains a work in progress. I want to tell the Assembly about the Canadian experience because, for all the mistakes we have made, we remain hopeful — hopeful that we can do better, and be better, and treat each other with the dignity and the respect that is the birthright of every human being.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“Before I begin, in the light of Tuesday’s earthquake in Mexico, I would like to offer Canada’s condolences to all families and friends in mourning. We wish a speedy recovery for all those who were injured and thank all first responders for their tireless efforts to help keep people safe. Our thoughts are also with our friends in the Caribbean, who continue to suffer from devastating hurricanes. The generosity and resilience that millions have shown in the face of those natural disasters is an inspiration to the world. Canada stands ready to lend a helping hand whenever we can. It is an honour to be back here at the General Assembly today and to have an opportunity to speak to this year’s theme, namely, “Focusing on people: Striving for peace and a decent life for all on a sustainable planet”. People. Peace.”
2017-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 72 (2017)
“People want their problems solved, not exploited. Canada is a modest country. We know we cannot solve these problems alone. We know we need to do this all together. We know it will be hard work. But we are Canadian, and we are here to help.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We are determined to build an economy that works for everyone — not just the wealthiest 1 per cent — so that every person benefits from economic growth. And we are going to refuse to give in to the pressure of trading our cherished values for easy votes. The world expects better from us, and we expect better from ourselves. In the end, there is a choice to be made. Strong, diverse, resilient countries like Canada did not happen by accident, and they will not continue without effort. Every single day, we need to choose hope over fear and diversity over division. Fear has never created a single job or fed a single family, and those who exploit it will never solve the problems that have created such anxiety. Our citizens, the nearly 7.5 billion people we collectively serve, are better than the cynics and pessimists think they are.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“They care about their families. They want a better life — a safer and more secure future for their kids — as we all do. When I say, therefore, that I hope that the Syrian refugees we welcomed will soon be able to join our middle class, I am confident that we can make that happen, and we will do it by offering to them the same things we offer to all our citizens — a real and fair chance at success for everyone. We are going to do all we can to build a strong middle class in Canada. We are going to invest in education, because it gives the next generation the tools they need to contribute to the world economy and to succeed. We are going to invest in infrastructure because it creates good, well-paying jobs for the middle class and helps to make our communities better places to live, work and invest.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“But our efforts will not truly be successful until those refugees have become established, full- fledged members of the Canadian middle class. I want the General Assembly to know that this objective is within our grasp — not because of what we have done, but because of what they are themselves. Refugees are people with the same hopes and dreams as our own citizens. But while our people have felt anxiety, Syrians faced catastrophe. We all know where Syria’s middle class is: they are living in refugee camps in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. They are moving across Europe, looking for a place to set down roots, to get their kids back into school, to find steady work and to become productive citizens. Refugee camps are teeming with Syria’s middle class: doctors and lawyers, teachers and entrepreneurs. They are well educated. They work hard.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We must make no mistake: we have had many failures, from the internment of Ukrainian, Japanese and Italian Canadians during the World Wars, to our turning away of boats of Jewish and Punjabi refugees, to the shamefully continuing marginalization of indigenous peoples. What matters is that we learn from our mistakes and recommit ourselves to doing better. To that end, in recent months, Canadians have opened their hearts and their arms to families fleeing the ongoing conflict in Syria, and from the moment they arrived, those 31,000 refugees were welcomed — not as burdens, but as neighbours and friends — as new Canadians. That effort has brought Canadians together. In an almost unprecedented fashion, the Government has worked with the business community, engaged citizens and civil society to help the newcomers adapt to their new country.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“We have done all this — and will do much more — because we believe we should confront anxiety with a clear plan to deal with its root causes. We believe we should bring people together around shared purposes such as the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. What is the alternative? Is it to exploit anxiety? Is it to turn it into fear and blame? Is it to reject others because they look or speak or pray differently than we do? In Canada we got a very important thing right — not perfect, but right. In Canada, we see diversity as a source of strength, not weakness. Our country is strong not in spite of our differences, but because of them.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Earlier this year, we helped negotiate the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. As part of our commitment to implementing that Agreement, we announced that Canada would invest $2.65 billion over five years to fund clean, low-carbon growth in developing countries. In order to help promote peace and security in areas affected by instability, we reaffirmed our support for NATO and committed ourselves to expanding Canada’s role in United Nations peacekeeping operations. We hosted the fifth Replenishment Conference of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, where we increased our contribution by 20 per cent by giving more than $800 million to the Global Fund. We also encouraged our partners to increase their contributions, making it possible to raise $13 billion in support of ending AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria by 2030.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“Exploiting it is easy, but in order to allay it we need to be prepared to answer some very direct questions. What will create the good, well-paying jobs that people want and need and deserve? What will strengthen and grow the middle class and help those working hard to join it? What will build an economy that works for everyone? What will help to make the world a safer, more peaceful place? To allay people’s anxiety, we need to create economic growth that is broadly shared, because a fair and successful world is a peaceful one. We need to focus on what brings us together, not on what divides us. For Canada, that means re-engaging in global affairs through institutions like the United Nations. It does not serve our interests — or the world’s — to pretend that we are not deeply affected by what happens beyond our borders.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“I met parents who were working hard to give their children every opportunity to succeed but who feared that their efforts would not be sufficient. I had the chance share a meal with elderly retirees who had toiled all their lives but who now have to go to food banks. Over the past few years, I have had far too many disturbing conversations with Canadians, but they made something clear to me. Canadians still believe in progress, or, at least, that progress is possible. But that optimism is mixed with great concern. It is clear that Canadians are not the only ones who feel that way; those feelings are present everywhere. That anxiety is a fact of life. When leaders are faced with citizens’ anxiety, we have a choice to make. Do we exploit that anxiety or do we allay it?”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“It was in those places that I got the best sense of what Canadians were thinking and how they were doing and, through the politeness — because we Canadians are always polite even when we are complaining — I learned a few things. I talked with people my age who were trying to be hopeful about their future but found it tough to make ends meet, even when they were working full-time. I heard from young Canadians who were frustrated, who told me that they could not get a job because they do not have work experience but they cannot get work experience because they do not have a job. I heard from women and girls who still face inequality in the workplace and violence just because they are women, even in a progressive country like Canada.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)
“It is an honour to be present at the General Assembly today. It is wonderful to be here in the great city of New York. Once again this week, New Yorkers showed us how to be resilient and resolute in the face of violent extremism. On behalf of everyone in this Hall, let me directly say to the people of New York that they are a model to the rest of the world, and we thank them. Exactly one year ago, Canada was in the middle of a long — 78 days on the road, and I can assure the Assembly that, in Canada, there are 78 days’ worth of roads — and closely fought election campaign. It is the responsibility of a leader to spend time with the people they are elected to serve. To get the real stories, it is important to go where people live: coffee shops and church basements, mosques and synagogues, farmers’ markets and public parks.”
2016-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 71 (2016)