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Canada suffered an historic loss last week in a bid for a temporary seat on the UN Security Council. Fifty-one per cent of respondents in a new Harris-Decima survey conducted for The Canadian Press blamed the Harper government's foreign affairs record for the loss.
Ottawa (22 Oct. 2010) - Canada suffered an historic loss last week to Portugal in a bid for a temporary seat on the United Nations Security Council.
After six successful attempts, it was the first time since the UN's creation after the Second World War that Canada did not win a seat on the Security Council.
Fifty-one per cent of those polled in a recent Harris-Decima survey conducted for The Canadian Press blamed “the government's recent record on international diplomacy” for the loss.
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) has repeatedly urged the Harper government to embark on a broad foreign policy consultation with Canadians and civil society organizations to ensure Canada has a balanced and principled approach to foreign affairs issues.
The loss has set off a fresh round of introspection in Canada.
On Tuesday, New Democrat foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar tabled a motion with the House of Commons foreign affairs committee to establish “select panel of experts” to review Canadian foreign policy.
The Oct. 14 to Oct. 17 telephone survey of 1,000 people has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
For more information about the survey please visit here.
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE