RCI | English : Reports

Chinese authorities had to take "compulsory measures" against two Canadian citizens suspected of "endangering national security," China's Foreign Ministry said Thursday.

China-based social entrepreneur Michael Spavor and former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig were taken into custody on Monday, ministry spokesperson Lu Kang told journalists in Beijing.

Spavor, who ran a non-profit organization that organized cultural and sports exchanges with Pyongyang, was arrested by the State Security Bureau of Dandong City, Liaoning Province, near the border with North Korea, Lu said.

Ottawa lost contact with another Canadian in China, says Freeland

A second Canadian arrested in China as Canada-China spat heats up

Kovrig, who was on an unpaid leave of absence from Global Affairs Canada to work as an expert on North-East Asia for the International Crisis Group, was arrested by the Beijing Bureau of Chinese State Security, Lu said.

“These cases are still under investigation,” Lu said. “The Beijing State Security Bureau and the Liaoning State Security Department have respectively informed the Canadian Embassy in China of these cases.”

The “legitimate rights and interests” of the two detained Canadians are guaranteed by Chinese law, Lu said.

But Lu would not say whether they’ve been given access to lawyers and consular assistance.

Ottawa is 'seized' by these cases

Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland speaks with the media during a news conference in Ottawa, Wednesday December 12, 2018. (Adrian Wyld/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Other than receiving faxed notifications of the arrests of these Canadians, the federal government has had no news from either Kovrig or Spavor, officials said Wednesday.

The Canadian government is “seized” by these cases and has raised them directly with Chinese authorities, Canadian officials said.

They are also providing consular assistance to the families of both detained Canadians, officials said.

News of their disappearance broke after a Vancouver court on Tuesday granted bail to Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Chinese telecom giant Huawei. She is awaiting the outcome of extradition proceedings to the U.S. on fraud charges linked to possible violations of U.S. sanctions on Iran.

Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, talks with a member of her private security detail after they went into the wrong building while arriving at a parole office, in Vancouver, on Wednesday December 12, 2018. (Darryl Dyck/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

“We ask the Canadian side to immediately correct its mistake and release Ms. Meng Wanzhou,” Lu said.

Freeland reiterated Wednesday that as “a rule-of-law country” Canada had no choice but to act on the U.S. request to arrest and extradite Meng, that her case in Canada’s eyes it’s a purely legal matter.

However, in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump torpedoed Canada’s insistence that the matter should not be politicized when he indicated that he was willing to intervene on Meng's behalf if it would serve national security interests or help get a better trade deal with China.

“Whether the Meng Wanzhou case is a legal matter or political matter, the Canadian government knows it better than anyone else,” Lu said Thursday.

Who is Michael Kovrig?

Canadian officials say they are deeply concerned by the reported arrest of former Canadian diplomat and North East Asia expert Michael Kovrig in China. (International Crisis Group)

Kovrig, who speaks fluent Mandarin, was a great foreign service officer and was promoted to the position of first secretary in the political section of the Canadian embassy in Beijing, said former Canadian ambassador in China Guy Saint-Jacques.

A second Canadian might have also been nabbed by Chinese authorities, Canadian officials said Wednesday as they confirmed that a Canadian diplomat on temporary leave to work for an international nongovernmental think-tank has been arrested in China.

Global Affairs Canada officials identified the missing man as Michael Spavor, who ran a non-profit organization that organized cultural and sports exchanges with North Korea.

Spavor came to international prominence in 2013 and 2014 by organizing NBA star Dennis Rodman's visits to North Korea.

"We are aware of a Canadian who got in touch with us because he was being asked questions by Chinese authorities,"Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said Wednesday.

"We have not been able to make contact with him since he let us know about this. We are working very hard to ascertain his whereabouts and we have also raised this case with the Chinese authorities. We are in touch with his family."

Canadian officials also confirmed Wednesday that Michael Kovrig who was on an unpaid leave of absence from Global Affairs Canada to work as an expert on North-East Asia for the International Crisis Group was arrested by the Beijing Bureau of Chinese State Security.

But other than receiving a fax from the Chinese Ministry of State Security notifying Canada of his arrest, the federal government has had no news from Korvig, officials said Wednesday.

Canadian officials don’t know where Kovrig is being held, what charges he faces and had no consular access to him, officials speaking on background said.

'We take this very personally'

The federal government is doing everything to help these Canadians, Freeland said.

“For me, for the prime minister really the issue that probably touches our hearts the most, the thing that keeps you up at night, that you wake up in the middle of the night worrying about is Canadian consular cases,” Freeland said. “It is agonizing when a Canadian is detained outside Canada, we take this very personally, and we work very hard for every Canadian in this kind of difficult situation.”

Canadian officials say they are deeply concerned by the reported arrest of former Canadian diplomat and North East Asia expert Michael Kovrig in China. (International Crisis Group)

In the case of Kovrig, who is still considered an employee of Global Affairs, Canadian officials have been in touch with Chinese authorities, Freeland said adding, that she spoke with the Chinese ambassador about it.

Freeland also said she has spoken to Kovrig’s family.

“It’s important for them to know we’re personally concerned, we are personally engaged,” Freeland said.

Karim Lebhour, a spokesperson for the International Crisis Group, said Kovrig was detained on Monday at 10pm Beijing time by Chinese security officials.

“Crisis Group has received no information about Michael directly since his detention and is concerned for his health and safety,” Lebhour said in an emailed statement. “We do not have confirmation of the exact substance of the charges against him but are working to gather as much information as possible.”

The ICG is working round the clock to ensure his well-being and secure his release, Lebhour said.

Citing Chinese authorities, the Beijing News newspaper reported Wednesday that Kovrig was being investigated for allegedly “engaging in activities that endanger China's national security.”

However, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told journalists in Beijing on Wednesday he had “nothing to offer” regarding Kovrig’s fate.

Lu said the ICG has not legally registered in mainland China and its activities violate the country’s new law governing nongovernmental organizations.

Canadian officials are “sparing no effort” to find out what has happened with a former Canadian diplomat and an expert on North East Asia for International Crisis Group, who was arrested in China, Canadian officials said Tuesday.

"Obviously, obviously we are aware of the situation of the Canadian detained in China," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in brief comments on his way to question period in the House of Commons.

"We have been in direct contact with the Chinese diplomats and representatives. We are engaged in a file which we take very seriously and we are of course providing consular assistance to the family."

Speaking to reporters in Ottawa, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said the federal government is “deeply concerned” by the arrest of Michael Kovrig.

ListenEN_Interview_3-20181211-WIE30

Guillaume Bérubé, a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada, said the government is “seized with this case and will continue to speak with the Chinese government.”

Chinese retaliation?

Meng Wanzhou, Executive Board Director of the Chinese technology giant Huawei, attends a session of the VTB Capital Investment Forum "Russia Calling!" in Moscow, Russia October 2, 2014. (Alexander Bibik/REUTERS)

Kovrig’s arrest comes after Canadian authorities arrested on Dec. 1 a top executive of Chinese telecom giant Huawei at the request of U.S. authorities.

It was not clear whether the two cases were connected, but Kovrig’s arrest came after Chinese authorities warned Canada of “grave consequences” if Meng Wanzhou, Huawei's chief financial officer, is not released immediately.

Meng, 46, who is also deputy chair of Huawei’s board and the daughter of founder Ren Zhengfei, could face extradition to the U.S. over allegations she was involved in violating sanctions on Iran, with each charge carrying a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.

Meng, who was arrested in Vancouver, is in court fighting to be released on bail while her extradition hearing winds down the Canadian court system.

‘We trust our courts,’ Trudeau tells China

Goodale declined to say whether the government believes Kovrig's arrest was a tit-for-tat retaliation by Beijing for Meng's arrest.

“We’re obviously worried about whenever a Canadian is put in a situation that puts them at some risk or jeopardy, where’s there’s no apparent or obvious cause or trigger for that,” he said.

“So, before we characterize it, we want to make sure we get all the facts. But at the same time we are sparing no effort to do everything we possibly can to look after his safety.”

In a later interview on CBC's current affairs TV show Power & Politics, Goodale admitted that Canadian officials don't know where Kovrig is being held and what is his condition.

The International Crisis Group said in a statement that it is aware of reports that Kovrig has been detained in China.

“We are doing everything possible to secure additional information on Michael's whereabouts as well as his prompt and safe release,” the international think-tank said in a statement.

Distinguished diplomatic career

Kovrig had previously worked as a Canadian diplomat in Beijing, Hong Kong and at the UN headquarters in New York before joining Crisis Group in February 2017 as senior adviser for North East Asia.

His research and analysis focused on foreign affairs and global security issues in North East Asia, particularly on China, Japan and the Korean peninsula, according to Crisis Group.

According to his Linkedin profile, Kovrig, who is fluent in Mandarin, held senior positions at the Canadian embassy in Beijing and the consulate in Hong Kong from 2014 to 2016 and “served as political lead on the successful visit of Prime Minster Trudeau to ...

Canada is a country of law and there will be no political interference by the federal government to secure the release of a highflying Chinese telecom executive arrested by Canadian officials upon the request of the U.S. authorities, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday.

“We live up to our international obligations and we trust our courts to do the right thing,” Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa.

Trudeau was responding to warnings by Beijing that Canada was going to face “grave consequences” if it didn’t release Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Chinese telecom giant Huawei, who was arrested in Vancouver on Dec. 1 while she was transiting from Hong Kong en route to Mexico.

(Listen to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and International Trade Minister Jim Carr respond to questions about Chinese pressure)

https://www.rcinet.ca/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/12/Trudeau-Carr-clips-Huawei_8221894_2018-12-10T18-20-27.451.mp3

China slams 'inhumane treatment'

Meng Wanzhou, Executive Board Director of the Chinese technology giant Huawei, attends a session of the VTB Capital Investment Forum "Russia Calling!" in Moscow, Russia October 2, 2014. (Alexander Bibik/REUTERS)

Meng, 46, who is also deputy chair of Huawei’s board and the daughter of founder Ren Zhengfei, could face extradition to the U.S. over allegations she was involved in violating sanctions on Iran, with each charge carrying a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.

On Monday, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang slammed Ottawa's "inhumane treatment" of Meng in detention.

China earlier summoned both the Canadian and U.S. ambassadors in Beijing to discuss Meng's detention.

An editorial in The Global Times, a Chinese government-owned newspaper, said Meng was subjected to degrading and inhumane treatment by being handcuffed and shackled while being moved to a Vancouver hospital for a medical treatment.

“Treating her as a prisoner is not only degrading, but is also a violation of her basic human rights,” the editorial said.

“It does not serve Canada's national interest if it intends to fawn over the U.S. by treating Ms Meng unjustly.”

If Meng is refused bail and extradited to the U.S., Canada will get minimal gratitude from the U.S., but will face maximum opposition from China, the editorial warned.

“Chinese people will take the issue seriously, and will ask the Chinese government to impose severe sanctions on Canada.”

Canadian public interest will definitely be impaired if Sino-Canadian relations are put at a risk of major retrogression, it added.

Canada’s International Trade Minister Jim Carr said Canada’s independent legal system is doing what it’s supposed to.

“We have a sophisticated relationship with the Chinese that dates back decades and will continue,” Carr said.

Long court battle ahead

People wait to enter the B.C. Supreme Court bail hearing of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, who was held on an extradition warrant in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada December 7, 2018. (David Ryder/REUTERS)

Meng's bail hearing began on Friday, but as no decision was reached on whether she should be given bail, the court was adjourned until Monday.

The prosecution said the U.S. Justice Department has flagged her as a possible flight risk and asked the court to deny bail to Meng, citing the enormous financial resources at her disposal.

Meng’s lawyer has argued that given her high profile position in Huawei and in China, his client will never skip bail not to "lose face."

He has also argued that Meng, a former permanent resident of Canada, has strong connections to the country and will remain in Vancouver where she owns two multimillion houses along with her husband an...

As delegates from Yemen’s warring parties meet in Sweden for talks to find a solution to the conflict that has ravaged the country for nearly four years, international NGOs are sounding the alarm over a catastrophic famine facing almost a quarter of a million of Yemenis if the war continues for much longer.

According to a report released Thursday, 240,000 people are living in famine-like conditions in Yemen.

Over 70 per cent of the population – 20 million people – are living in emergency or crisis levels of food insecurity, with 9.8 million in need of immediate assistance.

“The situation that is happening in Yemen right now is catastrophic,” said Maxime Michel, head of humanitarian programs at CARE Canada. “We’re looking at a population of 30 million people where more than two-thirds of the population is in absolutely dire condition and millions of people are going hungry.”

ListenEN_Interview_3-20181206-WIE30

The areas experiencing catastrophic food insecurity are those affected the most by conflict and fighting, Michel said in a phone interview from Ottawa.

“The war in Yemen has been absolutely devastating to civilians, we hear it every day from our team,” Michel said. “There is a need for a peaceful solution to this crisis for people to stop suffering. It’s just really-really catastrophic what we’re hearing.”

'Every day they'r seeing horrific things'

A nurse looks as he weighs a malnourished girl at a malnutrition treatment center in Sanaa, Yemen October 7, 2018. (Khaled Abdullah/REUTERS)

CARE’s staff in Yemen, most of whom are locals, have been witnessing severe malnutrition, hunger and food insecurity for many months now, Michel said.

“The situation for our staff in Yemen has been absolutely devastating,” Michel said. “Every day they’re seeing horrific things, they’ve been affected by airstrikes or attacks, they’re helping people that are in some absolutely heartbreaking conditions… the issue is that it’s now getting worse for them as well, they’re also starting to struggle to feed their families.”

Many of them have been displaced from their homes by fighting and the general insecurity, she said.

Women and girls bear the brunt

Five-year-old Masar Mohammed Saleh is seen at a malnutrition treatment centre in Sanaa, Yemen November 22, 2018. (Mohamed al-Sayaghi/REUTERS)

However, it’s Yemen’s women and girls, who are bearing the brunt of food insecurity, often giving up meals so that men and boys can eat, Michel said.

Also, as more and more men are killed by the fighting, the country has also seen an increase in female-headed or child-headed households, she said.

Many women have told CARE staff how soaring food prices and insecurity mean they and their families often go days without eating, Michel said.

One woman told CARE field staff that situation is so bad every night she wishes the sun would not rise again, because she just can’t face her hungry children in the mourning without any food to feed them with, Michel said.

According to CARE, there are currently around 1.1 million pregnant or breast-feeding women and 1.8 million children who are acutely malnourished, including 400,000 children under five suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

$4-billion UN appeal

The World Food Programme (WFP) Executive director David Beasley attends a news conference on the food security in Yemen at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, December 4, 2018. (Denis Balibouse/REUTERS)

The release of the IPC report also coincides with the UN’s biggest ever single country appeal. UN agencies say they need a record $4 billion US to help the people of Yemen.

CARE is also calling for an additional $20 million US to be able to scale up its food assistance and other hum...

Premier Rachel Notley is ordering Alberta’s oil industry to cut production by 8.7 per cent, saying the measure is needed to end “the economic and fiscal insanity” of selling Albertan crude at steep discounts compared with the North American benchmark.

The glut of oil created by insufficient pipeline capacity to move Albertan oil to world markets threatens the economic wellbeing of the oil-rich province, Notley said in a televised speech on Sunday.

“Owing to decades of inaction by successive federal governments Albertans are unable to transport much of the oil that we produce to market through modern, well-regulated pipelines,” Notley said in her supper-hour address.

“As a result we must sell our oil at a discounted price. In the last few weeks, this price gap has reached historic highs because we’re producing considerably more product than there is transport capacity.”

It is creating a huge backlog and is forcing Alberta to sell its oil at “ridiculously low levels,” Notley said.

ListenEN_Interview_3-20181203-WIE30

While the rest of the world sells its oil at about $50 per barrel, Alberta fetches only $10, she said.

“We are essentially giving our oil away for free.”

Fire-sale prices have led to concerns the oilpatch will have to find savings elsewhere in the coming weeks and months by slashing capital spending or jobs.

Short term measure

Notley said the 8.7 per cent reduction begins in January, with the expectation that figure will gradually decrease until the cuts are scheduled to end on Dec. 31, 2019.

“This is a short term measure,” she said.

In the medium term, the province is buying as many as 80 locomotives and 7,000 rail tankers to move the province's excess oil to markets, with the first shipments expected in late 2019.

In the long term, the province is working on diversifying Alberta’s energy sector, attracting new investments to process more of the oil in the province instead of shipping only crude oil, Notley said.

The province is also working to resolve the pipeline bottlenecks that have created the current problem, she said.

The Trans-Mountain line to the B.C. coast is now in legal limbo despite being approved two years ago.

The Enbridge Line 3 project, shipping more oil from Alberta to the U.S. Midwest is expected to come online late next year.

Measures suggested by opposition

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLvrD8tiHIX1J3zaz8E8NUXyNU374RhXQW&time_continue=4&v=WBS_ivisHNw

The Opposition United Conservatives and the centrist Alberta Party had already called for the production cut. Notley thanked them both in her speech.

Opposition United Conservative Leader Jason Kenney said Notley made the right decision.

Alberta Party Leader Stephen Mandel said the government was warned in the spring that this crisis was coming, and should have acted sooner.

Industry feelings prior to the announcement had been mixed.

Cenovus Energy proposed the idea of a production cut last month.

However, Imperial and Husky said Friday they remain opposed to involuntary production cuts.

With files from The Canadian Press

Canada, the United States and Mexico signed a renewed North American free trade pact on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires Friday that once ratified by the legislatures in all three countries will replace the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement.

President Donald Trump attempted to repair strained relations with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and brushed aside difficulties he may have in getting the deal through U.S. Congress, where opposition Democrats will control one of its two chambers.

The leaders of the three countries had agreed on a deal in principle to replace NAFTA after 14 months of sometimes acrimonious negotiations and arm-twisting on Sept. 30.

Trump had vowed to revamp NAFTA during his 2016 presidential election campaign. He threatened to tear it up and withdraw the U.S. completely at times during the negotiation, which would have left trade between the three neighbours in disarray.

President Donald Trump arrives for a signing ceremony of a new trade agreement between the U.S., Mexico and Canada, on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. The USMCA, as Trump refers to it, must still be approved by lawmakers in all three countries. (Martin Mejia/AP Photo)

In a tweet after the signing, Trump said: "The terrible NAFTA will soon be gone. The USMCA will be fantastic for all!"

Trump has insisted calling the new deal the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA).

In his speech during the signing ceremony Trudeau called it the “new NAFTA.”

As is the custom, Canada will change the order of the countries in its legal version of the name, putting Canada first (CUSMA).

“The new North American Free Trade Agreement maintains stability for Canada’s entire economy, stability that’s essential for the millions of jobs in middle class families across the country that rely on strong, reliable trading relationships with our closest neighbours,” Trudeau said in a short speech during the brief and low-key signing ceremony.

(listen to Justin Trudeau's remarks in English during the signing ceremony)

ListenEN_Interview_3-20181130-WIE30

The new agreement lifts the risk of serious economic uncertainty that lingers throughout a trade renegotiation process, Trudeau added.

“There is much more work to do in lowering trade barriers and in fostering growth that benefits everyone,” Trudeau said. “But reaching a new free trade agreement with the United States and Mexico is a major for our economy.”

Trudeau also used the signing to remind Trump that Canada has no plans to abandon its fight to get the U.S. administration to drop its tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum.

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, slammed Trudeau's decision to participate in the signing ceremony while tariffs are still in place, saying it was "one more final humiliation."

"It's clear he capitulated. He signed concession after concession after concession," Scheer said. "The Americans are counting their victories in what they got from Canada and Trudeau is counting his victories in what he didn't have to give away."

With files from CBC News and Reuters

As world leaders gather in Buenos Aires for their annual summit, a group of nine international investors with nearly a trillion dollars in assets under management between them is urging the G20 countries to end fossil fuel subsidies by 2020.

In a signed joint statement, investors warn continued government support for fossil fuels increases the risk of creating stranded assets within the energy sector and can also decrease the competitiveness of key industries, including low-carbon businesses.

"Governments beginning to take stock of their commitment to Paris are falling at the first hurdle if they refuse to factor in fossil fuel subsidies for producers – including tax concessions and placing the burden of decommissioning the sector’s infrastructure on taxpayers," said in a statement Steve Waygood, chief responsible investment officer at Aviva Investors.

"As corporations are being asked to disclose the potential impact of climate risk on their balance sheets, we as investors are also asking governments to disclose the impact that fossil fuel subsidies have at country balance sheet level, providing us with useful information so that we can support economies as they make this important change."

The statement points to a new study published this week by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), Oil Change International (OCI), and Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (FARN).

The report, Stories from G20 Countries: Shifting public money out of fossil fuels, shows examples of some G20 countries, including Canada, that have made progress in reforming their policies to shift support away from fossil fuels and increase taxation of fossil fuels.

However, it also warns this shift must accelerate significantly if the G20 is to meet the Paris Agreement targets and the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

“But fossil fuel subsidy reform is also important because you want a level playing field,” said Philip Gass, senior policy analyst with the Geneva-based IISD, who is originally from Manitoba.

“If fossil fuels are getting subsidized, that means that it’s more difficult to increase renewable energy because renewable energy technology doesn’t have that same benefit.”

ListenEN_Interview_3-20181129-WIE30

Spend the savings on social programs, says think-tank

IISD also feels that a lot of the money that is spent in supporting fossil fuels could have better benefit for the public if it was spent in education or health care or other areas where the entire economy, the entire country benefits rather than focussing on subsidizing fossil fuels specifically, Gass said in a phone interview from Geneva.

Gass said one of the case studies presented in the report looks at Canada’s experience in phasing out subsidies for the fossil fuel industries.

Since 2011, Canada has either completely phased out or reformed seven policies that subsidised the production of oil, gas and coal, said Gass.

“We estimate over the past several years roughly $260 million worth of reform,” Gass said. “That’s very beneficial but there are still a number of subsidies still in place.”

The report is encouraging Canada to continue to tackle the subsidies that haven’t been addressed, Gass said.

For example, one of the subsidies that the federal government needs to address further is the so-called Canadian exploration expenses (CEEs), which used to reimburse fossil fuel companies 100 per cent of their exploration expenses.

This subsidy was gradually brought down to 30 per cent, but the IISD feels that it could be reduced even further, Gass said.

Another example for policy reform is emissions credits, companies receiving free credits for their greenhouse gas emissions,

Canada is pledging $10.5 million to a United Nations initiative to advance our understanding of oceans and preserve their health, and develop a sustainable “blue economy,” harnessing the potential of our oceans, seas, lakes and rivers, federal officials announced Wednesday.

Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Jonathan Wilkinson made the announcement in Nairobi, Kenya, at the conclusion of the Sustainable Blue Economy Conference, co-hosted by Canada, Kenya and Japan.

This first-ever global conference on the sustainable blue economy attracted more than 17,000 participants from over 150 countries.

According to the United Nations estimates, half of the world’s population lives within 60 kilometres of the sea and three quarters of all large cities are located along the coast.

In Canada, the oceans are a source of approximately 350,000 jobs and generate approximately $36 billion annually in GDP through fisheries and aquaculture, energy, shipping, tourism and recreation, Wilkinson said.

“Oceans are an important economic generator and are going to be an even more important economic generator in the future,” Wilkinson told Radio Canada International in a phone interview from Nairobi. “But there are also areas where we have some very significant environmental challenges.”

ListenEN_Interview_3-20181128-WIE30

Harnessing the power blue economy

FILE PHOTO: Hundreds of fishing boats sit idle in Aberdeen harbour as Hong Kong fishermen adhere to a temporary ban on fishing for two months, 01 June 2004. (Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images)

These challenges relate to the sustainability of fishing, maritime shipping, offshore oil and gas industries, oceans plastics and expanding tourism and recreational opportunities in the oceans, he said.

“The blue economy is trying to integrate the environment and the economy in a way where we can actually have conversations about how do we see the oceans and pursue the oceans as economic generators for all communities that border on the oceans, but do so in a manner that can be sustainable for us now and for future generations,” Wilkinson said.

To this end the federal government will contribute $9.5 million to advance activities of the UN Decade of Ocean Science, an initiative that will run from 2021-2030, led by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, Wilkinson said.

Canada is also pledging up to $1 million to the World Economic Forum’s Friends of Ocean Action and to support to the office of Peter Thomson, the United Nations Special Envoy for the Ocean.

“A healthy ocean is essential to life on Planet Earth. That health is under threat due to climate change, pollution and harmful fishing practices,” Thomson said in a statement. “I welcome Canada’s leadership in mobilizing action from business, civil society, communities, governments and policymakers to implement the solutions urgently needed to conserve and sustainably use the ocean's resources.”

Setting up a knowledge hub

Researchers from the Mauritanian Oceanography and Fisheries Research Institute (IMROP) sample seawater off the coast of Nouadhibou, the main port in Mauritania, April 14, 2018. Picture taken April 14, 2018. (Sylvain Cherkaoui/REUTERS)

The Canadian delegation, which also included Canada’s envoy to the United Nations Marc-André Blanchard, also heard from developing nations who signalled their need for help in fisheries management, Wilkinson said.

Canada has committed to setting up a knowledge hub where different states can learn from each other in terms of best practices with respect to fisheries management, he said.

“We also recognize that there is capacity building that has to be required and so we’ve made the offer that we’ll work towards exchanges of staff and information with various countries around th...

A global coalition of NGOs working to advance education of children in conflict zones says recent gains in expanding access to education that have allowed millions of Afghan boys and girls to enroll in school are at risk due to growing attacks on students, teachers, and schools.

The numbers of children, particularly girls, who are out of school in Afghanistan are once again rising, according to a report by the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack.

The report entitled Attacks on Education in Afghanistan was released Tuesday to coincide with the Geneva Ministerial Conference on Afghanistan, taking place on Nov. 27 and 28.

“Right now we’re looking at 3.7 million children out of school in Afghanistan, which is a level we haven’t seen since 2002,” said Annie Bodmer-Roy, head of Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns at Save the Children Canada.

Girls make up about 60 per cent of this number or about 2.2 million, Bodmer-Roy said.

“And this increases even more in insecure areas,” said Bodmer-Roy in a phone interview from Ottawa. “So really we’re looking at a country that in general has a lot of security issues but in particular there are insecure areas in places like Kandahar or Uruzgan, where up to 85 per cent of girls are missing out on education.”

ListenEN_Interview_3-20181127-WIE30The Afghan Ministry of Education and international agencies have identified social and cultural attitudes, child marriage, poverty, violence and bullying, lack of educational infrastructure, overcrowding, chronic teacher shortages, and insecurity, as some of the key factors preventing children from going to school, the report says.

But attacks on schools, students and teachers and the military use of schools is the biggest factor of all, Bodmer-Roy said.

Just in the first half of 2018 there have been more attacks on education than in the whole of 2017, she said.

“In fact it’s double what we saw in 2017,” Bodmer-Roy said. “And that just the attacks that we can verify, we think that in reality the number is much higher.”

Attacks increasingly target girls

Afghan school girls receive treatment at a hospital after being poisoned in Kabul August 28, 2010. Seven Afghan school girls were taken to hospital after a suspected gas poisoning attack on their school in the east of Kabul, said Education Ministry official Asif Nang. (Omar Sobhani/REUTERS)

While the attacks on schools in 2018 might have spiked because of the widespread use of schools as polling stations during the recent Afghan elections, there is a growing trend of targeting educational facilities in Afghanistan.

“Over the past six years, the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack has seen a growing proportion of attacks on education in Afghanistan that have targeted girls,” Bodmer-Roy said. “So attacking, for example, girls’ schools, or girls on their way to and from schools, attacking female teachers who are more likely to be educating girls, this is a very significant area of concern for us.”

In conflict or crisis areas worldwide girls are 2.5 times are more likely to be out of school than boys, she said.

“We know that when we educate girls, they are more likely to get a job, to contribute to their communities, they are more likely to put their children through school in the future, and they are more likely to be protected from things like sexual violence in a conflict,” Bodmer-Roy said. “Education in itself is important and it is a right but it is also very protective and it helps to keep children safe.”

Funding education for girls

British Prime Minister Theresa May, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, France's President Emmanuel Macron and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wait for U.S.