Moderator: Margaret Huber, Speakers: Peggy Mason and Daryl Copeland
On June 17, Canada lost its bid for a seat on the UN Security Council, the second time in a decade that it has tried and failed to do so. This event has stoked debate about Canada’s standing in the UN, and much self-searching about the role Canada plays (or should play) on the world stage. The world of 2020 is fundamentally different from the postwar world of 1950 when the foundations of Canada’s foreign policy were laid. Lamentably, the threat of nuclear annihilation remains. But in addition, the climate crisis poses an additional existential threat. And Canada is no longer the leading peacekeeper and aid donor that it once was. The Canadian foreign service is understaffed and under-resourced to meet the challenges of today. All that being so, a review of Canada’s foreign policy is overdue. This webinar will take stock of emerging global and national realities, along with Canada’s international aspirations and capabilities, in thinking about the shape of foreign policy in the decades ahead. Just as important, perhaps, it will consider how a sweeping review of our foreign policy should be structured, to make it open and inclusive, and not simply a dialogue among foreign policy experts.

On February 6, 2020, just 7 sitting days into Canada’s 43rd Parliament, and a week and a half after the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg confirmed Canada’s first case of Covid-19, I launched a Senate Inquiry into finding the right pathways and actions for Canada and Canadians to meet our net zero carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions targets in order to slow, arrest and hopefully reverse human- caused climate change, to ensure a healthy planet, a healthy society, a healthy economy and a healthy democracy.

During our June 23rd Group of 78 virtual gathering, I will highlight the intention behind the launch of the inquiry, the substance of my speech, the contributions of my fellow senators and ambitions for amplifying the conversation and its impact.

Drug coverage in Canada is a patchwork; an inequitable inefficient and unsustainable patchwork with no coherence or purpose. Some people think that we can solve the problem by adding more patches, but the core of the problem is that it is a patchwork. For the working population, access to medicines is still organized as privileges offered by employers to their employees. Universal pharmacare would not only provide better access to needed prescription drugs, but also eliminate waste, ensure value-for-money and help improve drug safety and appropriate prescribing. Opponents fear that a universal pharmacare plan would ration drugs, and impede drug access for some patients. However, these claims misunderstand the reality of drug coverage, pricing and access. Opponents propose, instead, to “fill the gap” of current drug coverage by implementing catastrophic coverage, which would serve commercial interests without maximizing health outcomes for the Canadian population. In spite of overwhelming evidence and consensus in the academic community in favour of universal pharmacare, the battle is far from over.