One of the things that makes our Annual Policy Conference so wonderful is the way in which we are able to bring together seasoned policy professionals, civil society, and engaged youth. We do this through our Student Rapporteur program, which selects some of the area’s best who are studying International Relations at Carleton University and the University of… Continue Reading Policy Professionals, Civil Society, & Youth
A couple of weeks ago, Dan Smith, a keynote speaker for the Group of 78’s 2026 Annual Policy Conference in Ottawa on October 10, wrote a blog post in which he discussed whether the rhetoric used to discuss certain regional conflicts keeps us from acting on them. His post Are ‘forever wars’ forever? may make you re-think how… Continue Reading The Rhetoric of Conflict – is ‘forever’ really forever?
The screening of the film The Veto has been postponed by the organizers from the original September 21 date. When a new date is confirmed, we will post a notice.
Writing in Foreign Affairs on July 24, 2026, University of Chicago political scientist Robert A. Pape argues that the US-Iran war shows that, using cheap drone weaponry made largely from commercially available components, a weaker power can challenge US military dominance, creating market uncertainty that imposes real costs on American and global business interests. The Iran war, he… Continue Reading “The Making and Unmaking of American Dominance”: The Iran War, the Second Precision Revolution and the Leverage of Commercial Uncertainty
In her July 23, 2026, Substack blog, political commentator Heather Cox-Richardson reported on the opaque, unaccountable and mounting war budget of the current US administration. In contrast, she highlighted a 1953 speech by US President Dwight D. Eisenhower, given following the death of Josef Stalin, that forcefully opposed the diversion of tax dollars to military spending. She quotes… Continue Reading A nation’s war expenditures: “spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children”—Dwight Eisenhower via Heather Cox-Richardson
On July 24, 2026, Toronto Star reporter Allan Woods profiled Canadian development expert and former senior CIDA analyst, Dr. Rémy-Claude Beaulieu, and his proposal for a global mobile “Green Helmets” force to take emergency action to “keep the peace with Mother Nature,” as Woods puts it. Dr. Beaulieu’s vision of the initiative includes an international network of centres… Continue Reading The Green Helmets Initiative: Fighting Climate Disasters with NATO’s Budget-Can Canada Lead?
With the important mid-term elections in the United States coming up fast, and the Administration taking a range of steps to tilt the playing field in the GOP’s favour, civil-liberties and democracy advocates are expressing grave concern over Canadian-owned Thomson Reuters’ new $125-million contract to provide US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, with tools and support to… Continue Reading The Thomson Reuters Contract with ICE: What Could Go Wrong?
At Carleton University’s June 2026 Convocation, three MA students with close ties to the Group of 78 graduated from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs. Leah Darbyson, Tierra Habedus-Sorensen, and Savannah Westeinde were all student rapporteurs for G78 at our 2024 annual policy conference on citizen action on climate change. Since 2025, Leah has served as an… Continue Reading Life After Conference Reporting: Three NPSIA Friends Graduate!
Our discussion on Tuesday, June 30 with H.E. Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz Ambassador of Cuba to Canada, the Honourable Senator Rosa Galvez, and MP Gabriel Ste-Marie offered many perspectives that helped us understand the long-standing conflict between the USA and Cuba. Our speakers spoke passionately about the legacy of Canada/Cuba relations and how Canada can continue to support Cuba… Continue Reading How Canada can Advance a Diplomatic Solution to the Cuba Crisis Webinar Live
Writing to Prime Minister Mark Carney and Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand on June 23, 2026, Group of 78 Chair Ted Jackson and Past Chair Roy Culpeper urged the Government of Canada to work with Mexico, Brazil, China and other key nations to provide political and financial support the sweeping economic reforms proposed the Cuban government. The new… Continue Reading G78 to Mark Carney: Support Cuba’s Economic Reforms through Plurilateral Diplomacy, and Do It Now