Archiv: Commonwealth of Nations
Technical point for my int’l friends: Trudeau is not “head-of-state,” he is “head-of-gov’t.” As a monarchy within the realm of the UK, Canada’s head-of-state is Elizabeth II, represented in-country by Governor-General Mary Simon. This explains why we have no liberty.
The House: Is it past time Canada had an Indigenous governor general?
Last month, New Zealand appointed the first Indigenous woman to serve as governor general. Dame Cindy Kiro, a well-known children‘s advocate, is the third Māori to hold the post. The first, Sir Paul Reeves, was appointed in 1985.
The federal government is under enormous pressure right now to show some progress on Crown-Indigenous reconciliation — in the wake of this week‘s reports on undocumented deaths at the Kamloops Indian Residential School and fresh calls for Ottawa to move faster on implementing the recommendations of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
St. Kitts and Nevis Marks 37 Years of Independence from Britain
The government and people of St. Kitts and Nevis received numerous well wishes and congratulatory messages on the date, most notably from the State of Palestine, the People and Government of Reconciliation and National Unity of the Republic of Nicaragua, and the President of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel.
As the United Kingdom leaves the EU, Maldives re-joins the Commonwealth
Maldives has re-joined the Commonwealth, bringing the total number of nations in the global organisation to 54, it has been announced.
The change came into effect at midnight on Saturday – just over an hour after the United Kingdom left the European Union.
Artists for Brexit bring you a fascinating commentary on the cultural and economic loss suffered as a result of our drift from the Commonwealth. A remarkable piece by author and journalist, Peter Mason.
Other countries would die for the traditional links we have with the bloc of countries that constitutes the Commonwealth. We have the inside track, based on a historical relationship with its members that – notwithstanding the old tensions of empire – has generally remained friendly and cooperative. Economists have suggested that due to the ‘commonalities’ of language, law and business practice across Commonwealth countries, the costs of each country trading with the other is typically 10-15 per cent lower than when dealing with other nations. Increasingly it has become clear that we’ve been running with the wrong pack.
Zimbabwe Formally Applies to Re-Join Commonwealth
Zimbabwe has formally applied to re-join the Commonwealth, 15 years after leaving the organisation, the Commonwealth Secretariat said.