My family has a long military history, with?my?grandfathers and great-grandfathers on both sides serving in both the first and second world wars.?My mother and father met in the military?although neither went to war.?My commitment to wanting to help build a strong nation?is partially driven by?the many generations in my family who have been committed?to protecting it.??(My father and grandfather featured here)
And yet, as a Canadian, I have?been extremely blessed?to be able?to?feel?safe in my home.?It was not until I began to travel?internationally?many?years ago?that I started to appreciate that not everyone around?the world?had the same rights and freedoms that I did?or the same standard of living.?Not every system operated with the rule of law,?and you could not always trust law enforcement to help when you were in trouble.?In fact, in some countries, bribes were required to avoid the unwarranted attention of police officers?in broken systems.??
Recently, I had the opportunity to attend and speak at the?Halifax International Security Forum
.?where participants from?around the world came together to talk about security?and human rights in an evolving global landscape.?The opportunity was both a harsh reminder of the many challenges currently?facing our world as well as?the optimism?that we can work together across nations to address them.?My three takeaways:?
- Climate change:?While?we are?very focused?on building solutions to reduce harm in the future, there is much harm that has already been done and is irreparable.?We need to think about resilience in our infrastructure and in our communities and how we will support those that are most impacted.?With?over?2 billion people living within?100km
?of the coast, sea level?rise?risks displacing many,?putting pressure on other communities and countries.?Decisions made on our journey to net-zero need to consider the entire planet and the trade-offs across countries and between land and water.?Representing?Canada’s Ocean Supercluster
?(OSC), I??shared?the important role of the ocean as a carbon sink
and?how?that is changing and has significant implications for net-zero conversations.?My co-panelists talked about the impacts on military forces that are not only dealing with threats abroad but increasingly addressing impacts of natural disasters?within their borders.?In Canada, we have seen this across?many?parts of the country in the last few years with flooding, fire, and snow.?This is not an easy international conversation?with complex considerations?and will require ongoing confidence and trust that all will meet their commitments.??
- Cybersecurity:?Moving?into a virtual world and accelerating digital transformation has?also accelerated cybersecurity risks.?Data is increasingly a weapon of choice
.?Attacks are increasingly sophisticated and targeted.?Attackers can leverage both the public information?you share and work to collect other personal information.?Hackers are targeting?critical infrastructure
?including?health systems
,?and power and utilities
?and operational systems on which nations rely including?financial systems
?and?production systems
.?Each of these attacks causes?different levels?of chaos and costs to?companies and?countries.?As we build digital solutions, we?need to keep?cyber risks high on the agenda and not bolt them in after the fact.?For the OSC,?our digital solutions?include autonomous vehicles, sensors, remote operations, wearables on workers, real-time communications, and the list goes on.??
- Supply chains: Over the last number of years, our supply chains have become increasingly global.?Certain parts of the world have become extremely efficient at providing certain goods?and the rest of the world has become very reliant on those goods to support their activities.?We have seen?through?the pandemic?that those supply chains are not as stable as we might have?previously?believed.?We are also seeing inflation because of shortages in these key inputs.?The lack of semiconductors in the?automotive industry
?is an example of this but the need for semiconductors is not limited to automotive.?This is certainly something that matters to our ocean companies as they work to expand their digital solutions.?Ongoing political instability in parts of the world?as well as climate events?will impact our access to goods beyond the?pandemic. We?need to rethink our global supply chains and rethink the capabilities we build within our borders.??
This is a challenging time for our world and?the issues just described will continue to put pressure on global relationships and institutions.?I have had the opportunity to work in Russia, Hong Kong, the United States and Australia.?My daughter in adopted from Kazakhstan.?While there are many cultural differences,?I believe fundamentally that we?share many similarities as humans around the world – our need to feel connected,?be ourselves,?feel safe,?and?be recognized.?To build back better?and to create the nation we want for our children and our children’s children, we need to be aware of what is happening around our borders?and the role we can play in building a better Canada and?an equitable?world.??
