茄子直播

Pearson is back in favour but international role he fashioned for Canada is lagging: Globe and Mail op-ed

Today marks the 60th anniversary of Lester Bowles Pearson being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, recognized for advocating a United Nations peacekeeping force as a way to defuse the Suez Canal crisis.

Pearson, Canada鈥檚 14th prime minister and University of Toronto alumnus, continues to be heralded for his role in global diplomacy. In a June speech to Parliament, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland championed him for being "the great Canadian, perhaps best known for advancing the cause of humanitarian internationalism."

And at 茄子直播 this fall, a new scholarship for international students bears his name.  The Lester B. Pearson International Scholarships recognize exceptional academic achievement, creativity, leadership potential and community involvement, and covers tuition, books, incidental fees and residence costs for four years.

Read more about this year's Pearson Scholars

鈥淭he need for Mr. Pearson's statecraft [today] is real,鈥 Andrew Cohen, author of Extraordinary Canadians: Lester B. Pearson, . 鈥淎s leading democracies are in retreat or repose 鈥 the United States withdrawing from the world, Britain withdrawing from Europe, France and Germany looking inward 鈥 Canada is well-positioned to seize the day.鈥

But, Cohen writes, the federal government may honour him, but they don鈥檛  follow his example.  鈥 Instead, we praise the man, but ignore his method, heralding Mr. Pearson more than Pearsonianism,鈥 Cohen writes. 鈥淲e oppose global warming and accept Syrian refugees, yes, but shrink from innovative multilateralism, robust peacekeeping and generous foreign assistance.鈥

Topics

The Bulletin Brief logo

Subscribe to The Bulletin Brief

UTC