Justin Trudeau to attend UN General Assembly amid global turbulence
CBC
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to be in New York this week for the 78th meeting of the United Nations General Assembly and the Summit of the Future, amid increasing geopolitical instability around the world.
"Canada will have a leading role in making the world fairer and more prosperous," Trudeau said in a news release last week. "I look forward to working with other leaders to accelerate progress on our shared priorities and build a better future for everyone."
Trudeau is also scheduled to appear on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Monday night. American drag queen and television host RuPaul is scheduled as the other guest on the CBS show that night.
While the prime minister is attending the assembly in New York until Wednesday, the Trudeau government is expected to face its first test in the House of Commons since the NDP ended its supply-and-confidence deal with the Liberals.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre plans to table a motion stating the House has no confidence in the government or the prime minister.
The New Democrats and Bloc Québécois have said they intend to vote against the Conservatives. Their votes will give Trudeau space to focus on the international gathering instead of a possible snap election at home.
The Summit of the Future, announced by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in 2021, is happening on Sunday and Monday ahead of the start of the annual meetings at the General Assembly.
Its goal is to reform the UN, reinvigorate multilateralism, and agree on solutions to new challenges at a time when the global institution has faced criticism for its handling of 21st-century issues, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the war in Gaza.
Guterres urged member nations last week to compromise and approve the "Pact of the Future," a blueprint to address a wide range of global challenges. But there's been pushback from Russia, Saudi Arabia and other countries who object to some of the language around things like climate change and reforming international financial institutions.
Trudeau was scheduled to meet with Guterres on Sunday. Trudeau was also to speak with Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Kathy Hochul, New York State's Democratic governor, earlier in the day.
"While diplomacy is hard and diplomacy about diplomacy is even harder, we can do hard things," said Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, on Wednesday.
"We can think beyond what has been, push ourselves to create a system that meets this moment and the opportunities of the future."
Thomas-Greenfield said the Biden administration supports changes to the makeup of the UN Security Council to make it more inclusive by creating two permanent seats for Africans and a new elected seat for small island developing states.
Canada has been active at the UN since it was created in 1945 and helped draft the UN Charter.