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Bob Rae named Canadian ambassador to the United Nations – CBC.ca

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Former Ontario premier Bob Rae has been appointed Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations, the Prime Minister’s Office announced Monday.

Rae, who also served as the interim Liberal Party leader between 2011 and 2013, will succeed Marc-André Blanchard as Canada’s representative to the body.

Rae and Blanchard will address the media at 1:30 p.m. ET. CBCNews.ca will carry the remarks live.

The ambassadorial shakeup comes less than a month after Canada failed to secure a temporary seat on the Security Council, losing to Norway and Ireland on the first ballot.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has tapped Rae for other foreign policy-related roles in the past. Rae served as Canada’s special envoy on humanitarian and refugee issues during the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar and Bangladesh.

In an interview with Radio-Canada, the CBC’s French-language service, Rae said he was “very, very honoured” to be picked by Trudeau for the job.

He said his father, Saul Rae, was a career diplomat who also served as Canada’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva and New York between 1972 and 1976.

“It’s in my DNA,” Rae said.

Rae said Canada will be pushing for reforms to the UN at a time when international institutions have been tested by the COVID-19 pandemic. The World Health Organization (WHO), in particular, has faced criticism for its handling of the virus.

“COVID-19 is a revealer — it reveals the weakness and fragility in all our institutions. This will be very much on my mind as we go forward,” Rae said.

“The well-being of the world really depends on a rebuild and a reconstruction of our international institutions, and I think that’s the task ahead for Canada and a great many countries.”

He said while “authoritarianism and nationalism are making a comeback” in some countries, Canada, as a middle power, must support multilateral institutions like the UN.

In his 2009 autobiography, From Protest to Power, Rae recounts growing up the son of a diplomat who worked for the then-fledgling Department of External Affairs.

Rae’s father joined the department at the start of the Second World War — when Canada was trying to be more assertive on the global stage at a time when national interests were still secondary to the country’s place in the British Empire.

“When my dad joined … there were only eight in his entry class,” Rae said. “They all shared certain core views about Canada and its place in the world. The British Tory view of Canada as a colony was rejected outright.”

Rae’s father, who served alongside other diplomatic leaders like former prime minister Lester B. Pearson, was posted to Mexico, North Vietnam, the Netherlands and the U.S. during his time in the foreign service. Rae spent much of his childhood in Washington, D.C. and Geneva during his father’s overseas postings.

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Dolphins will bring in another quarterback, while Tagovailoa deals with concussion

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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The Miami Dolphins will bring in another quarterback while starter Tua Tagovailoa deals with his latest concussion, coach Mike McDaniel said Friday.

For now, Skylar Thompson will be considered the Dolphins’ starter while Tagovailoa is sidelined. Tagovailoa left Thursday night’s 31-10 loss to Buffalo in the third quarter with the third known concussion of his NFL career, all of them coming in the last 24 months.

“The team and the organization are very confident in Skylar,” McDaniel said.

McDaniel said the team has not made any decision about whether to place Tagovailoa on injured reserve. Tagovailoa was expected at the team facility on Friday to start the process of being evaluated in earnest.

“We just have to operate in the unknown and be prepared for every situation,” McDaniel said, noting that the only opinions that will matter to the team will be the ones from Tagovailoa and the medical staff.

McDaniel added that he doesn’t see Tagovailoa playing in Miami’s next game at Seattle on Sept. 22.

“I have no idea and I’m not going to all of a sudden start making decisions that I don’t even see myself involved in the most important parts of,” McDaniel added. “All I’m telling Tua is everyone is counting on you to be a dad and be a dad this weekend. And then we’ll move from there. There won’t be any talk about where we’re going in that regard … none of that will happen without doctors’ expertise and the actual player.”

Tagovailoa was 17 for 25 passing for 145 yards, with one touchdown and three interceptions — one of which was returned for a Buffalo score — when he got hurt. Thompson completed eight of 14 passes for 80 yards.

Thompson said he feels “fully equipped” to run the Dolphins’ offense.

“What’s going to lie ahead, who knows, but man, I’m confident, though,” Thompson said after Thursday’s game. “I feel like I’m ready for whatever’s to come. I’m going to prepare and work hard and do everything I can to lead this team and do my job.”

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Unifor says workers at Walmart warehouse in Mississauga, Ont., vote to join union

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TORONTO – Unifor says workers at a Walmart warehouse in Mississauga, Ont., have voted to join the union.

The union says it’s Walmart’s first warehouse to unionize in Canada.

Unifor national president Lana Payne says the employees stood up for their rights and the union is excited to get to work on their first collective agreement.

Unifor’s campaign at Walmart’s facility began in December 2023.

The vote was held from Sept. 10 to 12.

Unifor represents 315,000 workers across the country.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Canada to donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to combat mpox outbreaks in Africa

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The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.

It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.

Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”

Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.

Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.

A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.

On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.

Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”

But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”

“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.

Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.

Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.

Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.

“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.

“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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