Bob Rae masters the art of reinvention
Five years into his term as Canada's UN Ambassador, Bob Rae says it's been an incredibly busy time fraught with crises, but that it's also been a wonderful opportunity.
Article content
Since the diplomat, lawyer and former politician took up the position in New York during the pandemic in August 2020, the Afghan government collapsed in August 2021, Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and Hamas attacked Israel leading to the war in Gaza in October 2023. There is also now a record number of displaced people in the world.
Article content
Article content
Article content
'It's been an enormously busy time in terms of the crises that happen on an almost daily basis,' Rae says, speaking on the phone from New York.
Article content
However, the 77-year-old remains undaunted, enthusiastic and resilient.
Article content
He's just finished a one-year term as the president of the UN's Economic and Social Council. In addition, he's been involved in talks about development, the situation in the Middle East, and serves as the chairman of the advisory committee on Haiti.
Article content
'It's been fascinating and extraordinarily rewarding for me,' he says, adding that he feels like parts of his life have come full circle.
Article content
In fact, his father Saul Rae was Canada's UN ambassador in the 1970s when Bob Rae was studying law at the University of Toronto.
Article content
Bob Rae was born in Ottawa and as the son of a career diplomat grew up in the capital, London, Washington and Geneva before doing a BA in history at UofT, a master's of philosophy at the University of Oxford and a bachelor of laws at UofT.
Article content
'Our life revolved around global affairs and the UN and this has been a great opportunity to connect all these strands in my past and current life.'
Article content
He says his parents Lois and Saul Rae were a big influence.
Article content
What's helped him succeed?
Article content
'The main thing that I think has helped me is that I had an early setback in my life when I was leaving university and wasn't sure what I wanted to do and I went into a period of anxiety and depression. I had a lot of help from people getting through that.
Article content
'I think learning how to deal with setbacks, how to bounce back and keep going has been a very important part of my life. I haven't always been successful politically and I've had to reinvent myself several times … I think a lot of those life lessons have been really important.'
Article content
Over the course of his career, he's worked as a lawyer, taught and has been elected 11 times to provincial and federal parliaments. He served as the premier of Ontario from 1990 to 1995, forming the province's first New Democratic government and he was the interim leader of the federal Liberals from 2011 to 2013.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Globe and Mail
28 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
Israeli protesters demand ceasefire, hostage deal as Hamas rejects Israel's relocation plan
Palestinian militant group Hamas said on Sunday that Israel's plan to relocate residents from Gaza City constitutes a 'new wave of genocide and displacement' for hundreds of thousands of residents in the area. The group said the planned deployment of tents and other shelter equipment by Israel into southern Gaza was a 'blatant deception.' The Israeli military has said it is preparing to provide tents and other equipment starting from Sunday ahead of its plan to relocate residents from combat zones to the south of the enclave 'to ensure their safety.' Hamas said in a statement that the deployment of tents under the guise of humanitarian purposes is a blatant deception intended to 'cover up a brutal crime that the occupation forces prepare to execute.' Israel prepares to move Palestinians to southern Gaza ahead of military offensive, as Israelis call for end of war Protesters in Israel demanding a hostage deal escalated their campaign Sunday with a one-day nationwide strike that blocked roads and closed businesses, as police blasted crowds with water cannons and made dozens of arrests. The 'day of stoppage' was organized by two groups representing some of the families of hostages and bereaved families, weeks after militant groups released videos of hostages and Israel announced plans for a new offensive. Protesters, who fear further fighting could endanger the 50 hostages believed to remain in Gaza, only about 20 of whom are thought to be alive, chanted: 'We don't win a war over the bodies of hostages.' Protesters gathered at dozens of points throughout Israel, including outside politicians' homes, military headquarters and on major highways, where they were sprayed with water cannons as they blocked lanes and lit bonfires that cloaked roads in smoke. Some restaurants and theatres were closed in solidarity. Police said they had arrested 32 as part of the nationwide demonstration – one of the fiercest since the uproar over six hostages found dead in Gaza last September. 'Military pressure doesn't bring hostages back – it only kills them,' former hostage Arbel Yehoud said at a demonstration in Tel Aviv's hostage square. 'The only way to bring them back is through a deal, all at once, without games.' 'Today, we stop everything to save and bring back the hostages and soldiers. Today, we stop everything to remember the supreme value of the sanctity of life,' said Anat Angrest, mother of hostage Matan Angrest. 'Today, we stop everything to join hands – right, left, centre and everything in between.' Protesters at highway intersections handed out yellow ribbons, the symbol that represents the hostages, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which organized the stoppage, said. Even though Israel's largest labour union, Histadrut, ultimately did not join Sunday's action, strikes of this magnitude are relatively rare in Israel. Many businesses and municipalities decided independently to strike. Still, an end to the conflict does not appear near. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has demanded the immediate release of the hostages but is balancing competing pressures, haunted by the potential for mutiny within his coalition. Far-right members of his cabinet insist they won't support any deal that allows Hamas to retain power. The last time Israel agreed to a ceasefire that released hostages, they threatened to topple Netanyahu's government. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Sunday called the stoppage 'a bad and harmful campaign that plays into Hamas' hands, buries the hostages in the tunnels and attempts to get Israel to surrender to its enemies and jeopardize its security and future.' National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir in a statement accused protesters of trying to 'weaken Israel.' Like Smotrich he said the strike 'strengthens Hamas and delays the return of the hostages.' Hospitals and eyewitnesses in Gaza reported at least 17 aid-seekers had been killed by Israeli forces on Sunday, including nine awaiting aid trucks close to the Morag corridor. Hamza Asfour said he was just north of the corridor awaiting a convoy, when Israeli snipers fired, first to disperse the crowds, then from tanks hundreds of meters (yards) away. He saw two people with gunshot wounds – one in the chest and other in the shoulder. 'It's either to take this risk or wait and see my family die of starvation,' he said. 'There is no other option.' The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which runs the distribution points, said there was no gunfire Sunday 'at or near' its sites, which sit at the end of aid truck routes. Israel's military did not immediately respond to questions about strikes in the three areas. Israel's air and ground war has already killed tens of thousands of people in Gaza and displaced most of the population. The United Nations is warning that levels of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza are at their highest since the war began. The Hamas-led attack in 2023 killed around 1,200 people in Israel. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed 61,897 people in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry, which does not specify how many were fighters or civilians but says around half were women and children. On Sunday, two children died of malnutrition related causes in Gaza, bringing the total over the last 24 hours to seven, according to the ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The U.N. and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on casualties. Israel disputes its figures but has not provided its own. Inside Israel, the movement to stop Netanyahu's Gaza war is gaining momentum While demonstrators in Israel demanded a ceasefire, Israel began preparing for an invasion of Gaza City and other populated parts of the besieged strip, aimed at destroying Hamas. The military body that coordinates its humanitarian aid to Gaza said Sunday that the supply of tents to the territory would resume. COGAT said it would allow the United Nations to resume importing tents and shelter equipment into Gaza ahead of plans to forcibly evacuate people from combat zones 'for their protection.' The majority of assistance has been blocked from entering Gaza since Israel imposed a total blockade in March after a ceasefire collapsed when Israel restarted its offensive. Deliveries have since partially resumed, though aid organizations say the flow is far below what is needed. Some have accused Israel of 'weaponizing aid' through blockades and rules they say turn humanitarian assistance into a tool of its political and military goals. Israeli airstrikes hit Yemen's capital Sunday, escalating strikes on Iran-backed Houthis, who since the war began have fired missiles at Israel and targeted ships in the Red Sea. Both the IDF and a Houthi-run television station in Yemen announced the strikes. Al-Masirah Television said they targeted a power plant in the southern district of Sanhan, sparking a fire and knocking it out of service, the Yemeni station said. Israel's military said Sunday's strikes targeted energy infrastructure it claimed was being used by the Houthis, and were launched in response to missiles and drones aimed at Israel. While some projectiles have breached its missile defences – notably during its 12-day war with Iran in June – Israel has intercepted the vast majority of missiles launched from Yemen. With a file from Reuters.
Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
Social justice advocate Susan Eng fought for equity in Canadian policing
Susan Eng brought a steely resolve to the many campaigns she waged in the fight for social equity. But her unflinching public demeanour could be cracked by an old and heavily creased piece of paper that spoke to an unjust chapter of her family's history: her father's Chinese head-tax certificate. In January, 2006, just days before the federal election, Ms. Eng spoke at an event at Toronto's City Hall to demand a parliamentary apology and financial compensation for the tax imposed on Chinese immigrants from 1885 to 1923, and the subsequent ban on Chinese immigration that lasted until 1947. In the audience were many Canadian luminaries who were invited to ensure continuing media interest in redress for the Chinese head tax, which was an election issue. 'Susan was the one who was hosting and also sharing her personal story,' says Amy Go, a prominent Chinese-Canadian activist. Ms. Eng looked out into the crowd, she was overwhelmed by her feelings about her father and paused to regain her composure. 'That was the only time in more than three decades of working with Susan and watching her in public that I have ever seen her get emotional,' says Ms. Go, who was also one of Ms. Eng's close friends. 'She was always able to respond quickly, and she was so quick-witted and so composed. And that was the only time that I saw Susan actually stop – when she talked about her father and when she talked about him having the head-tax certificate sewn to his shirt' for fear of being deported if he was caught without it. Ms. Eng died on July 26 after a lengthy battle with cancer. She was 72. She eventually received the national apology she had demanded alongside other Chinese Canadians, including other families who had paid the head tax. A lawyer and tireless advocate for civil liberties, Ms. Eng directed her passion for social justice to a number of causes over several decades: She increased oversight of the Toronto police, fought relentlessly for the rights of seniors, and stood up for minorities including the LGBTQ and racialized communities. 'Susan was just very cool. … Some people may have thought she was intimidating' but injustices touched her deeply, says Ms. Go, who is president of the Chinese Canadian National Council for Social Justice. She adds that Ms. Eng had 'the ability to connect with others, the ability to see injustice and violations and wanting to do something.' Ms. Eng was the first Chinese Canadian to head the Metropolitan Toronto Police Services Board. She was a co-founder of the Chinese Canadian National Council for Social Justice. And she was the vice-president of advocacy for the Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP) where, for eight years, she spoke out on behalf of racialized and low-income seniors and pressed the government for changes to the Canada Pension Plan that have helped all Canadians. Ms. Eng was born in Toronto on Aug. 24, 1952, and attended Jarvis Collegiate, where she was an excellent student. She went on to obtain a law degree from Osgoode Hall, specializing in the complex field of taxation, and was one of the few Asian Canadian lawyers of her generation to make partner at a major Toronto law firm. In 1984, she ran for a seat on Toronto's City Council. At one of the all-candidates' meetings, fellow candidate and lawyer Peter Maloney was asked about his stance on abortion. He replied that, as a male and as a gay man, he was unlikely ever to be required to make decisions about the procedure. Ms. Eng 'came up to me after that meeting and said, 'I really like that answer that you gave,' and we discussed it,' Mr. Maloney says. Neither of them won the council seat but they became long-time close friends. 'She was a powerful intellect,' Mr. Maloney says. 'She was an empath, always concerned about her effect on other people but not shy of perhaps rubbing someone the wrong way.' That fearlessness was on public display after her appointment, in 1989, to sit on what was then called the Metropolitan Toronto Police Services Board. At her swearing-in ceremony, Ms. Eng refused to pledge an oath to the Queen, and instead promised to be loyal to Canadians. She was named chair of the police board in 1991 and served in that position until 1995, earning praise for her work to increase public oversight and expand the cultural and linguistic diversity of police services. But she also made some powerful enemies on the force who did not appreciate the change that was being demanded of them. Ms. Eng was believed to be the target of unauthorized eavesdropping by police for several years. At one point, Mr. Maloney learned his own phones were being wiretapped, ostensibly because one of his clients was facing drug charges. He let Ms. Eng know about the surveillance and the two ended telephone communication for several months until Mr. Maloney was informed that the taps on his lines had been lifted. 'The suspicion always existed that one of the benefits of wiretapping me, using that as an excuse, is they wanted to listen to our conversations,' Mr. Maloney says. 'Apparently, we were followed constantly when we were having lunch together or dinner together.' When Ms. Eng was head of Toronto's police services board, the force adopted the first-ever telephone translation services for 911 calls in over 140 languages. She also pushed for mandatory reporting of each time an officer unholstered their gun. 'I believe Susan became the template for today's civilian governance of police in Ontario and, dare I say, across Canada,' Hamlin Grange, a diversity and inclusion strategist and the founder of DiversiPro, said in a tribute posted after Ms. Eng's death. 'She inspired generations of civic leaders and activists who sought reforms in policing. Her tenure was defined by her insistence on accountability, transparency and equity. She was one of the earliest public officials in Canada to speak openly about systemic racism in policing and the need for reforms to address the disproportionate impact on racialized communities.' Ms. Eng was an outspoken member and advocate for social-justice organizations including the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, the Urban Alliance on Race Relations and the YWCA of Greater Toronto. She worked with the Coalition Against Homophobia in the 1990s and helped to promote access to health care for racialized people and newcomers to Canada who were living with HIV. Throughout her life, Ms. Eng was deeply committed to the Chinese community. In the 1990s, she helped Dr. Joseph Wong establish the Yee Hong Centre for Geriatric Care, the first nursing home for Chinese Canadian seniors, which now has multiple locations across the Greater Toronto Area. She joined the Chinese Canadian National Council (CCNC) in 1980 after a documentary on the CTV news magazine program W5 portrayed Canadian-born Chinese students as unfairly taking away prized placements from non-Chinese Canadians in professional university courses like medicine and dentistry. The CCNC brought a class-action suit in the 1980s seeking redress for the Chinese Head Tax and Exclusion Act. The case was dismissed but the anger of people like Ms. Eng, whose family had been so deeply affected by the racist policy, continued to simmer. In an opinion piece titled Tell It To My Father, which she wrote for The Globe and Mail in 2002, Ms. Eng said: 'No amount of apology will remove my pain on discovering his head-tax certificate after his death. He had kept it folded in his wallet for more than 50 years because the stamp on the back read: 'It is necessary that this certificate be carefully preserved as it is of value as a means of identification.' No one told him that there was now a Charter of Rights and Freedoms, that he could not be stopped on the street and asked to justify his right to remain in Canada.' Ms. Eng revitalized the movement for head-tax redress in the early 2000s, and six months after the event at Toronto City Hall, Prime Minister Stephen Harper delivered a formal apology in Parliament. Carol Bream, another long-time friend, recalls a visit she and her husband paid to Ms. Eng's home in Toronto. 'At one point she showed me the head-tax certificate,' Ms. Bream says. 'And both of us started to cry, because that was just such an unbelievable thing that the people had to suffer through.' Ms. Eng's work on behalf of the Chinese community continued to her final days. From her hospital bed, she was in discussions with Ms. Go about documenting the history of Chinese activism in Canada. Part of a close-knit family, she also organized weekly dinners for her siblings and their children at her mother's house in Toronto. To the end, says Mr. Maloney, she minimized her own suffering from cancer to soothe the anxieties of family members and friends. James Lockyer, the Toronto lawyer and prominent social justice advocate who was a close friend of Ms. Eng's for more than a decade, calls her a pioneer. 'Her time as chair of the Toronto police services board was fearless and unprecedented in the face of huge opposition from police chiefs and the police union, and she should always be seen as the role model for police accountability,' Mr. Lockyer says. 'She was a magnificent advocate who always achieved her cause. … We will miss her making it a better world for us all.' Ms. Eng leaves her mother, two brothers and sister, and her cherished nieces and nephews. You can find more obituaries from The Globe and Mail here. To submit a memory about someone we have recently profiled on the Obituaries page, e-mail us at obit@
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Facing tariffs, canola farmers call on the Canadian government for help
Nichole Neubauer, a farmer in southeastern Alberta, is calling on the federal government to do more to back Canada's agriculture industry, as she said she's at risk of losing thousands of dollars on her canola crops due to new tariffs from China. "It really comes down to government policy and having our folks in Ottawa stand up for our bread-and-butter industry, understanding that agriculture is fundamental," said Neubauer. Neubauer and her husband Mark, who own and operate Neubauer Farms 25 kilometres east of Medicine Hat, are among more than 900 canola producers in southeastern Alberta who watched prices fall after China introduced a 75.8 per cent tariff on Canadian canola seed earlier this week. The new levy comes a year after Beijing opened an anti-dumping investigation into Canadian canola. Dumping is a trade practice that sees exports from one country flood a foreign nation's market with goods at prices lower than their domestic cost, undercutting local industry. Canada has denied participating in dumping, with politicians and farmers saying canola growers follow rules-based trade. China's probe followed Canada's 100 per cent tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles, and a 25 per cent levy on Chinese steel and aluminum. Chinese tariffs on Canadian canola have farmers bracing for the worst 2 days ago After China placed 100 per cent tariffs on Canadian canola meal and oil earlier this year, the latest tax means all Canadian canola products face fees when shipped into China. Rick White, president and CEO of the Canadian Canola Growers Association, said China's tariff "will have an immediate and substantive impact" on farmers' ability to sell their canola. "Canadian farmers are globally competitive and if a solution is not found swiftly, the impact will be quickly felt on our farms and in our rural communities," said White. The industry contributes more than $43 billion annually to the Canadian economy, and employs around 200,000 people, according to the growers association. 'A wing and a prayer' Canola has been a core part of the crop rotation at Neubauer Farms since the early 2000s. It's an expensive crop to put in the ground, but it's one that can pay off. In any given year, canola producers deal with varying weather conditions, like drought or early frost, that can cause problems for their crops. That's part of farming, explained Neubauer, and producers have tools they can use to "mitigate and manage those risks." But how Ottawa establishes and maintains trade relationships with other countries is out of their control. "The part about agriculture that's so challenging is, up front, you put out hundreds of thousands of dollars just to get the crop in, and you're doing that on a bit of a wing and a prayer that there's going to be something to put in the bin at the end of it all," said Neubauer. "You really need to count on knowing that there's going to be a market for it. And at this point in time, we will harvest our canola, it'll go in a bin and it'll just sit there and we won't sell it." Neubauer said selling her farm's canola product under the current trade conditions would result in a "significant loss" of $40,000 to $50,000 to the family farm. 'Gut punch' Alberta farmer Alan Hampton described China's tariffs as a "gut punch" and agrees with Neubauer that Ottawa needs to work swiftly to find a solution. "Because it's a political issue created by the federal government, I think it's their responsibility to come to canola producers to get up to some solutions," said Hampton, who also serves as an Alberta Canola regional director for southeastern Alberta. "If you're going to create the problem, you better give out the solution to solve it." As the tariff came into force Thursday, Prime Minister Mark Carney said he is considering measures to support farmers across Canada. Carney said he and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe agreed to continue talking with agriculture groups about possible options, but didn't reveal any details. Carney said Thursday that Canada will advance talks with China, while also aiming to diversify its trade partners. 'Investment in the future' China is the second-largest market for Canadian canola, with exports of seed, oil and meal valued at $4.9 billion in 2024, according to the Canola Council of Canada. Canola seed accounts for about three quarters of those exports. Andre Harpe, chair of the Alberta Canola Producers Commission, said it's part of a long, mostly healthy trading relationship between Canada and China that the federal government should try to restore. "I would tell them to go back to the table… and talk to the Chinese government and let's see how this can be resolved," said Harpe. Ottawa should also invest in domestic solutions, like the renewable fuel industry, that will buy from canola producers, said Harpe. Canola seeds can be heated and crushed to extract oil that can be used to produce biodiesel for vehicles, and glycerin for the production of soaps, cosmetics and pharmacenuticals. "It can be done fairly quickly and would be a great long-term solution and keep the industry stable for years to come," said Harpe. "Not only would it help Canadian farmers, but it would help the Canadian economy." Harpe noted a new Imperial Oil renewable diesel project near Edmonton could also be part of the solution. He said the facility at full capacity could take about half of the canola seed Canada sends to China in a year.
