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Varcoe: 'It produced' – G7 leaders make 148 commitments at Kananaskis summit
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'He (Carney) succeeded in maintaining unity,' French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday in French while speaking to reporters.
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'He held the group together with the elegance and determination that characterize him.'
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By that measure, it largely succeeded.
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For those who ventured close to the gathering, an hour's drive west of Calgary, security was tight, extensive and obvious.
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Officials from the G7 Integrated Safety and Security Group didn't say on Wednesday what the expected security costs would be, or the number of officers involved during the summit.
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But given the previous price tags tied to hosting these events — one G7 watcher estimated the tab at Kananaskis could be near $300 million, although other summits have been higher — was it necessary to shoulder the costs and closure of parts of the popular Rocky Mountain area for security reasons?
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'Without question. And why? Because we're a trade-dependent country,' said Hall Findlay, a former federal MP.
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'Particularly when you have our neighbour to the south (who's) maybe less reliable than we'd thought for the past five decades, we need friends and allies around the world, both for economic as well as security purposes.'
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The G7 summit also saw a series of bilateral one-on-ones between the leaders take place, a type of diplomatic 'speed dating' that conference veterans say is invaluable for first-time attendees.
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Aside from talking with G7 members, Carney also met other country leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, who were invited by Canada to the final day of the gathering.
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With the joint issues statements — including one released Monday regarding the Israel-Iran conflict — and the chair's closing summary, the G7 countries made 148 separate commitments, said John Kirton, director of the G7 Research Group at the University of Toronto.
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He noted that the agreements on wildfires and quantum computing were new and significant for the group.
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Carney also announced Canada would impose further sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, targeting Moscow's 'shadow fleet and energy revenues.'
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'It produced a significant performance with meaningful advances across all of its security, economy, technology and democracy priorities,' Kirton said Wednesday.
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'If you look at substance, the fact that every one (of the statements) was agreed by everybody, of course, is a major achievement this year, given the unique difficulties members anticipated — and have had in the past — with Donald Trump.'
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While Trump left early, he met Carney wearing a pin showing paired U.S. and Canadian flags and talked positively about their discussions.
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For Canada's prime minister, it was also essential to see progress on the trade front with the United States, added Kirton.
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