The Importance Of Peacekeeping

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An answer to this question requires a probe of Canadian attitudes to see if they match Canada's historical and present contributions. For many Canadians, peacekeeping conjures up images of heroic actions in tragic circumstances: a soldier rescuing a child during a firefight or extracting a hapless person from a minefield; a medic mending the wounds of an aging refugee; a pilot flying in desperately-needed supplies while under fire from the ground; or soldiers patroling in no-man's land to keep combatants apart. Peacekeeping is about protecting people in mortal danger, providing hope in almost hopeless situations and bringing peace and stability to faraway war-torn lands. It is about self-sacrifice and world-service. These notions of courage and service resonate with the Canadian public. The support for peacekeeping has been so strong for so long that peacekeeping has become a celebrated part of what Canada is as a nation and even who Canadians are as a people. Though some commentators, such Liberal-leadership hopeful Michael Ignatieff, bemoan the "peacekeeping paradigm," it remains an important part of the Canadian national identity. The evidence of this national embrace of peacekeeping is extensive. Almost 90 per cent of Canadians believe that Canada should…show more content…
He wanted to keep Canada away from the fires of conflict in a turbulent world dominated by great powers. St. Laurent, an ardent internationalist, and several of his cabinet colleagues threatened to resign if Canada withdrew from the UN's Korea Commission, so there was little the aging King could do. The next year St. Laurent, who had declared "the UN's vocation is Canada's vocation," became prime minister. For him, the lessons of the League and World War II were clear: the rule of law and order, and justice in the world depended on a strong UN strongly supported by its

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