The World Won’t Wait: Why Canada Needs to Rethink Its International Policies, by Roland Paris and Taylor Owen, eds.
| Published date | 01 June 2017 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0020702017709981 |
| Author | Daryl Copeland |
| Date | 01 June 2017 |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
when combined with the limited use of the waterway, render it a failure; ‘‘in hind-
sight the project should be considered a mistake’’ (207).
Certainly there was a cost, the arrival of invasive species and the loss of one-
sixth of the small Mohawk community of Kahnawake, across from Montreal,
perhaps being the greatest, but the other ecological damage seems relatively
small. The destruction of villages and portions of villages along the St. Lawrence
in Ontario, with the displaced forced to move to new towns designed by outsiders,
was highly disruptive, even when a fair number of villagers were allowed to bring
their houses with them, but everyone was housed. The invasive species were largely
the result of the failure of the two national governments to force ships to empty
their bilges before entering the St. Lawrence, not of the existence of the Seaway.
In weighing all these factors, a good case can be made for the building of
the Seaway even if, in hindsight, it could have been handled better, although at
greater cost.
Overall this is a well-researched account and, if some of its conclusions can be
challenged, they are, nevertheless, thought provoking, surely the mark of a suc-
cessful book.
Roland Paris and Taylor Owen, eds.
The World Won’t Wait: Why Canada Needs to Rethink Its International Policies
Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2016. 228pp. $60.00 (cloth)
ISBN: 9781–4426–2697–3
Reviewed by: Daryl Copeland, visiting professor, Diplomatic Academy of Vienna; former
Canadian diplomat, daryl.copeland@guerrilladiplomacy.com
The government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has committed itself to an
activist international agenda. That said, with a beaten-down, reamed-out public
service still recovering after a decade of ideologically driven neglect and abuse
under the Harper Conservatives, not much new thinking is coming up through
the bureaucracy. This is hardly unexpected. How can a patient who has been on life
support for many years, with limbs emaciated, reflexes dulled and muscles atro-
phied, suddenly get up and run a marathon?
Enter Professors Paris (University of Ottawa) and Owen (University of British
Columbia). In addressing the policy and analytical vacuum, they present ideas
generated by ‘‘some of the country’s brightest ‘next generation’ thinkers and
most experienced policy practitioners.’’ All twelve authors are believed to ‘‘share
the editors’ view that Canada needs to pursue a comprehensive, constructive and
ambitious international strategy’’ (vii).
The papers, originally presented at the Ottawa Forum in May 2014, offer a
sweeping critique of the Conservative government’s disastrous stewardship of
Canada’s place in the world. The anthology’s core argument is that in a rapidly
changing global environment, Canada has failed to keep up. Performance must be
improved.
Book Reviews 291
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