Canadian Global Affairs Institute

    SOURCE:  Wikipedia, captured 2020-08-13

  • Abbreviation: Global Affairs
  • Formation: 2000, Calgary, Alberta
  • Type: Research Institute, Think Tank
  • Purpose: To be a catalyst for innovative Canadian global engagement
  • Motto: "Making sense of our complex world."
  • Headquarters: Calgary, Alberta, Canada  |  Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
  • Affiliations: The School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary
  • Revenue (2019): $1,091,749
  • Expenses (2019): $1,225,333 (deficit: $133,584)
  • Website: CGAI.ca
  • Formerly called: Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute (CDFAI)

  • See also:

      Canadian_Global_Affairs_Institute-financials-2019.png

      Canadian Global Affairs Institute: 2018-2019 financials. Source:
      CGAI 2019 Annual Report (pdf):  online  |  local copy
      CGAI 2019 Financial Statements (pdf): online  |  local copy

    • [2017-05-02] Meet The Right-Wing Think Tank [Canadian Global Affairs Institute] Driving Canadian Policy Toward War.
      A registered "charity" with buckets of donations from arms manufacturers and other corporate sources is aggressively trying to push Canadian foreign policy further towards militarism and the use of violence. And the right-wing Canadian Global Affairs Institute seems to be growing in influence.

        Machiavellian Public Policy Influence | Attacks on Journalists

        Beyond the media work most think tanks pursue, the Canadian Global Affairs Institute expends considerable effort influencing news agencies. Since 2002 the Canadian Global Affairs Institute has operated an annual military journalism course together with the University of Calgary's Centre for Military and Strategic Studies. A dozen Canadian journalism students receive scholarships to the nine-day program, which includes a media-military theory component and visits to armed forces units.

        ... Along with the Conference of Defence Associations, the Canadian Global Affairs Institute gives out the annual Ross Munro Media Award recognizing a "journalist who has made a significant contribution to understanding defence and security issues." The winner receives a handsome statuette, a gala dinner attended by Ottawa VIPs and a $2,500 prize. The political objective of the award is to reinforce the militarist culture among reporters who cover the subject.

        Journalist training, the Ross Munro award and Canadian Global Affairs Institute reports / commentators are a positive way of shaping the discussion of military matters. But CGAI also employs a stick. In detailing an attack against colleague Lee Berthiaume, Ottawa Citizen military reporter David Pugliese pointed out that it's "not uncommon for the site to launch personal attacks on journalists covering defence issues. It seems some Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute [CDFAI -- CGAI's predecessor] 'fellows' don't like journalists who ask the government or the Department of National Defence too many probing questions. ... Last year I had one of the CDFAI 'fellows' write one of the editors at the Citizen to complain about my lack of professionalism on a particular issue. ... The smear attempt was all done behind my back but I found out about it. That little stunt backfired big time when I showed the Citizen editor that the CDFAI 'fellow' had fabricated his claims about me."

        Military Contractor Funding

        While not exactly forthcoming about its funders, the Canadian Global Affairs Institute has received some military backing. The Canadian Forces identified CGAI's predecessor, the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute, under the rubric of "defence-related organization and defence and foreign policy think tanks." DND's Security and Defence Forum provided funding to individuals who pursued a year-long internship with the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute and CGAI has held numerous joint symposiums with DND, NATO and NORAD.

        The Canadian Global Affairs Institute has received financial backing from arms contractors. General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin Canada, as well as Edge Group, C4i, Com Dev, ENMAX, SMART Technologies, the Defense News Media Group and Canadian Council of Chief Executives have all supported CGAI.

        Beyond weapons makers, the Canadian Global Affairs Institute has wealthy patrons and ties within the corporate world. Rich militarist Frederick Mannix helped found the registered charity, and recent directors include the CEO of IAMGOLD Steve Letwin, Royal Bank Financial Group executive Robert B. Hamilton and ATCO director Bob Booth.

        A bastion of pro-corporate, militarist, thinking, the Canadian Global Affairs Institute is increasingly influential in shaping the foreign policy discussion in this country. Canadians who disagree with militarism, who wish for diplomacy over war, and who support a "Do Unto Others as We Would Have Them Do Unto Us" foreign policy must raise their voices loudly and clearly so that we, too, are heard by government.

      • [2016-07-22]:  Canadian think tank under fire for accepting donations from arms maker

          A high-profile Canadian think tank that just published a paper defending Canada's controversial $15-billion combat-vehicle sale to Saudi Arabia recently accepted donations from defence contractor General Dynamics -- the parent of the arms maker in this export contract.

          At least four of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute's "fellows," or affiliated academics, have also written columns this year arguing in favour of the deal to sell weaponized combat vehicles to Riyadh [Saudi Arabia] in publications from The Globe and Mail to iPolitics.ca to Legion Magazine. The Canadian Global Affairs Institute also published a piece in its quarterly publication "The Dispatch," with the same thrust, called "The Saudi Arms Deal and the Inconvenient Truth."

          While the Calgary-based Canadian Global Affairs Institute (CGAI) acknowledges it accepted money from General Dynamics to help sponsor an Ottawa symposium in May 2016, it won't divulge precise details of the corporate or major individual contributions it receives annually. The Canadian Global Affairs Institute's 2015 financial statement reports $735,520 in donations and $201,184 in grants and project funding.

          ... The CGAI bills itself as "dedicated to enhancing Canada's role in the world by stimulating awareness and debate among Canadians about our nation's defence and foreign policies."

          A late-June 2016 policy paper published by the CGAI -- "Canada and Saudi Arabia: A Deeply Flawed but Necessary Partnership" -- argued in favour of proceeding with the $15-billion Saudi contract. It said Canada would gain an "abstract moral benefit" for cancelling the deal but incur "concrete short-term material losses," and hurt its long-term relationship with Arab states in the Persian Gulf regions and its relations with Saudi Arabia.

          "The LAV sale smells foul: providing advanced weapons to a regime with an atrocious human-rights performance is not a decision to be taken lightly. A sober weighing of its pros and cons and of how it fits in the broader partnership between Saudi Arabia and the West, however, leads to the assessment that the government is right to uphold the deal. Ultimately, Canada must deal with the Saudi Arabia that is, not with the one it wishes would be," Canadian Global Affairs Institute Fellow Thomas Juneau, a former Department of National Defence analyst, wrote in the paper.

          General Dynamics Land Systems Canada, the company that assembles the weaponized combat vehicles in London, Ont., has remained largely silent during the public debate over the Saudi sale, leaving it to others to make the case instead.

          While the CGAI won't lay out details of the corporate and major individual contributions it receives, the logos of several sponsors appear in publications such as its quarterly The Dispatch. These include the Edge Group, which CGAI staff describe as a holding company for the Shooting Edge, a Calgary-based firearms and tactical equipment dealer and indoor shooting range. Another corporate supporter is Calgary-based C4i, whose products include battlefield command-simulation software with regional offices including one in Riyadh. Other logos of corporate supporters displayed on some CGAI publications include Enbridge, KPMG, the RBC Foundation and Iamgold Corp., a Toronto-based international gold producer.

          Asked why the group takes money from a defence contractor such as General Dynamics, David Bercuson, the CGAI's acting president and the director of the University of Calgary's Centre for Military Studies, says the Canadian Global Affairs Institute needs money. "They don't do anything illegal. There is no reason why we shouldn't take money from General Dynamics."

    The Canadian Global Affairs Institute (CGAI) is an independent, non-partisan research institute based in Calgary with offices in Ottawa. Incorporated as a charitable organization in 2000, the institute pursues new ideas to focus the national debate and understanding of Canada's international policies with the ultimate aim of ensuring a more globally engaged Canada. The Canadian Global Affairs Institute believes that doing so enhances Canadian security and prosperity. The Canadian Global Affairs Institute is dedicated to educating Canadians, and particularly those who have leadership roles in shaping Canadian foreign policy, about the importance of Canada being proactive in world affairs with tangible diplomatic, military and aid assets.

    Activities

    The Dispatch

    The Canadian Global Affairs Institute produces a quarterly newsletter called The Dispatch. The Dispatch invites Canadian Global Affairs Institute fellows to provide insight on international issues of relevance to Canada.

    Strategic Studies Working Group

    In May 2008, the Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies (CISS) folded its operations into the CIC as the Strategic Studies Working Group (SSWG).

    The Strategic Studies Working Group (SSWG) is a partnership between the Canadian Global Affairs Institute and the Canadian International Council (CIC), which incorporates the former Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies. The SSWG is administered by the Canadian Global Affairs Institute which also conducts research and produces publications on security and defence issues on behalf of the partnership. All projects undertaken by the SSWG are first approved by CIC and are co-published or co e-published according to CIC standards.

    The SSWG has begun to host E-Conferences on issues related to defence and security. The e-conferences are structured to take place over a number of weeks, with each week having a specific topic. The e-conferences include regular commentaries by academics and practitioners, Twitter Q&A's, live chats and major articles placed in national media.

    • The Future of Fighting conference focused on what the Canadian Forces might look like in the coming decade to reflect the changing funding and combat environment.

    • The Drone Week conference was focused on understanding some of the practical, legal and moral questions surrounding the current use of drones and what future lies ahead for the use of unmanned aerial vehicles.

    The SSWG produces Research Papers which keep in line with the partnership's purpose of focusing on defence and security topics. The Strategic Profile Canada is a project which provides a comprehensive overview of Canada's demographic, economic and military information.

    3Ds Blog

    The 3Ds Blog is a site managed by the Canadian Global Affairs Institute and provides defence and security news from Canada and around the world. Blog updates are made by Canadian Global Affairs Institute Fellows, the majority coming from Mark Collins.

    • "The 3Ds Blog"  [www.cdfai.org/the 3Dsblog/ -- appears to be deprecated [old copies here, on the iPolitics.ca website]. The base URL -- https://cdfai.org/ -- appears to have been repurchased and published as a non-affiliated website?] was a blog on the Canadian Global Affairs Institute's old site [Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute (CDFAI)].

    Speakers Series

    The Canadian Global Affairs Institute organizes a speakers series which is annually themed on a specific topic of importance to Canadian defence, security, and foreign affairs issues. The speaking events are held quarterly in Calgary and brings together business people, academics, and practitioners to listen to some of Canada's most important and influential thinkers. Former speakers include Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence; Michael Bell, former diplomat; and Yuen Pau Woo, president and CEO of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada among others.

    Ross Munro Award

    The Ross Munro Media Award was initiated, in 2002, by the Conference of Defence Associations, in concert with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. Its purpose is to recognize, annually, one Canadian journalist who has made a significant and outstanding contribution to the understanding, by the general public, of Canada's defence and security issues.

    Military Journalism Course

    The Military Journalism Course was started in 2002 as a nine-day course which introduces university students to military journalism and the Canadian Armed Forces. The course is run in partnership with the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary and includes a combination of media-military theory in a classroom setting, coupled with field visits to Armed Forces regular and reserve units. The stated goal of the program is to enhance the military education of future Canadian journalists who will report on Canadian military activities domestically and abroad. In 2007, the program introduced its first Francophone Military Journalism course held at the Université de Montréal and Canadian Forces Base Valcartier, near Québec City.

    Advisory Council

    A group of advisers provide feedback on current and future programs.

    • Ian Brodie
    • Jean Charest, PC
    • Laura Dawson
    • Richard Fadden
    • Robert Fowler, OC
    • Dan Hays, PC
    • Marie-Lucie Morin, PC
    • John Manley, PC OC
    • Bob Rae, PC OC
    • Christopher Waddell
    • Robert Wright

    Fellowship Program

    Fellows

    • David Bercuson, OC, FRSC
    • Jean-Christophe Boucher
    • Brett Boudreau
    • Brian Bow
    • David Carment
    • Joseph Caron
    • Andrea Charron
    • Howard Coombs
    • Barry Cooper
    • Daryl Copeland
    • Jocelyn Coulon
    • D. Michael Day
    • Ferry de Kerckhove
    • Paul Durand
    • Ross Fetterly
    • Patricia Fortier
    • Julian Lindley-French
    • Frédérick Gagnon
    • Sarah Goldfeder
    • Andrew Griffith
    • Marius Grinius
    • Robert Hage
    • Rolf Holmboe
    • Rob Huebert
    • Peter Jones
    • Thomas Juneau
    • Tom Keenan
    • Adam Lajeunesse
    • Randolph Mank
    • Eric Miller
    • Robert Muggah
    • David Perry
    • Vanja Petricevic
    • George Petrolekas
    • Joël Plouffe
    • Andrew Rasiulis
    • Tom Ring
    • Colin Robertson
    • Lindsay L. Rodman
    • Stephen Saideman
    • Darren Schemmer
    • Hugh Segal, CM
    • Elinor Sloan
    • Gary Soroka
    • Hugh Stephens
    • Alan Stephenson
    • Stéfanie von Hlatky
    • Charity Weeden

    Notable Alumni

    • Perrin Beatty, PC
    • Derek Burney, OC
    • Paul Dewar
    • Andrew Godefroy, CD
    • J.L. Granatstein, OC
    • Hrach Gregorian
    • Mike Jeffery, CMM, CD
    • Andrew Leslie, CMM, MSC, MSM, CD
    • George MacDonald
    • Paul Maddison
    • Roland Paris
    • David Pratt
    • Stephen Randall, FRSC

    Recognition

    The Canadian Global Affairs Institute Fellows regularly provide commentary and analysis of ongoing international events in TV and print new media. Its Vice-President Colin Robertson was named in Embassy Magazine 2012 edition of the "Top 80 Influencing Canada Foreign Policy." The University of Pennsylvania has consistently ranked the Canadian Global Affairs Institute 4th or 5th its list of Top Think Tanks in Canada.

    Criticism and controversy

    The Canadian Global Affairs Institute has been accused of being a right wing think tank, supporting militarism instead of diplomacy. In an article from July 2016, The Globe and Mail examines the Institutes support of Canada's $15-billion combat-vehicle sale to Saudi Arabia at a time of a humanitarian crisis in Yemen, and the think tank's acceptance of donations from defense contractor General Dynamics -- the parent of the arms maker in the export contract.

    An article in 2017 from The Huffington Post goes on to say about the Saudi Arms deal "At least four of the General Dynamics-funded institute's "fellows" wrote columns justifying the sale, including an opinion Perry [Canadian Global Affairs Institute Fellow David Perry -- then, a Senior CGAI Analyst] published in The Globe and Mail Report on Business titled "Without foreign sales, Canada's defence industry would not survive."

    • The link provided for the Huffington Post mention, above, now [2020-08-14] returns a "410" (gone and not likely to reappear) error message.

        "Meet The Right-Wing Think Tank Driving Canadian Policy Toward War". The Huffington Post [2017-05-02: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/yves-engler/canadian-global-affairs-institute_b_16328950.html]  |  local copy (pdf) [2019-01-15 Internet Archive snapshot]

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