Lieutenant-General, Roméo Dallaire, addresses Bob Ewert Memorial Dinner         250News photo

Prince George, BC – Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire used his keynote address at the Bob Ewert Memorial Dinner to call on the country’s leaders to develop a vision to face, what he calls, a ‘revolutionary era’.

Speaking to a crowd of hundreds gathered at the Civic Centre, Dallaire said Canada must realize its potential as a leading middle power and ‘engage and intervene’ on the world scene.  While humanitarian concerns should be compelling enough, the retired General said there are significant reasons of self-interest, too.

“We are in a very complex and ambiguous time, any thoughts of isolationism is foolhardy,” said Dallaire.  “There is no conflict in the world that doesn’t have an impact here.”

Dallaire said we’re in revolutionary times in terms of constant change in communications technology and social upheaval around the globe.  He said there is an optimism in the under 25 generation to face these challenges, but he said they need a ‘vision’ to maximize that potential.

Calling them ‘a generation without borders, Dallaire said, “They’ve mastered the technology to become global, they realize they can soon Skype anybody in the world. They can understand human rights worldwide because, to them, the world isn’t that big, big place.”

Dallaire said they need guidance and direction from leaders who can look beyond the near-term, day-to-day challenges, to move the country out of ‘crisis management’ mode.  The former Senator said Canada cannot continue to ‘roll down the road’ hoping things will go well.

“We fight overseas and that gives us the impress that ‘this stuff really doesn’t come here,” said the former senator.  “And yet, we are vulnerable internally and externally.”

Dallaire outlined some of the potential risks to Canadians by having millions of people displaced by conflict:

• refugee camps become breeding grounds for illness and could be the source of the next pandemic
• the camps become sources of rage, that develops into extremism, which turns into terrorism
• refugees arriving in Canada are torn by the troubles in their homelands, which could erupt at the local level.  Dallaire mentioned the Tamil refugees in Toronto who blocked traffic to protest Ottawa’s inaction to the civil war in Sri Lanka

The retired General said the old construct of ‘Why do I want to get involved in that?’ is no longer applicable.  He said Canada helped to craft the only tool that’s in place, under the auspices of the United Nations, to go into a country and protect its civilians when their human rights are being massively abused.

“Not to reinforce them, not to give them more ammunition, not to give them money to buy mercenaries,” said Dallaire.  “To protect them with boots on the ground against the government or structured forces that are trying to wipe them out and permit them to establish what their future can be in a level of security that only we can provide them.”

He said the tool is there, but it is not being used.  “We have not demonstrated the courage to do it – we have attempted, yes, with Afghanistan and we’ve pulled out too soon.”