David Kilgour
David Kilgour is co-chair of the Canadian Friends of a Democratic Iran and a director of the Washington-based Council for a Community of Democracies (CCD). He is a former MP for both the Conservative and Liberal Parties in the south-east region of Edmonton and has also served as the Secretary of State for Latin America and Africa, Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific and Deputy Speaker of the House.
- David vs. David
Canada's election: Vote for local candidates, not for party leaders
While some party leaders are much stronger than others, it's the candidates at the local level who make the real difference.
- David vs. David
U.S. Election: Hillary Clinton an open book, thanks to 'Hard Choices'
Hillary Clinton is expected to launch her second campaign for the White House this weekend. She can expect little difficulty in winning her party nomination despite problems in projecting warmth to large crowds and other rusty campaign skills. An intellectual, she remains the overwhelming favourite on the Democratic side over the closest other contenders, Vice-President Joe Biden and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren.
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Obama’s Israel-Iran nuclear problem: Tough economic sanctions brought Tehran to the table
In the small ocean of printer’s ink consumed since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech of March 3rd to the U.S. Congress swim four not-so-imaginary fish.
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Election reform: Canada in desperate need of proportional representation
The Parliament of Canada should initiate the most broadly acceptable model of proportional representation (PR) for electing members to our House of Commons, mostly because doing so would create a chamber where MPs are elected in proportion to votes received rather than our present winner-take-all system.
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Working with China: World’s democrats must continue to engage with the party-state
Diplomats, politicians and business leaders sometimes overlook that China is its peoples, cultures and history far more than its unelected government. The criticisms many of us at home and abroad make are of the party-state governance, not the long-suffering citizens.
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Support our troops: Canadian veterans shouldn't have to fight for benefits and services
The removal of Julian Fantino as Minister of Veterans Affairs in early 2015 by Prime Minister Harper is one of countless indications that Canadians hold strong views about how our veterans should be treated.
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After Paris: Effort should be spent on understanding faith communities, not hatred
The world can be proud of France for hosting the largest protest in its history last Sunday for the 17 victims of the Charlie Hebdo and Kosher supermarket massacres. Paris was the world’s capital that day.
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The world in 2015: Tough times are ahead for all citizens
With war, famine and disease in many countries in the past year, 2015 may be another troubling year for people around the world.
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Ferguson: Americans must learn to respect their neighbours and act as one national family
Missourians are internationally known for their slogan, “I’m from Missouri; show me.” What happened in the state to African-American teenager Michael Brown last August has resulted in two sharply differing versions of what occurred. Significantly better race relations for residents of Missouri and America as a whole will require both sides to show a new willingness to reconcile and an iron determination to avoid similar tragedies in future.
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Putin flexes his muscles: The West must continue to stand up to the Russian bully
Vladimir Putin was snubbed at the G20 meeting in Australia by virtually every leader over his repeated violations of Ukraine’s territorial integrity. This would have caused a less pugnacious Russian president to reflect on his long demonstrated contempt for international covenants intended to build a more peaceful and prosperous world.
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Terrorism in Canada: Improving national security should not come at the cost of of our civil rights
The murders of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo at the National War Memorial and Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu evoked an enormous outpouring of national grief. Many Canadians remain affected by both tragedies.
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Turkey in the crosshairs: Kurds from Iraq, Syria and Turkey should unite to fight ISIS on the ground
Following the recent tragic deaths of two Canadian soldiers at the hands of domestic terrorists, who both appeared to be seeking to assist the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), some Canadians might feel that our country should quit the international coalition confronting ISIS.
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Hong Kong: It's a difficult battle, but the students should get their say
With the world media outside China focusing on Hong Kong’s democracy protests, it’s easy to forget that it began as a fishing village, became a British crown colony in 1841, and had Canadian soldiers help defend it until the Japanese seized it in late 1941. From 1945 to 2011, its population ballooned from 600,000 to seven million.
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ISIS: Savage group must be confronted with care, to not do more damage in an unstable region
Even with Western heads severed on social media, it is difficult for anyone beyond the traumatized survivors of ISIS massacres to comprehend its mindless savagery. Earlier, its jihadists attacked the peaceful Yazidis in Iraq, killing many and forcing tens of thousands to leave their homeland. Its recent attack on Kobani and surrounding villages resulted in 130,000 terrified Syrian Kurds fleeing into Turkey.
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David Kilgour: Canada's water sources aren't limitless, and we must keep what we have
The water in various forms we so take for granted in Canada is a fragile resource which today needs much more attention from us all.
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ISIS: Arab states must work together to accommodate all minority groups in the region
The Islamic State (ISIS) army was created by jihadist Sunni Muslims in Syria in the spring of 2013, partly in response to systemic discrimination and government violence directed at the mostly moderate Sunnis within Syria and Iraq.
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WWI: An important event in the establishment of Canada and the history of Europe
A century ago this month, several European powers began the eventually global conflagration that, in addition to millions of personal tragedies, ended the continent’s role as the world’s economic, cultural and political colossus. In the two decades after 1875, as one unfortunate measure of this dominance, half a dozen European countries seized more than a quarter of the earth’s land surface as colonies.
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The Putin problem: Sanctions can't stop Russia, the West needs a forceful NATO strategy
The E.U., U.S. and Canada approved dramatically stronger economic sanctions to pressure Putin to end support for rebels in Ukraine. More than sanctions are necessary. Ukraine needs much assistance and will for some time.
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Hillary Clinton for president: She will run, she will win, and she will be excellent
Anyone who believes that Hillary Clinton will not run for President in 2016 should examine her recently-published book, Hard Choices, which in places reads like a campaign manifesto.
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Turmoil in Iraq: Turning a blind eye to PM Maliki's tactics will only cause more instability
The insurgents of the Islamic State in Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) are fanatics from the deeply mistreated yet mostly responsible and non-violent regional Sunni minority. Sunnis accuse Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of mass murder, blatant discrimination to favour Shias, and acting more like a criminal gang than a government during eight years in power.