Birthdays have always been the time to reflect and to celebrate.
Here in Canada, we often neglect celebration in favour of conferences and roundtables to mark the 60th anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the 100th anniversary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT), but proper celebrations of these milestones have been absent. Clearly it’s time for a real birthday party!
As President of the Atlantic Council of Canada, NATO’s premier sponsor and supporter in this country, I would like to thank you for attending this suitably glamorous dinner-dance to celebrate several milestones of 2009. The first of course is the 60th anniversary of the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, D.C. on April 4th, 1949. Despite many new challenges, NATO thrives today and continues to expand, offering greater stability for all its member states. This year also marks 100 years of international diplomacy for Canada: the External Affairs Act came into effect on June 1st, 1909 and started what would become DFAIT. It is also 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall and that also allows us to celebrate the 10th and 5th year anniversaries of many accessions to NATO.
In celebrating these events, the Atlantic Council will also be recognizing outstanding contributions made to the stability of NATO through development and education. Abdel Badwi, Sonja and the late Tom Bata, Jim Balsillie and Peter Munk have originated projects that breathe life into unstable regions of Europe and create institutions to reinforce the strength of our connections.
Our honourees exemplify the celebrated “Canadian Article” of the NATO charter, Article 2, which recognizes the important link which exists between economic development, peace and stability.
A pictorial highlight of the Gala:
