Lani Krantz

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an all-out attack on Ukraine by air, land and sea only days after he sent the Russian military into two separatist regions of the country.

In the wake of the invasion, Western powers, including Canada, announced sanctions and other penalties for what is being viewed as a clear infringement of Ukraine’s sovereignty.

The military operation began even while members of the United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting at Ukraine's request.

Janice Stein, the founding director of the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy and the Belzberg Professor of Conflict Management in the department of political science in the Faculty of Arts & Science, says the window for a diplomatic solution is “vanishing to none,” and that the invasion marks a shift in the world order.

“Great power rivalry, which some had hoped had been relegated to the ashbin of history, is back with a vengeance,” she said.

The Munk School is hosting a panel discussion on the topic of Ukraine on Feb. 25 that will be hosted by Peter Mansbridge.

Stein spoke about the unfolding crisis in an interview Thursday morning with the Munk School’s Lani Krantz.

With the attacks overnight, Putin has acted on his threats of war. How far can we expect Russia to take this?

Formally, Russia invaded on Monday when it sent its troops over the border into the republics of Luhansk and Donetsk, which President Putin has recognized as independent. The war began eight years ago and escalated when Russia bombarded all of Ukraine’s cities and its tanks and artillery rolled across the border. Does Putin plan further escalation? Only he knows, but early military action suggests a wide and deep offensive in Ukraine – far beyond the “peacekeeping” operation in Luhansk and Donetsk that Putin ordered officially.

In that aggressive and angry speech he delivered a few days ago, Putin made sweeping claims about restoring greater Russia and argued that Ukraine became independent only through the foolish mistakes of past Russian leaders. Ukraine has declared a state of emergency, mobilized its reserves and its national guard, and ordered its citizens to take shelter, but its armed forces are badly outnumbered by Russian forces.

Can you explain how the recent escalations marked a departure from what was happening before?

In 2014, Russia annexed Crimea and sent militia forces over the border into parts of Donetsk and Luhansk. Today, regular Russian military forces began a bombardment of all of Ukraine and sent ground forces across multiple points in Ukraine, far beyond Donetsk and Luhansk. The fabricated stories of fighting in these two provinces were clearly the pretext for a full-on invasion.

What is NATO’s role?

NATO, a collective defence organization, is obligated to come to the defence of its members. While Ukraine is not a member of NATO, several former Soviet republics that now border Russia are – Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, as well as Poland and Romania. NATO is currently reinforcing its deployment in Latvia, and Canada is sending additional forces. NATO will try to support the Ukrainian resistance with weapons and supplies, but will find it challenging to do because Russia already controls the air space over Ukraine. It will not send troops to Ukraine. Ukraine, in other words, stands alone in the face of the Russian attack. Europe, the United States, Canada and Japan are all responding with increasingly serious economic sanctions, but these sanctions will not deter Russian forces.

Is there a path back to more peaceful relations?

The window for diplomatic activity is vanishing to none. Putin seems to be seeking the political decapitation of the Ukrainian government as well as the occupation of parts of Ukrainian territory that matter to Russia. Ukraine’s independence will be fatally compromised. This is absolutely tragic for Ukraine, which finds itself the victim of aggression by its powerful neighbour, but terrible as well for Russia.

What is at stake in terms of global security?

European confidence in the foundational norm that the borders of a sovereign state cannot be changed unilaterally by force has been shattered. A Russian attack marks the end of one era and the beginning of another of complex, trilateral great power rivalry with European confidence in its own security shaken to the core. Great power rivalry, which some had hoped had been relegated to the ashbin of history, is back with a vengeance.

Reset, Rebuild, Recover: The Toronto Black Policy Conference returns as a virtual event

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 26 Nov 2021 21:55:28 +0000

Reset, Rebuild, Recover: The Toronto Black Policy Conference returns as a virtual event

Christopher.Sorensen Fri, 11/26/2021 - 16:55

Cutline

Munk School alumnae and Toronto Black Policy Conference founders Eunice K. Yeboah and Sharnelle Morgan appear at the inaugural event in 2019 (photo by Dewey Chang)

Lani Krantz

Topic

City & Culture

Anti-Black Racism

Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Alumni

Cities

Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work

Faculty of Arts & Science

Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing

��οScarborough

Organizers of the Toronto Black Policy Conference, which brings together speakers to reflect on the effects of systemic anti-Black racism in the city, are holding the free, day-long event for the time since the outset of the pandemic.

The event, to be held virtually on Saturday, Nov.27, will focus on mental health, the city’s housing crisis, and economic recovery in Toronto’s Black communities. It’s co-sponsored by the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy and founded by a group of the Munk School’s master of public policy (MPP) alumni.

Associate Professor Tanya Sharpe and Assistant Professor Notisha Massaquoi, both of U of T’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, will kick off the event with a conversation about mental health stigmas in Toronto’s Black communities. Other speakers will examine the challenges and opportunities created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Munk School’s Lani Krantz recently spoke with this year’s organizers – Munk School students and alumnae Eunice K. Yeboah, Sharnelle Morgan, Jennifer Oduro, Anna-Kay Russell, as well as Deborah Baiden, a PhD student at the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing – about the 2021 conference and the plans they have for the future.

The first Toronto Black Policy Conference took place before the pandemic in 2019. What has changed for you since then?

On Emancipation Day on August 1, 2020, we founded the Canadian Black Policy Network (CBPN), a new non-profit organization dedicated to creating a network across Canada of individuals and organizations interested in addressing issues that impact Black communities through policy. Our organization is committed to providing collaborative and innovative spaces and events (including the Toronto Black Policy Conference) to enhance the engagement of Canada’s Black communities in the public policy process and to support the exploration of public policy’s impact on those communities with interested Black groups and allies. As an emerging non-profit organization, CBPN is particularly keen to enhance our developments and activities in partnership building and public policy thought leadership.

What kinds of conversations are necessary to meet the needs of Toronto’s (and Canada’s) Black diaspora?

Black Canadians continue to face clear forms of structural racism in education, employment, housing, health care and the criminal justice system. Structural racism is a problem that remains active and alive and this is an issue that is deeply rooted. This year’s conference theme – Reset, Rebuild, Recover: Reimagining the Future of Toronto’s Black Communities – was chosen to provide Black community members in Toronto and their allies with the opportunity to reflect on how systemic racism has had a two-fold effect on Toronto’s Black communities: Black Torontonians were more exposed and less protected throughout the COVID-19 pandemic due to pre-existing racial inequalities.

What role do you hope the Toronto Black Policy Conference plays in effecting policy changes?

For the 2021 conference, the CBPN is keen on providing a platform for our community members to drive change and explore ways that Black Torontonians can engage within the policy process and be active in co-developing inclusive policies and programs. Similar to the 2019 conference, our hope is that the 2021 event will create a lasting, recurrent discussion of policy issues affecting Toronto’s Black communities with tangible outcomes. In addition, we would like this conference to further increase opportunities for collaboration between Black policy and other professionals and community leaders, as well as allies, to probe and tackle policy issues affecting Toronto’s Black communities. Finally, CBPN is focused on enhancing its partnership-building activities. As an emerging network, CBPN intends to use the 2021 conference as an opportunity to meet and engage with new and existing partners to co-develop and share our vision for the future of the network.

How did your time studying at ��οinfluence your approach to building the CBPN and the Toronto Black Policy Conference?

The Munk School provides unique opportunities for professional development. As MPP students, we were fortunate to engage in emancipatory work through the extracurricular activities we were involved in – one of the prime examples being the Harvard Black Policy Conference. Participating in the planning of this annual conference reinforced our desire to create a space where these conversations could be had in the Toronto context, and in Canada as a whole.

Jane Philpott, Lisa Raitt and Megan Leslie to talk 'modern leadership' at U of T

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 16 Jan 2020 16:28:54 +0000

Jane Philpott, Lisa Raitt and Megan Leslie to talk 'modern leadership' at U of T

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 01/16/2020 - 11:28

Cutline

From left to right: Jane Philpott, Lisa Raitt and Megan Leslie (photos by Andrew Francis Wallace/Toronto Star via Getty Images, Melissa Renwick/Toronto Star via Getty Images and Mike Gifford)

Lani Krantz

Topic

Our Community

Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Faculty of Arts & Science

Politics

Public Policy

Veteran parliamentarians from Canada’s three major political parties will gather on stage at the University of Toronto next week to discuss what it takes to be a leader.

The event, on Jan. 20 at the Isabel Bader Theatre, is part of the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy’s David Peterson Program in Public Sector Leadership Lecture Series.

Titled Modern Leadership: Policy and Politics, the conversation will feature former Liberal Party MP and cabinet member Jane Philpott, former Conservative Party MP and Deputy Leader Lisa Raitt and former NDP MP and Deputy Leader Megan Leslie, who is also a Munk School senior fellow. The discussion will be moderated by journalist Paul Wells of Maclean’s magazine.

The panel promises to bring a broad range of viewpoints and a lively discussion. Though legislators on Parliament Hill may often take opposing sides of fiscal or social issues, many hold their counterparts in high esteem and enjoy strong friendships outside of the office.

“You kind of have to have an unwritten rule – and sometimes it’s a spoken rule – on massive issues of policy that you won’t get into debate,” said Raitt. “Not that you won’t have serious discussions ... but the debate should stay inside the House of Commons.”

On what she’s most looking forward to in taking part in this event, Raitt says: “Seeing Jane and Megan again because I like them enormously as human beings.”

Leslie, meanwhile, pointed to what the three lawmakers have in common: “(We) have all been on the national stage ... voices for our party at different points – and all three of us have lost elections at different points for different reasons.”

Philpott is excited about the dynamic of speaking with her political peers, but also interacting with students and alumni at the event.

“We will build diversity in leadership as people start to realize that you can carve your own path,” she said. “Even if there is nobody that looks or talks like you in a powerful position in this country right now, that doesn’t mean that you won’t find your way there.”

Raitt hopes the audience takes away an important lesson from the event.

“It’s okay to be brave,” she said. “Even when you’re punished for being brave, it’s still the right thing to do and you’re going to be okay.”

The David Peterson Program in Public Sector Leadership Lecture Series invites speakers from a broad range of backgrounds and expertise to share their perspectives with the Munk School community. Recent events have featured former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, former Supreme Court Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, Indigenous child welfare advocate Cindy Blackstock, and former B.C. Premier Christy Clark, among many others.

“These three highly accomplished women have demonstrated political leadership in three different parties and after active politics,” said Mel Cappe, a Munk School professor and former clerk of the Privy Council.

“I look forward to hearing their ideas about the secret sauce for showing leadership at all levels.”