Trudeau and UN chief to hold talks

Trudeau said Canada will triple the number of special forces deployed to train Iraqi Kurdish forces on the ground over the next two years.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he is thrilled that Canada will be recommitting to its involvement with the UN.

Ban says the meeting, which touched on a wide range of subjects including climate change and Syria, was “very productive”.

After their morning meeting, Trudeau and Ban will also participate in a student assembly and later dine at the Canadian Museum of History, before Ban heads to Montreal, which is home to the United Nations aviation agency, for more talks on Friday.

The previous Harper government was criticized for failing to make a strong bid for a council seat in 2010.

His tour comes as the Liberal government, celebrating its 100th day in office, looks to reinvigorate relations with the worldwide institution.

“I’d like to see many countries emulate such kind of compassion and leadership shown by the prime minister”, Ban told public broadcaster CBC.

Part of that re-engagement process is an eventual bid for a rotating, non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council, Mr. Trudeau said, repeating a promise he made during the election campaign.

Ban called Canada’s refugee policy “compassionate” and applauded the government’s commitment to accept 25,000 refugees from Syria.

When Prime Minister Trudeau visited our country in November 2015 for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit, we expected him to at least announce that Canada would take responsibility for its garbage.

“One of the suggestions that I greatly appreciate and that we will consider is having Canada send in not just more police officers, but more women, female police officers, in order to provide assistance”, Mr. Trudeau said in French.

Rona Ambrose, leader of the official opposition and interim leader of the Conservative Party, denounced the plan to withdraw the fighter jets as “a step backwards for Canada”.

Ban and Trudeau were scheduled to visit a Syrian refugee welcoming centre.

Canada’s contributions to peacekeeping missions have fallen to a few dozen troops in recent years from a high of several thousand in the mid-1990s. He will also deliver an address at McGill University.