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Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said on Tuesday that Ottawa does not intend to pay the US$1 billion price tag for a permanent seat on US President Donald Trump’s “peace board”. Oversees the administration and reconstruction of Gaza.
““There are a lot of details to be worked out (but one thing that is clear is that if we join the Canadian Peace Board, you won’t pay,” Champagne told reporters Tuesday morning). on the side World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Champagne comments after Prime Minister Mark Carney – one 60 world leaders Asked to join the board – They accepted the draft invitation.Although on Sunday, the officials said that they have not gone through “all the details of the structure, how it will work, what the financing is, etc.”
The board’s draft invitation letter calls for countries to pay $1 billion for a permanent seat on the board.
“It’s still early days as to what the terms of reference for the board will be, how it will work,” Champagne said.
“The prime minister has to make the final decision when all the facts are known and all the details are hidden – is that in the best interest of Canada?”
Prime Minister Mark Carney has accepted US President Donald Trump’s invitation to join his “peace board” proposal, but said officials had not gone through “all the structural details”. The invitation letter calls for countries to pay $1 billion for a permanent seat on the board, and a federal official told CBC News that Canada has not been asked and will not do so.
A federal official previously told CBC News that Canada is not currently being asked to pay and will not do so.
“Canada wants money to make a big impact,” Carney told reporters.
He called this “a condition to continue on this”.
Other world leaders have expressed some caution as the details are not finalized. Some countries have expressed concern about the charter attached to the Peace Council, a body that appears to see Gaza as the first of many conflicts, leaving the United Nations on the sidelines.
More will come