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7| O akville B eaver | T hursday,July 12,2018 insidehalton.com 1200 Speers Rd., Unit 12, Oakville, Ont. L6L 2X4 (905) 845 - 1408 | Fax (905) 845 - 5931 | ricky@rickywong.ca Ricky Wong CPA, CA, MBA, B. 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Reg. $99 $49FURNACE DIAGNOSTICSPECIALFAST & RELIABLE SERVICE AIRE ONE MADNESS SALEAIRE ONE MADNESS SALEPud bySteveNease After attending G7 and G20 summits now for over 20 years, never did I antici- pate the political roller- coaster ride that took place in Charlevoix, Que., on June 8 and 9. U.S. Presi- dent Donald Trump marked his first trip to Canada with belligerent tweets on the eve of his ar- rival, claiming that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was "indignant" on trade, but then appeared strangely cheerful on the second day, claiming Trump's relationship with his G7 partners was "great ... never better ... a 10/10." Then, after conve- niently leaving the sum- mit early and shirking dis- cussions on climate change, Trump capped off the summit with a scath- ing tweet, accusing Tru- deau of being "false, dis- honest and weak," after the prime minster stood firm in his resolve to im- pose stiff counter-tariffs against the U.S., effective July 1, should Trump con- tinue with his unilateral trade measures. As I watched Trudeau in his final news confer- ence in Charlevoix receive a round of applause from international journalists for accomplishing what many thought would be an impossible feat - a con- sensus-driven final com- muniqué by all G7 leaders, including the U.S. - I lis- tened to Trudeau proudly thank his G7 counterparts for their collective efforts in reaching common ground across a number of significant global initia- tives. And just as I anticipat- ed the drama of this event to be finally over, Trump announced his withdraw- al from the G7's final com- muniqué through yet an- other thoughtless tweet, presenting to the world, yet again, how volatile, tactless and uninformed he really is. What we wit- nessed in Charlevoix was the U.S. president unilat- erally undermine the sig- nificance of this 44-year- old institution, steeped in history and bound by a common set of values, in- cluding open democracy, individual liberty, the rule of law and social ad- vance. Critical over the com- ing weeks will be how the media around the world react to the latest spate of insults being hurled by Republicans south of the border. One thing is clear - all other G7 leaders who lived through the unease and volatility of this sum- mit will stand with Tru- deau, resolute in their conviction that the com- munity of western politi- cal nations is safer and stronger because of the trans-Atlantic bond re- presented by the G7. My own personal hope is that the successes re- sulting from this G7 will not be overshadowed by the brazen comments of an impulsive and unpre- dictable U.S. president. We should not forget thatWe should not forget thatW this summit mobilized, for the first time in histo-for the first time in histo-f ry, over $3.8 billion in new funds for educating women and girls, includ- ing a $400-million pledge from Canada as part offrom Canada as part off this overall three-year commitment. This col- lective investment repre- sents a threefold in- crease over the initial $1.3 billion called for by a coalition of 30 non-gov- ernmental organiza- tions. Canada further an- nounced a contribution of $100 million toward eradicating plastics pol- lution from the world's oceans, as part of the G7's first-ever plastics char-first-ever plastics char-f ter. Overall, the prime min- ster and his team should be commended not only for hosting a summit that shone the spotlight on a spectacular region of our magnificent country, but also for demonstrating his unequivocal determina- tion in defending the in- terests and values shared by Canadians and our G7 partners. - Ella Kokotsis, PhD, is a member of the G7 Re- search Group for the Uni- versity of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs. OPINION Trump shouldn't overshadow summit success Trump announced his withdrawal through yet another thoughtless tweet, says Kokotsis ELLA KOKOTSIS Column A story in the June 28 Oak- ville Beaver failed to include one of the two grandmothers groups involved in a fundrais- ing effort. Both the Oomamas and Bronte Grandmothers took part in the Halton-Peel Stride to Turn the Tide celebratory walk in downtown Oakville. It was the conclusion to a campaign that saw 33 members of the two groups walk a com- bined 23,177 kilometres - 3,394 more than originally planned - and raise roughly $18,000 for the Stephen Lewis Foundation. The Beaver regrets the omission. Correction Letters to the Editor See what our readers are saying about the issues that matter to them. www.insidehalton.com/letters