Invermere resident Claude Campbell has been honoured in a distinguished publication about Canada’s participation in the United Nations.
The publication — the 2014 edition of The United Nations and Canada — was published in both English and French by the Canadian chapter of the World Federalists Movement and features about 20 essays on Canada’s role in the international community, from noteworthy commentators such as former federal Minister of Foreign Affairs Lloyd Axworthy.
Inside the front cover is a dedication to Mr. Campbell: “Dedication: This 2014 volume is dedicated to Claude Campbell, Invermere, B.C., whose exemplary commitment to the rule of law, human progress and rights, through the United Nations system, has been persistent and longstanding.”
Mr. Campbell, 98, has been donating money to the World Federalists Movement for more than 30 years, and was inspired to start doing so after an impromptu lunch with organization’s head during a trip Mr. Campbell took to Ottawa to visit one of his sons.
“They’re (the World Federalists Movement) about the only organization that we have access to here in Canada that so strongly supports the United Nations,” Mr. Campbell told The Echo.
Although Mr. Campbell was far too modest to comment on having a book dedicated to him, he said he strongly believes in the mandate of the United Nations.
“What other organization carries out such a purpose all over the world?” he asked.
In a letter sent to Mr. Campbell, World Federalists Movement-Canada (WFMC) president Warren Allmand writes: “You have been such a committed supporter of the World Federalists for these many years that we decided to recognize your contributions to the movement.” The organization included, along with the letter, a framed copy of the cover and inside cover page (which contains the dedication) of the 2014 publication. The World Federalists Movement is an organization that seeks to improve, strengthen and promote global governance institutions, such as the United Nations.
The Canadian chapter was founded more than sixty years ago and has offices in several cities across the country, including in Victoria and Vancouver.
Many of the essays in the 2014 The United Nations and Canada, including Mr. Axworthy’s, voice concern about what the writers see as the current Canadian government’s lack of engagement with the international community in general, and the United Nations in particular — a sentiment Mr. Campbell shares and a trend he says is troubling.