Canadian officials plan to skip the Iranian president’s speech to the UN
Canadian officials won’t be paying attention to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s speech today at the United Nations. In fact, they won’t even be in the room. “Canada’s seat at the UN will be vacant during the Iranian president’s speech,” said Catherine Loubier, a spokeswoman for Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon. The Canadian boycott of Ahmadinejad has its roots in what Loubier called Iran’s “hostile views” toward Israel and its shoddy human rights record.