Diplomatica
The Pacific Alliance should be a win for Canada
It has been called the most ambitious trade initiative since NAFTA. When the Pacific Alliance was launched, two years ago, the four member countries already enjoyed free-trade agreements among themselves. So, naturally, some questioned the objective of the Alliance. The Pacific Alliance is the agreement between Colombia, Chile, Mexico and Peru to modernise and further […]
Shipping help inside a tourist’s suitcase
When an Ottawa couple lost their 11-year-old daughter to a condition she’d had her whole life, they were understandably devastated. But it gave them some small solace — a bit of hope that her memory would be honoured — when they were able to donate the girl’s two wheelchairs to worthy recipients two worlds away. […]
Armenia and Canada: A trading work in progress
Further enhancing trade with Canada has been on my radar since the first day I arrived in Canada. In my previous capacity, as director of the Americas at Armenia’s foreign ministry, I was aware of our economic realities, mainly that there was established mining co-operation between our countries and that all other aspects of trade […]
Philippines and Canada: Future trading partners with similar values
The Philippines is on a definitive reform path. The social contract of President Benigno S. Aquino III with the Filipino people compels the government to embark upon a transformative economic and political mission. That contract revolves around five action areas: Good governance, poverty alleviation, sustained economic growth, justice and human rights and environmental protection, climate-change […]
Canada and Belgium: Way beyond beer and chocolate
If two Belgian products stand out in the minds of many of our Canadian partners, it is, no doubt, beer and chocolate. Indeed, important quantities of both are consumed in Canada, as more and more specialty beers follow the existing flow of kegged and bottled beer from Belgium to Canada, and increasing numbers of chocolatiers […]
Raising a racket for charity
When Ottawa Diplomatic Association members and their friends get together for an event, it very often has a side benefit for the community in which they are posted. The ODA tennis tournament, for example, which took place at the end of May, was expected to end up with a surplus of about $1,000. Each time […]
The Vatican’s man in Ottawa
Most Reverend Luigi Bonazzi hails from Bergamo, Italy, not far from where the world-renowned sparkling water, San Pellegrino, also hails, he proudly reports. But today, he is the diplomatic representative, known as the Papal Nuncio, for the Holy See. He has held the same position in Haiti, Cuba, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. He’s also had […]
Big Ideas for tackling world problems
It’s been called the dismal science. But it’s not really. There is a renaissance in economic thinking that is taking place outside the restrictive boundaries of the economics discipline that will revolution-ise the way we think about macroeconomics, microeconomics and monetary policy. This revolution is being led by the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET), […]
Temporary visa versus refugee status reforms
The beginning of the 20th Century ushered in the increased need for global travellers to obtain a visa before entering another country for a temporary period. The visa is a means of pre-screening to ensure people who may be inadmissible for health, security or criminal reasons are prevented from arriving at a port of entry. […]
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