Diplomatica
Greening the Right of Way: Increasing public safety and air quality across Ontario
Thank you to Diplomat magazine for raising the important issue of tree planting in Ontario. Urgently needed: billions of trees, Lost Legacy, Winter 2011 issue). Protecting our environment is a key priority of the McGuinty Liberal government and, since being elected in 2003, we have put in place strong environmental legislation to make Ontario a […]
Winning ground — and holding it — in Afghanistan
Canadian Forces’ Chief of Defence Staff, General Walter Natynczyk, grew up in Winnipeg and had jobs as a paperboy and burger flipper before joining the military in 1975 and rising through the ranks to the top job, which he did in 2008. For the past four years, he has skipped Christmas with his family — all […]
New Zealand: A vital trade partner for Canada
Before I left New Zealand to take up my role as high commissioner in Canada, I spoke with my prime minister, the foreign minister and the head of the New Zealand foreign service. The theme from those conversations was how we could further strengthen our trade and economic relationship. While two-way trade in goods is significant, […]
France invests in Canada’s success
My focus, as ambassador of France to Canada, is to take the historic France-Canada partnership to a new level with enhanced strategic priorities. After Canada’s hosting of the G8 and G20 Summits, France took over the presidency of the G20 from South Korea in November and will take over the presidency of the G8 from […]
Australia and New Zealand bid to host astronomy’s next big — one square kilometre — thing
Star gazers, both professional and amateur, are closely following progress in one of the great global science projects of the 21st Century, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). It’s a radio telescope being developed by a global collaboration of 20 countries, including Canada, and it promises to revolutionize our understanding of the universe through new insights […]
Helping Ottawa’s ‘hidden poor’
When the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade asked Ottawa’s foreign diplomatic community to help out by donating food to its second annual food fair, the diplomats responded enthusiastically. Robert Peck, outgoing chief of protocol, explained that the idea was to create a lunchtime international buffet that would raise money to contribute to […]
Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia: East confronts West
The South Caucasus has historically been an arena of conflict. Much like the Balkans, it is a region where East and West meet and three great empires — the Russian, the Ottoman, and the Safavids (Persians) — clashed in earlier times. Today, it is a region where other fires burn. These are the fires of economic […]
Germany on Europe’s aid to Greece: ‘We don’t see it as a bail-out’
German Ambassador Georg Witschel presented his credentials just over a year ago and since then the career diplomat with a PhD in international law has developed a great love for Canada — so much so that he spent six weeks of his summer on vacation in the Maritimes, as well as Newfoundland and Labrador. His […]
A personal perspective on religion and government
The relationship between Islam and democracy continues to be debated by experts and laymen alike. When I was asked by Diplomat magazine to write a short piece on the matter, I considered the following: I am not an expert on Islam, nor do I personally or officially speak on behalf of all Muslims. But […]
From the French embassy to Carnegie Hall
If the ways in which they help out the Ottawa Bach Choir are any indication, it would seem that Johann Sebastian is a favourite composer among Ottawa’s foreign diplomats. The relationships started three years ago when board member Bill Caswell decided to approach some envoys about hosting fund-raising events. Once the Turkish embassy responded […]
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