EXTREME CARTOONS FROM THE MIDDLE EAST September–October 2007 For God and Country TOP-RANKED DEPUTY MINISTER, PETER HARDER SERVED FIVE PRIME MINISTERS. NOW HE TALKS CANDIDLY OF CHURCH AND STATE — AND THE NEED FOR RELIGIOUS FAITH IN GOVERNMENT DECISION-MAKING Susan Wilkins and the M.O.B go to Tuscany David Emerson plays “catch-up” on free trade Stephen Beckta exposes the LCBO wine scam ESTABLISHED 1989 CDN $5.95 PM 40957514 The World in Canada Volume 18, Number 4 PUBLISHER Neil Reynolds ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Donna Jacobs Table of EDITOR Jennifer Campbell ART DIRECTOR Paul Cavanaugh CONTENTS CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Daniel Drolet George Abraham CULTURE EDITOR DIPLOMATICA| Margo Roston Good Deeds: Donations to the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra . .3 COPY EDITOR Verbatim: Disturbing cartoons from across the Middle East . .4 Roger Bird Diplomatic Agenda: Azerbaijan’s energy wealth flows out . .6 CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Questions Asked: Len Edwards on what keeps him up at night . .8 Stephen Beckta Sarah Close Margaret Dickenson DISPATCHES| David Emerson Trade Minister David Emerson catches up on trade . .10 George Fetherling Fahraddin Gurbanov The cost of skilled immigrants . .11 James H. Marsh Susan Wilkins CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS The Harder File Jana Chytilova Peter Harder’s prescription for Canada . .13 Larry Dickenson The Harder creed: Faith in public life . .15 Oriana Romero Frank Scheme Danilo Velasquez DELIGHTS| Dyanne Wilson Travel Diary: Susan Wilkins hits Italy with the M.O.B. .22 BUSINESS MANAGEMENT Wine: How Canadian is your Canadian vino? . .25 Jessie Reynolds Entertaining: What the heck is a Trou Normand? . .26 WEBMASTER Books: The nuclear dilemma on paper . .28 Leslee McCabe Books: Ryszard Kapuscinski’s last book . .30 PUBLISHER EMERITUS Canadiana: Canada’s greatest seaman . .32 Lezlee Cribb SUBSCRIPTIONS Homes: Contemporary Berlin in Ottawa . .34 Diplomat & International Canada is published six Envoy’s Album . .36 times a year. Subscription rates: individual, one year $35.70. For Canadian orders add 7 per cent . 39 GST. U.S. orders please add $15 for postage. All DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS other orders please add $25. SUBMISSIONS DIGNITARIES| Diplomat & International Canada welcomes New arrivals in the diplomatic corps . .44 submissions. Contact Jennifer Campbell, editor, at [email protected] or (613) 231-8476. DIPLOMAT & INTERNATIONAL CANADA DESTINATIONS| P.O Box 1173, Station B London’s masterpiece gallery . .40 Ottawa, Ontario Canada K1P 5R2 Phone: (613) 259-3038 Laos’ strange capital . .52 Fax: (613) 259-5481 E-mail: [email protected] www.diplomatonline.com Published by ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited material. No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the Sparrow House publisher. The views expressed in the articles are those of the authors. © 2007 ISSN 1190-8343 Enterprises Inc. Publication Mail # 40957514. Return undeliverable Canadian copies to: Diplomat Magazine, P.O. Box 1173, Station B, Ottawa, ON K1P 5R2 EDITOR’S NOTE DIPLOMATICA| You’ve got to have faith CONTRIBUTORS nosed characters of ul- tra-orthodox appear- Susan Wilkins, author of Under the Tuscan sun n his 30-year career as a public servant, ance, as killers of Christ, IPeter Harder became the longest-serv- as serpents or as Nazi ing deputy minister in the federal gov- soldiers.” We’ve offered ernment – in the process serving five a selection from various consecutive prime ministers (from former countries in the Middle Prime Minister Brian Mulroney to Prime JENNIFER CAMPBELL East – from Bahrain to Minister Stephen Harper). In his final Saudi Arabia. After last top-echelon post at Foreign Affairs, he year’s furor over a Danish newspaper pub- worked on three G8 Summits. Now that lishing a cartoon that offended Muslims the he has left the public service for a new ca- world over, these cartoons offer something reer as senior policy advisor to Fraser to think about. Milner Casgrain, the prominent national In addition, we hear from Trade Min- Susan Wilkins lived in South Carolina un- law firm, he is free to express publicly his ister David Emerson on how Canada is til 2005 when she arrived in Ottawa as views on public policy. playing catch-up in the free trade race. wife of U.S. Ambassador to Canada And what’s now uppermost on his We also have an article that offers a solu- David Wilkins. She picked peaches as a mind? In this issue of Diplomat magazine, tion to the brain drain Canada causes teenager, graduated from Limestone Col- Mr. Harder discusses the role of faith in when it accepts educated immigrants lege and did one year of master’s work at public life. He recalls his own Mennonite from countries that must need their skills. the University of South Carolina in speech heritage. He explains why religious be- Also up front, we have an interview with pathology. For five years, she taught ele- liefs – notwithstanding the separation of Peter Harder’s successor, Foreign Affairs’ mentary school until her sons, James and church and state – must remain an inte- Deputy Minister Len Edwards. Robert, were born in 1975 and 1976 and gral part of government decision-making. In our books package, George Fether- afterwards did extensive educational In this personal and provocative essay, he ling reviews Travels with Herodotus, charity work. She volunteered on a Habi- discusses what the West can learn from a Ryszard Kapusci´ nski’s´ last book. Our reg- tat for Humanity site in Greenville, S.C. prominent Muslim leader. ular columnist, George Abraham, exam- and is in her second year as honourary In an introductory note, Diplomat Pub- ines three books on nuclear proliferation. patron for the Women Build Gala in Ot- lisher Neil Reynolds asks Mr. Harder to Food writer Margaret Dickenson enlight- tawa, to be held in November. Besides ex- identify the most important political chal- ens us on the mysterious “Trou Nor- ercising, reading, gardening and playing lenge that Canada will confront in the mand” course of the meal and culture with Lily the Maltese and Speaker the next few years. Thankfully, it’s not sepa- editor Margo Roston takes us on a tour of Springer spaniel, she enjoys spending ratism. Turn to page 12 to find out why the home of German Ambassador time with the family and traveling. Peter Harder thinks that Canada must ex- Matthias Höpfner. In our expanding Sarah Close, author of Masterpiece gallery pand its economic integration with the travel coverage, we take a tour of Italy United States – to protect its own political with Susan Wilkins, wife of U.S. Ambas- sovereignty. sador David Wilkins, and five of her Religion also appears in our Verbatim friends. Turn to page 22 to find out why section where we run a series of deeply dis- they call themselves “the M.O.B.” Then, turbing cartoons published in the Arab and Sarah Close takes us on an intimate tour Iranian press. The cartoons come from a of the British Museum, and lists some of study conducted by the Washington-based its best treasures. Finally, on our back Middle East Media Research Institute, page, George Fetherling writes about the which looks at the Middle East through the charms of Laos’s capital. region’s media. Research fellow Ofir Winter conducted the study of anti-Semitic car- Jennifer Campbell is editor of Diplomat Sarah Close grew up in Vancouver B.C. toons where Jews are portrayed as “long- magazine. but her family hails from the prairies of Saskatchewan. Her passion for travel be- UP FRONT gan on her first trip to Europe just after her 16th birthday and she is still waiting When asked to deliver a portrait of Peter Harder, who for it to subside. She completed her Bach- worked in the federal government’s upper echelons un- elor of Arts degree in history and anthro- der five prime ministers, photographer Brigitte Bouvier pology from the University of Toronto in decided to take him to Parliament Hill. She wanted to in- 2004 but she never let school stand in the clude the Peace Tower as a symbol of the place where he way of travel. Sarah currently works as a wielded so much power over three decades. When we production assistant at the Toronto Inter- told her we were running an essay on his defence of faith national Art Fair. Travel aspirations in- in government, she shot him from the doors of the East clude not getting sick from the food at the Block looking out to the West. She thought the three floating market in Bangkok and finally Gothic arches gave a church-like feel to the photo. Our mastering the Paris Metro. cover package on Mr. Harder’s career and philosophy starts on page 12. 2 SEPTEMBER—OCTOBER 2007 GOOD DEEDS |DIPLOMATICA All in the name of music he Ottawa Symphony Orchestra has Tbeen receiving help from Ottawa’s diplomatic community for more than a decade. The symphony’s big summer garden do is called Fête Champêtre (a French ex- pression that means “rural feast”) and al- ways takes place at the residence of an ambassador or high commissioner. It be- gan with a bang in 1996 at the home of the South African High Commissioner. Since then, France has hosted twice as have Spain and Japan. Coordinator Allison Dingle says they like to move it around so they’re not always asking the same em- R U bassies to donate the big party. Other em- O M L I G bassies that have hosted this event include R E I Australia, Germany, United States and, K this year, Switzerland did the honours Guests of this year’s Ottawa Symphony Orchestra garden party known as the Fête Champêtre enjoyed the with Ambassador Werner Baumann and hospitality of Swiss Ambassador Werner Baumann and his wife, Susanna.