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September–October 2007

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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

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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. his wife, Susanna, providing the venue and the wine. They also made a generous contribution toward the catering. Embassies and high commissions have from all three countries. Germany has “Mostly one embassy hosts and then also contributed to post-concert recep- sponsored at least three post-concert re- passes our name on to another to host the tions at the National Arts Centre. Usually, ceptions over the past decade, as has Rus- next time,” Ms. Dingle said. “The variety a reception will take place after the open- sia. The United States was the most recent has let us develop our event. And it’s a ing night of a series of concerts or for an sponsor of a reception last fall. significant contribution.” especially important one. When the sym- “So we have a nice connection with the Embassies and high commissions offer phony played the British War Requiem, diplomatic community,” Ms. Dingle said. varying degrees of help in addition to for example, the British High Commis- “We benefit from their interest in our music.” providing their residences for the party. sion provided wine and the high commis- Foreign envoys have also, from time to They might provide the wine, or the food, sioner and spouse welcomed guests to a time, sponsored a concert by providing or both but it depends on the country and reception after the show. The Russian, funding when the music of their country its budget for such events. Hungarian and Austrian embassies have is on the program, Ms. Dingle said. The “Their real generosity is in the time they extended the same courtesies and, once, British High Commission has done this spend welcoming our guests and making the three embassies collaborated when a twice while the Italian and French em- them feel comfortable,” Ms. Dingle said. concert featured the music of composers bassies have each taken a turn.

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DIPLOMAT AND INTERNATIONAL CANADA 3 VERBATIM DIPLOMATICA|

The Jews as Nazis Translation: “Israel hese cartoons are part of a project Killed [Egyptian] of the Washington, D.C.-based T THE Prisoners of War in Middle East Media Research In- A WO 1967.” The figure on stitute (MEMRI). It translates Arabic, C RLD CO the right is saying: “We Persian and Turkish media into RD TO IN are not murderers, we English, German, Hebrew, Italian, A : G dist are Nazis.” urbi French, Spanish and Japanese. It co ng llect Source: Al-Ahali ion b also does research and analysis of y po (Egypt), March 21, litica Middle Eastern trends. cart l ooni 2007 “We are trying to explore the sts in the M Middle East and to bridge the iddle East The Jews as killers of Christ gap of language between the Translation: "Israel is celebrating the discovery of the tomb of King Middle East and the West,” Herod, the Jewish king who ordered, two thousand years ago, to kill all says MEMRI president Yigal Car- the children because soothsayers had foretold that a child would be mon. The institute, founded in 1998, has born who would topple him from the throne. [This child] was the charitable status. “We are not an advo- Messiah who fled to Egypt with his mother, Mary. And two days ago an cacy group. Israeli soldier shot and killed a Palestinian child in his mother's womb!!" “The project is part of an exploration of public opinion in the Arab world,” says Mr. Carmon. “Cartoons are part of the media – they’re not opinion, they’re not news; they’re one of the components of public opinion.” The website also includes some 1,600 television clips from Arab and Iranian TV (www.memritv.org.) Ofir Winter, MEMRI research fellow and the cartoon report’s author, says: “Studying cartoons is an integral part of studying public opinion. It’s an extra tool, in addition to translations and studies from articles in the media, talk shows on TV, and studying books and sermons in mosques. “The cartoons are reflecting public opinion and strengthening it, correspond- ingly to the interests of the owner of the paper,” says Mr. Winter, “or the regime that controls the paper.”

The Jews as Warmongers Translation: The figures fighting in the background are labeled “Fatah and Hamas.” The Jew is saying: “I’d like to know which one of them will turn out to be Cain, and which will turn out to be Abel [i.e., which will end up killing the other].” Source: Akhbar Al-Yawm (Egypt), May 21, The U.S. and Jews as Co-conspirators 2007 Source: Akhbar Al-Arab, (United Arab Emirates) August 19 2007

4 SEPTEMBER—OCTOBER 2007 VERBATIM |DIPLOMATICA

The Jews as Warmongers The Jews as Plunderers of Resources Translation: The sign beside the door says “Hamas-Fatah.” Translation: The cow’s udder is labeled “Arab oil.” Source: Al-Watan (Qatar), March 2, 2007 Source: Kayhan (Iran), February 17, 2007

The Jews Taking over the World The Jews as Nazis Source: Al-Rai (Jordan), March 4, 2007 Source: Al-Watan (Saudi Arabia) July 3, 2007

The Jew as a Serpent Translation: The mice in the snake’s mouth represent Fatah and Hamas. The snake is The Jews as Nazis saying “imagine how they must be fighting Translation: The Israeli is explaining to the Nazi: “We are the same.” each other in there.” Source: Teshreen (Syria), April 26, 2007 Source: Akhbar Al-Yawm (Egypt), June 20, 2007

DIPLOMAT AND INTERNATIONAL CANADA 5 DIPLOMATIC AGENDA DIPLOMATICA| Stability increases as Azerbaijan’s energy wealth flows outward

n hood day, President road, among others. Baku, Azerbaijan’s : Fakhraddi FIRST NAME Ilham Aliyev inau- capital, is fast becoming a favoured desti- urbanov gurated the world’s nation for wise investors. LAST NAME: G i second longest oil These new projects also face skepti- : Azerbaijan CITIZENSHIP pipeline, the Baku- cism but with time, doubts will disap- NTIALS AS NTED CREDE Tbilisi-Ceyhan pear. Many nations stand to gain from PRESE 004 : Sept. 27, 2 (BTC). This $4 bil- these undertakings, as they do from the MBASSADOR A lion (USD) BTC oil pipeline which will enrich transi- STINGS: PREVIOUS PO pipeline is 1,774 tion countries and increase trade and in- D.C. Washington, kilometres long vestment. and capable of de- These transregional projects are draw- livering up to one ing Azerbaijan and the European Union million barrels ever closer together. In November 2006, per day from the President Ilham Aliyev and European Caspian Sea to Commission President Jose Manuel Bar- Turkey’s port on the Mediter- roso signed a memorandum of under- ranean Sea. standing to establish an energy f you are to write the history of Azer- Soon after, the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzerum partnership between Azerbaijan and the Ibaijan, you might use pen and oil in- gas pipeline (called also South Caucasus EU, drawing in its estimated three trillion stead of ink. Oil brought three brothers Pipeline - SCP) was launched, bringing cubic-metre gas reserves to help Europe – Alfred, Ludvig and Robert Nobel – to natural gas from the giant Shahdeniz diversify its energy sources. Baku 130 years ago and they were confi- field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Azerbaijan aims to further integrate dent they could establish an oil enter- Caspian Sea to the global market. These into Euro-Atlantic institutions, one of the prise. It took a while to come to fruition massive pipelines came to life in spite of goals of its recently developed national as it was just 10 years ago that Azerbaijan the skepticism of many experts who security policies, and is fast developing – under the leadership of the late Presi- doubted the projects, built in partnership relationships with partners throughout dent Heydar Aliyev – made a firm bid to with western energy companies led by the world. Its energy wealth has attracted become a regional leader despite the com- British Petroleum, would ever come to investors from Europe, Asia and the plex geopolitical environment that is its life. Azerbaijan is now working with United States, and links with Canada are birthright. other countries and multinational compa- growing – in June, Canada’s first trade Today, the country is growing fast. The nies to implement more transregional mission visited Baku. If Canada were to World Bank reports the country's annual projects including the “Transport Corri- open a diplomatic mission, it would give GDP growth has averaged 12 per cent dor Europe – Caucasus – Asia” program further impetus to co-operation between over the past five years and shot up to an (also known as TRACECA or the Silk the two countries. impressive 26 per cent in 2005. Road project), trans-Caspian oil and gas Azerbaijan still faces many challenges On May 28, 2006, Azerbaijan’s state- pipelines, and the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars rail- inherited from the former Soviet system

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6 SEPTEMBER—OCTOBER 2007 DIPLOMATIC AGENDA Marilyn_Wilson_Ad.qxd|DIPLOMATICA 8/7/07 12:43 PM Page 1

and associated with the transition to Elegant French Provincial modernization. The government is $3,900,000.00 steadily working to reform the country’s legislature, bureaucracy, economic infra- structure and social fabric. With the assis- tance of the United Nations Development Program, International Monetary Fund

AZERBAIJAN’S ENERGY WEALTH

HAS ATTRACTED INVESTORS

FROM EUROPE, ASIA AND THE

UNITED STATES, AND LINKS WITH

CANADA ARE GROWING – IN

JUNE, CANADA’S FIRST TRADE

MISSION VISITED BAKU.

and World Bank, Azerbaijan has deter- mined its development goals and has started social programs to improve the Marilyn Wilson lives of ordinary Azerbaijanis. The gov- Sales Representative ernment has invested heavily in schools 165 Pretoria Avenue, and President Aliyev established a size- Ottawa, Ontario K1S 1X1 Telephone:613-238-2801 able fund to sponsor the education of Email: [email protected] Azerbaijani students abroad. The government also set up an oil fund to ensure wealth management remains transparent to all and that the revenues will be dedicated to improve the lives of future generations. At the same time, the government plans to foster non-oil sec- tors of the economy. Another urgent priority is the Arme- nia-Azerbaijan conflict. Despite a cease- fire in place since 1994, the conflict remains unresolved and the two parties are negotiating under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Coopera- tion in Europe’s Minsk Group co-chaired by France, Russia and the U.S. If we re- solve the conflict and the Armenians va- cate the occupied territory of Azerbaijan, the entire region will benefit from other transregional projects. Economic reforms and industrial pro- jects in Azerbaijan could benefit the entire region, so the support of the international community, including Canada, remains important. Close ties will help diversify global energy resources, widen the trans- portation network and reinforce the sta- bility of one of the world’s most strategically important regions.

Fakhraddin Gurbanov was ambassador of Azerbaijan until September when he became ambassador to London.

DIPLOMAT AND INTERNATIONAL CANADA 7 QUESTIONS ASKED DIPLOMATICA| Focus: No. 1, Afghanistan, No. 2, The Americas

Len Edwards became deputy minister of foreign affairs in March 2007 when Peter what’s been happening. The department Harder, the subject of our cover package, left the public service. Mr. Edwards is a had been split (from International Trade) career diplomat who’s also been deputy before I left trade and now it’s back to- minister of agriculture and international gether again. So that knitting process is trade. He sat down with still underway. Diplomat’s editor Jennifer DM: Campbell to talk about Is the knitting process the main pre- his priorities, what occupation as far as managing the depart- it’s like to be the dad of a famous ment goes? rock star and what LE: keeps him up at The department has come back to- night. gether fairly quickly. DM: Diplomat magazine: I gather it didn’t want to separate in the first place. What’s the most LE: pressing issue on It didn’t want to separate – perhaps your plate? What keeps you’re right. So it came back together you awake at night? quickly. This is not an issue that requires Len Edwards: particular encouragement from the It’s pretty hard to deputies but still it needs some nurturing choose. There are so many things here and there because it hasn’t fit back happening. I guess the most press- together exactly the same way it was. ing issues tend to be the ones that are fo- DM: cused on the government’s priorities so You’ve had postings in Vietnam, issues around Afghanistan have certainly Turkey, Belgium, Japan, Korea – which been a preoccupation. was the best? My second priority has been to re- LE: spond to the Prime Minister’s interest in Everybody asks me that question and making the Americas a priority for his I have a stock answer. foreign policy. He had a speech in early DM: February in Ottawa in which he talked A diplomatic answer, no doubt. about reaching south of the United States LE: into our neighbourhood of the Americas Well, no, it’s not even diplomatic, be- and improving our relations in that re- cause it’s the truth. Every posting was gion, and doing a better job of responding special in its own way. Vietnam was my to our interests in both economic security first posting. I was single, living in a ho- and in governance and rule of law. A lot of tel. For a full year, I was up in Hanoi dur- my time since then has been spent pulling ing the final days of the American together a task team to work on that. involvement in Vietnam. It’s hard to I’ve worked very closely with my col- imagine, at that time, a more interesting league, (Marie-Lucie Morin) the deputy place to be. All of them have enriched me minister of international trade, who is enormously. pursuing her priorities around the global DM: commerce strategy so the whole depart- What’s it like to be the father of Ot- ment is supporting her in that particular tawa’s alt-country darling Kathleen Ed- priority. wards? Once you deal with those priorities of LE: the government, whatever time is left (Laughs) It’s interesting to be known goes to managing the department. In my as somebody else’s father, for a change. first message to members of the depart- Children tend to be known as someone’s ment, I said that in addition to focusing son or daughter but I’m identified more A V O L I on the government’s priorities, I would often by my daughter, outside the depart- T Y I H

C be focusing on those issues. Having been ment at least. Within the department, I’m

A N A

J gone from the department for almost identified with my son who is in the for- three years, I felt I had to catch up on eign service. “You’re Tim’s father” or

8 SEPTEMBER—OCTOBER 2007 QUESTIONS ASKED |DIPLOMATICA

“You’re Kathleen’s father.” She’s had some success so far in her career and it’s been wonderful to share in that from an observer’s point of view. When I was younger, I once had some short-lived EXPERIENCE L'ART DE VIVRE dreams of being an entertainer myself. I chose the safe way and joined the public service but she had more courage than I www.signaturesrestaurant.com and decided to take the risks of the enter- tainment business – which are high. She’s 453 LAURIER AVENUE EAST been blessed with some success. 613.236.2499 DM: You play guitar yourself? LE: I do a little bit, just for fun. But I don’t have a lot of time to play guitar. I also do some singing. My wife is also very musi- cal – she in the Cantata singers here in Ot- tawa so we have lots of music in our house, even without our daughter pres- ent. When she comes home, we have a lot more music in the house. DM: What are your thoughts on Doha given the recent setbacks? LE: We all hope the round, which started in Doha five years ago – and I was there as trade deputy – will result in an out- come. Unfortunately, the signs are that the major players are continuing to have difficulty closing the gaps in their posi- tions. All we can do as Canada is con- tinue to do whatever we can to encourage those players to resolve their differences. I haven’t given up hope and I don’t think we should but the most recent signs con- tinue to be that there are some very sub- stantial challenges. It’s taken a long time and it’s disheartening for those of us who believe we need a positive outcome to this round.

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DIPLOMAT AND INTERNATIONAL CANADA TRADE WINDS DISPATCHES|

Playing catch-up in the free trade race By David Emerson

n today’s global economy, there’s a di- to growing these numbers. And that’s why Irect link between a nation’s quality of we have made India a priority market life and its ability to trade with – and Prime Minister Harper has just re- invest in – the markets of the world. turned from a visit to Colombia, Chile, Canada is a case in point. Half of what we Barbados and Haiti, where he under- manufacture in Canada is exported, and scored Canada’s commitment to greater one fifth of all Canadian jobs are directly co-operation with our hemispheric neigh- linked to international trade. bours, including on the commercial front. That means it’s essential to aggres- During his trip, he announced the launch sively pursue global opportunities by of free trade negotiations with the breaking down trade and investment bar- Caribbean Community and Common riers around the world and building links Market (CARICOM). in the web of international commerce. We also recently launched free trade Trade agreements are a fundamental part negotiations with Colombia, Peru and the of this pursuit. Dominican Republic, and we remain com- While we’ve had some success negoti- mitted to negotiating an agreement with ating tightly focused commercial agree- the Central American Four of El Salvador, ments, such as air services and investment Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. protection, Canada’s last general free countries are already well entrenched. As well, we’re pursuing free trade trade agreement was signed with Costa Combined, this group is Canada’s eighth- agreements with South Korea and Singa- Rica in 2001. Meanwhile, our competitors largest merchandise export destination, pore, which we hope to conclude in the have stepped up their efforts, signing bi- with $11 billion in two-way trade in 2006. near future. lateral free trade agreements with estab- The EFTA group is also a key invest- We concluded negotiations on a FIPA lished and emerging economies. Since ment partner for Canada, with $22 billion with Jordan, and have agreed to study the 2001, for example, the U.S. has negotiated in two-way investment at the end of 2005. feasibility of a Canada-Jordan free trade free trade agreements covering 16 coun- In fact, the Swiss are the fifth-largest in- agreement. tries, with agreements covering eight vestor in our country, with a significant We negotiated a science and technol- more in progress. presence in biotech and pharmaceuticals. ogy co-operation agreement with China – This imbalance puts Canadian firms at The agreement – Canada’s first-ever similar to the one already in place with In- a disadvantage. It reduces opportunities transatlantic agreement with European dia – that brings Canadian and Chinese for trade. It neutralizes Canada’s competi- partners – will build on this success. researchers together to develop and com- tive advantages – advantages our busi- The agreement is good news for those mercialize new technology for the interna- nesses have worked hard to hone over working in a number of Canadian sectors. tional marketplace. decades, from expertise in agriculture, en- It will eliminate or reduce duties for a As these examples clearly show, ergy and natural resources, to our grow- range of goods and agricultural products. Canada is back in the game. ing high-tech sector. And it gives other From auto parts to forestry products, to Our government is determined to open countries an edge that diverts opportuni- agriculture, fish and seafood, the agree- more doors to global markets, and to cre- ties away from our communities. ment will give Canadian producers and ate trade and investment opportunities Canada’s new government believes exporters the preferential market access to that will make our country more competi- Canadian companies and investors and EFTA countries that the EU now enjoys. tive in the years ahead. Canada is becom- communities have what it takes to com- While this agreement with the EFTA ing more engaged at the international pete with the world’s best. And when it nations is a great start, we need to do level, and Canadians will benefit. comes to trade agreements that level the more, and we are. For example, Canada As our growing relationship with In- playing field for those companies, we’re recently negotiated a Foreign Investment dia, China, and other emerging economies starting to make real progress. Promotion and Protection Agreement demonstrates, the opportunities in the On June 7, I announced that Canada (FIPA) with India that will give Canadian global economy are great. has concluded free trade negotiations and Indian investors the protection and I look forward to continue working with the European Free Trade Association stability they need to take advantage of with Canadians to capture these opportu- (EFTA) countries of Iceland, Norway, opportunities in each others’ market. nities and to build an even stronger and Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It’s a good India is widely recognized as one of the more prosperous Canada in the years to match. Like Canada, the four EFTA coun- fastest growing economies on the planet. come. tries are sophisticated and wealthy Canada has much to offer as India contin- economies driven by technological inno- ues its ascent. Last year, our two-way David L. Emerson is minister of interna- vation. Together, they offer huge market trade reached $3.6 billion while flows of tional trade and minister for the Pacific potential for us. direct investment increased by 17 per cent Gateway and the 2010 Vancouver- Our trade and investment links to these to $528 million. We are deeply committed Whistler Olympics .

10 SEPTEMBER—OCTOBER 2007 THE IMMIGRANT GAP |DISPATCHES

Should Canada pay poor countries for skilled immigrants?Absolutely, writes Don Cayo

THE SKILLS THESE ore than a million Canadians can’t tion that keeps the numbers in short sup- IMMIGRANTS BRING WITH THEM, NOW find a family physician, yet thou- ply, he said. It’s the lack of money to train M ATROPHYING FROM DISUSE, ARE ALSO sands of immigrant doctors aren’t them. allowed to practise here. It doesn’t matter URGENTLY NEEDED BACK HOME. Care would have to be taken, of course, how well-trained, smart or able they are, to ensure those accepted for immigration or how good their English — the ossified have sound qualifications on which to provincial bureaucracies that certify In the Philippines, it’s nurses who are build Canadian careers, and that they’re physicians simply can’t, or won’t, deal more apt to immigrate, but there’s a keen to come — not “sold,” in effect, by with more than a small fraction of their chronic doctor shortage nonetheless. One their government to the highest bidder. number. reason is that many physicians retrain to A very different solution was proposed If you think that’s a dreadful waste of earn nursing credentials, which are more earlier this year by the Gates-funded non- talent, you’re right. But it’s also just half likely to be accepted in a developed coun- profit, GAVI Alliance (formerly the Global the sad story. The skills these immigrants try. Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization). bring with them, now atrophying from I’ve long argued that Canada must It announced plans to spend US$500 mil- disuse, are also urgently needed back start treating all of its skilled immigrants lion over three years to help poor coun- home. For example, sub-Saharan Africa — not just doctors, though they’d be a tries lure some of their medical has 25 per cent of the global disease bur- good place to start — more fairly and sen- professionals back. Some of its strategies den, yet just four per cent of the world’s sibly. It wouldn’t be hard to set up a sys- are as basic as simply ensuring they’re health care workers. By contrast, North tem to assess foreign qualifications and, in paid on time. America has only 10 per cent of the bur- cases where they fall just a little short of That’s certainly preferable to leaving den and 37 per cent of the manpower. Canadian requirements, tailor remedial thousands of under-employed doctors in Last year in Lilongwe, the capital of courses to fill in any gaps. Canada driving taxis or doing other me- Malawi, the world’s fourth-poorest coun- But if we do that and nothing more, nial work while their credentials are in try, I met a man I thought was a doctor. It we’ll simply facilitate a worsening brain limbo. turns out he wasn’t yet fully qualified, al- drain from countries that can’t compete But the pay-for-training model has the though he was the primary health care economically with ours. potential to solve the problem for not only provider for 100,000 people. He manned a When Shamsh Kassim-Lakha, the for- poor countries desperate for skilled work- clinic and performed surgeries 10-12 mer president of the Aga Khan Univer- ers, but for rich ones as well. hours a day, six days a week, and re- sity’s nine campuses worldwide, Indeed, there’s a global shortage of mained on call during his meagre time off. challenged me on that point last year, I re- about 4.3 million medical professionals, If he ever completes his qualifications sponded that, in addition to enacting poli- according to the World Health Organiza- to a level that lets him practise anywhere cies to help immigrants get to work, we tion. So bolstering medical-school budgets else, how long do you think he’ll stay? should be reimbursing their countries of is one of the most effective foreign aid Doctors may have it a little better in origin for the money invested in their measures that Canada could undertake — most developing countries, but they still training. in addition to helping us meet our own leave in droves. In South Africa, for in- Kassim-Lakha was immediately enthu- needs. stance, 37 per cent leave for greener pas- siastic. It’s not a shortage of keen and tures. qualified candidates for medical educa- Email Don Cayo at [email protected].

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DIPLOMAT AND INTERNATIONAL CANADA 11 7EST %A S T THE HARDER FILE DISPATCHES|

12 SEPTEMBER—OCTOBER 2007 THE HARDER FILE |DISPATCHES

Peter Harder’s three laws for

governingOne of Canada’s most distinguished public servants tells NeilCanada Reynolds why Canada must seek greater economic integration with the U.S. and Mexico.

hen Peter Harder de- Affairs, Chrétien invited Mr. Harder into an evangelical conscience that motivated parted the Public Ser- his office. He introduced himself. “My prairie populism and anchored the “reli- vice of Canada in name is Jean Chrétien,” he teased the gious right.” People of deep religious March, as deputy young Peter Harder. “I’m a Christian, too.” convictions have pursued their beliefs in W minister of foreign af- It was former Conservative Prime the Commons – and in the public service fairs, he left as the longest-serving Minister Brian Mulroney who first made – from the start. deputy minister in the federal govern- Mr. Harder a deputy minister. When he Further in this issue of Diplomat mag- ment – and as a high-ranking adminis- met Mr. Chrétien to thank him for the azine, Peter Harder discusses the role of trator for five prime ministers. In one of “high offices of state” that Mr. Chrétien religious faith in the governing of a secu- his first acts as a private citizen, he called had given him, he thanked him also for lar state – based upon his personal ob- each of them, or met with them, to thank dismissing the advice of rivals who, be- servations over his remarkable 30-year them for the privilege of high office that cause of his service to the Mulroney gov- career. In this personal essay (“In de- they had given him. ernment, denigrated him “as a Tory fence of faith in public life,” page 15), He met Liberal Prime Minister Jean hack.” Mr. Harder concludes that faith and pub- Chrétien, who had appointed him to His own surname aside, Mr. Chré- lic service remain inseparable. three successive deputy-minister posi- tien’s introduction to Mr. Harder ap- tions, at his Ottawa office. It was fitting pears more eccentric now than it would hen Mr. Mulroney gave Mr. that Mr. Harder met Chrétien at the end have appeared a generation ago. We’re Harder responsibility for a of his public service career. He had met exceptionally careful these days to keep federal department in 1991, he him at the beginning, too – indeed, be- church and state separate – or to appear assigned him a tough task. Earlier, in fore the beginning. to do so. In fact, religious faith has al- W1988, he had given Mr. Harder the job of In 1971, as a teenager, Mr. Harder had ways shaped public policy in Canada, ei- fixing the country’s scandalous backlog toured Parliament Hill on a program spon- ther implicitly or explicitly. It was the of refugee cases. For humanitarian rea- sored by his Mennonite church in “social gospel,” a Methodist legacy, that sons, the Immigration Department had Vineland, near Niagara Falls. Then in his defined democratic socialism and essentially stopped deporting people – first cabinet position, as minister of Indian shaped 20th Century liberalism. It was no matter how bogus their claims as

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refugees. This policy induced more peo- that he’s free to speak publicly about the ereignty means making the decisions ple abroad to jump the queue. “If yes most pressing issues of the day, what necessary for the long-term economic in- meant yes, and no meant yes,” Mr. does Peter Harder think? terests of the country.” This observation Harder recalls, “then no didn’t exist.” As For one thing, he says that Canada reflects Peter Harder’s Second Law: The the founding executive-director of the must press forward with greater eco- country that best understands globalization Immigration and Refugee Review Board, nomic integration with the United States wins. he insisted that no meant no, that people – which he says, ironically, is the only The nations that will succeed in the who couldn’t qualify as legitimate way for Canada to preserve its national future, Mr. Harder says, will be the ones refugees could not remain forever in the sovereignty. that best understand globalization. Does country. To appreciate Mr. Harder’s assess- Canada understand it? Most Canadians The Immigration Department itself ment on the integration of the American, do: “The Canadian public is ahead of the resisted this stance. During a showdown Mexican and Canadian economies, it politicians. session between the protagonists, on a helps to know Peter Harder’s First Law: “The public understands basic eco- Friday afternoon in September, a knock Economic space is greater than political nomics,” Mr. Harder says. “Try telling an on the door interrupted the tense dis- space. Succinctly put, Mr. Harder’s First auto worker in southwestern Ontario cussion. A messenger told Mr. Harder Law means that neither Canada nor any what the closing of the border would there was an urgent telephone call. Mr. other country can stop the economic mean. The discussion would not be theo- Harder left the room, thinking perhaps transformation now taking place around retical.” Yet a terrorist attack on the U.S. his nine-year-old son had broken an the globe – the simultaneous economic could close the border, in both direc- arm. Instead, it was Mr. Mulroney on rise, among many other countries, of tions, at any time. the line. China, India, Brazil and Russia. Nor can A more integrated continent will thus “Hello, Peter,” Mr. Mulroney said. any of them opt out of it. require, among other things, a common “This is the Prime Minister.” Mr. Mul- “Canada has every interest in stronger perimeter. The “harder” we make the ex- roney proceeded to read the text of an integration with the United States,” he terior border, Mr. Harder says, the Order-in-Council that named Peter says, “and even a stronger [interest] than “softer” we can make the internal border Harder as deputy minister of immigra- the historical evidence would suggest. – which explains why he advocates a tion – with full authority to end the ar- “In our lifetime, we will see the rise of “hard shell” around North America. In- gument that he was having, at that very the emerging economies – which is a tegration itself means “building some in- moment, in the room down the hall. great thing – that will alter the economic stitutional capacity that is bi-national, In the succeeding 16 years, Mr. and geopolitical landscape of the world. and perhaps tri-national.” This is too Harder served as the most senior public “Surely it is in Canada’s interest to much, for the moment, for Canada’s po- servant in five government departments have a more integrated North America litical leadership to handle. – Immigration, Treasury Board, Solicitor in the face of a China which has already Mr. Harder insists that economic inte- General, Industry and Foreign Affairs overtaken Germany as the third-largest gration does not lead to political integra- (combined with International Trade). At economy in the world. China will equal tion and says that the internal border Foreign Affairs, Mr. Harder assumed re- the U.S. economy by 2015, with each of will always remain “to define our politi- sponsibilities as the personal representa- these countries having 18 percent of cal space.” tive of the prime minister at three G8 global GDP. China will exceed the U.S. Canadians should not look at the summit meetings (Sea Island in the U.S., economy [significantly] by 2025, with 25 United States only through “a political 2004; Gleneagles in Scotland, 2005; St. percent of global GDP. lens,” Mr. Harder says. (“Iraq is a diffi- Petersburg in Russia, 2006). “These are the trendlines. They are al- cult lens.”) Canada’s relationship with During these years, Mr. Harder ready there. the U.S. transcends “any particular presi- served as well on the board of the Busi- “I’m not saying that the U.S. will be a dent, any particular issue.” ness Development Bank, the National declining power. The world will be one Canadians are intimately connected Research Council and the Canadian in which wealth is increasing, in which with the United States through family re- Tourism Commission. He served on the the pie is bigger. [But] Canada’s percent- lationships, social relationships and eco- advisory council of the Canadian Space age of global GDP will decline. And it nomic relationships, through history and Agency and as co-chair of the Canada- will be beneficial for us to be part of the values and interests. Politics can keep us China Strategic Working Group. In 2000, economic space of a more integrated apart – and Mr. Harder is the first to con- Governor General Adrienne Clarkson North America. cede that political differences alone can, awarded Mr. Harder the Prime Minis- “Wouldn’t it be better for Canada to and do, get in the way of greater eco- ter’s Outstanding Achievement Award be inside the perimeter of the North nomic integration. for leadership in the public service. American economy than outside it? “I do not believe that political integra- When he quit the public service, Mr. Think of this in the context of a terrorist tion is desirable,” he says. “I do not be- Harder joined Fraser Milner Casgrain, attack. lieve that economic integration one of Canada’s most prominent law “Yet, for a long time, we haven’t been necessarily leads to political integra- firms, as senior policy advisor in Ottawa. able even to talk about the concept of a tion.” Nevertheless: “Geography has The conference room he uses to meet North American perimeter because it uniquely placed us beside G1.” guests, on the 14th floor of a downtown would look as though we were selling Call it Peter Harder’s Third Law: We office tower, looks out expansively over out our sovereignty. Ironically, by not are our geography. Parliament Hill and the environs where moving toward a perimeter, we will be he once wielded great authority. So, now selling out our sovereignty because sov- Neil Reynolds is publisher of Diplomat.

14 SEPTEMBER—OCTOBER 2007 THE HARDER FILE |DISPATCHES

Peter Harder’s Creed

InFormer seniordefence bureaucrat says freedom of of religionfaith can’t be inpermitted public to compel freedom life from religion. “Gov- ernment is not a church,” says Peter Harder, “but the public servants with whom I have worked don’t park their faith at the door.”

icolas Sarkozy, the French presi- mentor. (Mr. Edwards finally offered two parliament and the military elite consid- Ndent, admitted in the presidential politically acceptable responses, Jesus ered him too Islamist. election in April that he was a Christ and his own wife Elizabeth.) Mr. Whether we acknowledge it or not, “practising Christian.” In the same week, Edwards’ campaign was subsequently virtually every newscast and media re- Boris Yeltsin became the first Russian judged to have stalled – 12 seconds of re- port is in some form a variation of “faith head of state to be buried with Russian flection being deemed too equivocal. In and public life.” Elections around the Orthodox rites in 133 years. In the same the same week yet again, Turkey’s For- globe, revolutionary movements, deci- week, in the first presidential debate eign Minister Abdullah Gul caused a po- sions by governments, actions of civil so- among Democratic Party candidates, litical crisis when the country’s Islamist ciety, even the marketplace – all speak to John Edwards hesitated for 12 seconds government declared him its presidential this interaction. When I spoke with my when he was asked to name his moral candidate – because opposition parties in son and told him that I would be speak-

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ing out on the proper role for religious understand more fully how each nurtures riving in Quebec City and then by boxcar belief in government, he said: “Dad, just the other. I have learned that I must walk to Waterloo. tell them religion and politics don’t mix.” both ways across the bridge. Here is an excerpt from my grandfa- I suspect his view is broadly shared, The Mennonites are an offshoot of the ther’s diary entry, translated from Ger- particularly when so much evil has been Anabaptists, a radical Protestant group man, written as he first saw the shores of motivated, justified and in some cases that emerged in the 1550s, early in the Re- Canada: even glorified in the name of religious formation. They took their name from “At long last my years of hoping and faith. Zealotry is an equal opportunity Menno Simons, a 16th Century Dutch dreaming are about to be fulfilled. A few curse to all religions. It chases faith out of priest who had converted from Roman more hours of sailing and we will touch public life. In my view, this needs to Catholicism. The key tenets of the Men- Canadian soil in Quebec. Today is my change, especially in a post-9/11 world. birthday. I am 45 years of age, and I call Bill Moyers, one of my favorite self-de- out with the words of the Psalmist, ‘And I fined “Christian realists,” writes: “Having NEEDLESS TO SAY, will walk in liberty, for I seek Thy pre- lost faith in all else, zealots have nothing THE REVOLUTION OF 1917 cepts.’ (Psalms 119:45). On the day of my left but a holy cause to please a warrior birth, my mother placed me into a cradle God. They win if we become holy war- CHANGED ALL THAT. TERROR, in Kleefeld, province of Taurien, Russia. riors, too; if we kill the innocent as they Today the waves of fate gently rock me do; strike first at those who had not MASS KILLINGS AND unto the shores of [North] America. struck us; allow our leaders to use the Where will I find a home for myself and fear of terrorism to make us afraid of the PILLAGING OF THEIR COM- my large family? Where shall we find a truth; cease to think and reason together, home for our daily pursuits? How many allowing others to tell what’s in God’s MUNITIES LED SOME 20,000, days will there be for me in this strange mind. Yes, we are vulnerable to terrorists, land? With mixed feelings and emotions, INCLUDING MY PARENTS AND but only a shaken faith in ourselves can and yet with a deep conviction that I have do us in.” Faith in public life, faith in life, GRANDPARENTS, TO THE done the right thing, I cry out with the is the necessary bulwark of political com- words, ‘My God, my hope is in Thee.’” munity. MENNONITE “EXODUS” OF My grandfather was both a minister I want to make three points: First, I and teacher in Russia, my father a lay will press the case for remembering our THE 1920S, LEAVING RUSSIA minister and businessman, first in south- history. Second, I will argue that tension ern Manitoba, then in Vineland, Ontario. between individual and collective ethics IN THE SUMMER OF 1924, My mother and her family had arrived is necessary and, in that context, I will of- in Waterloo County a month earlier. Her fer some reflections on the politicians and CROSSING THE ATLANTIC BY father was 60 years of age. A large the public-policy challenges of our time. SHIP, ARRIVING IN QUEBEC landowner in Russia, he became a farmer Third, I will advocate a greater sense of in Canada, settling in Essex County. what the prominent Muslim leader Aga CITY AND THEN BY BOXCAR While my mother attended public school Khan has called “public integrity.” for a couple of years, at 16 she began Perhaps my reflections require some TO WATERLOO. working at the H.J. Heinz factory. Her biography to provide a personal context. longing for education was expressed in By background, personality and profes- memorizing poetry and teaching Sunday sion, I am self-editing and therefore find school, both virtually life-long pursuits. public confession somewhat intimidating. nonite faith are an emphasis on an indi- Twelve years later, at 29, she started I had lunch a while back with [CBC vidual’s personal relationship to God, grade nine, went on to the University of broadcaster] Eric Friesen. We share much adult baptism, a rejection of state or offi- Toronto Normal School and became a in our backgrounds. When I told him of cial religion, a refusal to swear oaths, teacher. this assignment, he admonished me to non-resistance in the face of aggression My parents were both active in church make myself vulnerable. So here goes, and a refusal of military service. and community. Their faith was their life. Eric. Harsh persecution in the Netherlands I first visited Ottawa when my father, as As I began to prepare, I was over- led many Mennonites to seek refuge in moderator of the Ontario Mennonite con- whelmed by personal reflections and a Europe and North America. My ancestors ference, participated in the opening of the deep sense of humility. I owe much to my migrated first to Poland and, under Ottawa Mennonite Church. My mother Mennonite roots. They are the commu- Catherine the Great, to Russia. The subse- had leadership roles in provincial, na- nity that formed me, the home which quent 150 years or so in Russia are often tional and international women’s confer- nurtured my thinking— the values of described as a golden age in Mennonite ences. Both were active in the Mennonite community, caring, honesty and integrity, history. Central Committee, introducing what has family and work that have been essential Needless to say, the revolution of 1917 become the Ten Thousand Villages net- to my career as they are to any authentic changed all that. Terror, mass killings and work of craft stores across Canada and life. pillaging of their communities led some the U.S., establishing second-hand thrift As we shift between the spiritual and 20,000, including my parents and grand- stores and in visiting African and South secular worlds, between community and parents, to the Mennonite “Exodus” of American church projects. They lived formal organizations, between profes- the 1920s, leaving Russia in the summer fully integrated lives of faith and action. sional and religious values, we come to of 1924, crossing the Atlantic by ship, ar- My upbringing was a broad assort-

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ment of traditional Mennonite theology, a few dollops of evangelicalism (how many can remember Ernest C. Manning, minis- ter and premier, greeting radio listeners from Edmonton, Alberta, to the tune of “In the Sweet Bye and Bye”?) and large doses of social gospel activism. I resisted the evangelical piety and resented the smug self-righteousness of some of my co-religionists. It was at university – the Mennonite Conrad Grebel College at the University of Waterloo – that I first read the great modern theologians and scholars. Diet- rich Bonhoeffer, the German theologian who was hanged by the Nazis. Walter Brueggemann, the prolific American au- thority on the Old Testament. Arthur Gish, the controversial American New Left religious thinker and Reinhold Niebuhr, the radical American pastor and ethicist. They stirred in me an appetite for public life and informed my faith. It was there, in Waterloo, that Professor Frank Epp first taught me the power of govern- ment and its sometime ability to get it High school student Peter Harder walks with Robert Stanfield, leader of the Progressive Conservative Party wrong. He pointed to Ottawa’s Order-in- in the late-1960s and early-1970s, after Stanfield delivered a speech at Beamsville High. The young Harder Council, proclaimed after World War 1, regarded Stanfield as a hero – as people said at the time, “the best prime minister Canada never had.” which prohibited the immigration to Canada of Mennonites (my parents and grandparents among them). The order reads: “A widespread feeling exists through- out Canada, and more particularly in Western Canada, that steps should be taken to prohibit the landing in Canada of immigrants deemed undesirable owing to their peculiar customs, habits, modes of living and methods of holding prop- erty, and because of their probable inabil- ity to become readily assimilated to assume the duties and responsibilities of Canadian citizenship within a reasonable time after entry.” They were wrong, and, when I eventu- ally became Deputy Minister of Immigra- tion, Frank Epp’s lesson served me well. When I went to work as a parliamen- tary intern, more than 30 years ago, I al- ready had a few clear ideas about the necessity – and the necessary limits – of politics. The strongest intellectual influ- ence on me was Reinhold Niebuhr, the great American theologian who identi- fied, more clearly than any other writer of the last hundred years, the lessons to be learned from the appalling slaughters of the 20th Century. His central thesis can be stated succinctly: human beings cannot find their ultimate fulfillment in the polit- Peter Harder, then deputy minister of foreign affairs, strolls across the grounds of the Gleneagles Hotel in ical realm, and yet there can be no real Perthshire, Scotland, with Prime Minister Paul Martin at the 2005 “Gleneagles Summit” of the G8 countries. salvation apart from a life of political

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commitment. Mr. Niebuhr’s thesis is es- Attributes such as the democratic spirit of sentially that a sharp distinction must be inquiry and curiosity, of taking positions drawn between the moral and social be- and standing your ground. Attributes haviour of individuals and of social such as patience, persistence and passion, groups – and that this distinction justifies not to mention tolerance and tenacity. and necessitates political policies which a Add it all up, and we are talking about purely individualistic ethic, in Mr. what the philosophers would call civic Niebuhr’s words, “must always find em- virtue. It is an important idea, the under- barrassing.” standing that democratic governance is As a student, I wrote down this partic- far more than a matter of technique. A vi- ular quotation from Mr. Niebuhr: “Man’s brant and healthy political community capacity for justice makes democracy needs the active participation of its citi- possible, but man’s inclination to injustice zens, and that participation must be makes democracy necessary.” These grounded in civic virtues that contribute Dining with the G8. words returned to my mind when, as to the maintenance of an active public deputy foreign minister, I signed the me- sphere. It may not be faith-based, but it morial book at the great Holocaust me- WE ARE USED TO THE does build political community. By that, I morial in Jerusalem. Thirty-three years mean more than simply an assembly of after first reading these words, they still EXTREME RIGHT’S HATRED people living within a common geo- sit on my desk. OF IMMIGRANTS, BUT graphic space. Community implies a Democratic politics is a rough game number of things in common and, when but it is played by surprisingly decent NOW WE SEE MANY ON we talk about a political community, we people. I say “surprisingly” because it is mean a critical mass of political values so easy to superimpose our own cynicism THE LEFT, IN EUROPE, and beliefs that are held in common. about politics onto the people who work This is not a new issue. Almost 2,500 CALLING FOR AN END TO at politics full-time. Our Members of Par- years ago, Aristotle classified his different liament – be they ministers or back- “MULTICULTURALISM” AND regimes according to the central values benchers – are, by and large, not cynical. they possessed, particularly their ideas They believe in what they are doing and PRACTICES TO THAT THEY about justice. A community, any commu- they believe it is worth doing well. Part of nity, must hold certain things in common. doing it well is making the daily compro- SEE AS FOREIGN AND As a general proposition, the more mises and deals that are the stuff of politi- REGRESSIVE – tightly-knit a community, the easier it will cal life; cynics call this “selling out” but it be for that community to agree on issues is actually the heart and soul of democ- PRACTICES THAT IMPOSE that affect all its members. This is quite racy. distinct from personal faith. Our MPs are surprisingly representa- RESTRICTIONS ON WOMEN, How far can we dilute this sense of tive of Canada. Despite all the stereotyp- commonly-held things before the very ing, the reality is far more reassuring. Our FOR EXAMPLE, OR WHICH idea of community begins to fall apart? MPs are like us, and getting more like us FUNDAMENTALLY DISTURB What about a group of people where very every day as more women enter politics little is held in common? Is that a real and Canadian pluralism increasingly re- THE TRADITIONAL RELATION- community, or just some kind of loose as- flects itself in public life. sociation? Our MPs work hard – long hours SHIP BETWEEN THE STATE This has become one of the most criti- punctuated by lengthy trips home for the cal issues in the world. In Europe, the de- AND RELIGION. weekend where they run from mall open- bate is out in the open, and it is often ings to baptisms to bar mitzvahs, meeting nasty. We are used to the extreme right’s the folks and, perhaps once again surpris- hatred of immigrants, but now we see ingly for the cynics, listening to the folks many on the left, in Europe, calling for an as well, and then bringing those voices end to “multiculturalism” and practices back to the national debate. that they see as foreign and regressive – We tend to think of democracy in elec- said, “Finish this sentence: “as Canadian practices that impose restrictions on toral terms – the right to vote for the per- as….” You know the task: “as American women, for example, or which funda- son who represents us. That is part of it as apple pie” or “as French as the Eiffel mentally disturb the traditional relation- but maybe only the easiest part. If we Tower.’’ Mr. Gzowski’s winning entry ship between the state and religion. Both look around the world, we see that how a read: “as Canadian as possible under the the left and the right, in their very differ- person leaves office – whether peacefully circumstances.” ent ways, are now raising issues about or under coercion – is often more impor- Beyond political theatrics, beyond the political community: How much change tant than how he first came into office. hard work of democracy, there are other can the community accept without com- When I reflect on Canadian democracy, attributes – call them second-order attrib- pletely undermining the community? it is hard not be moved by the immensity utes – that are woven into the fabric of This issue dominates much of our for- of the achievement. I’m reminded of a our democracy. Attributes such as re- eign policy today. When we talk of failed contest that Peter Gzowski once ran. He straint, or more accurately, self-restraint. and fragile states, we are really talking

18 SEPTEMBER—OCTOBER 2007 THE HARDER FILE |DISPATCHES

about places where the political commu- FROM CZARIST RUSSIA, A REALLY CLOSE CONNECTION nity has either broken down or, in some cases, was never really there in the first place. When we talk of peace-building, idowed and living alone, each in her 90s, the two women shared a bond – we are really talking about how to build born into a Mennonite community in Czarist Russia, they had fled the Soviet political communities that work, that W revolution as children, with their families, for refuge in Canada. The one share certain core values and that can de- had grown up in Saskatchewan, the other in Ontario. Now, a lifetime later, they found liver essential services to their members. themselves living in neighbouring towns in Ontario, occasionally chatting together on In some countries, the fractures occur the telephone. along racial or ethnic or religious or eco- One of the women was the mother of Gordon Thiessen, governor of the Bank of nomic lines; in other cases, it is a fatal col- Canada from 1994 through 2001. The other was the aunt of Peter Harder, successively lision between the forces of modernity the deputy minister of five departments of the federal government from 1991 through and tradition. In all cases, there are not 2007. Peter Harder picks up the story: enough things held in common to over- One day, Gordon Thiessen called his mother, who told him that she had just finished come the divisions that separate, and the talking with her childhood friend. result is chaos and catastrophe. “How’s Gordie?” her friend had inquired. How do we even begin to put things “Well, Gordie’s with the government, you know,” his mother had answered. back together? How does an advanced in- “And I have a nephew who’s with the government, too,” the friend had said. “I dustrial democracy talk to poor, radically wonder if they know each other?” different countries like Afghanistan, Haiti From his mother’s chat, Mr. Thiessen thus learned for the first time that his father or Sudan? And yet these are the most ur- and Peter Harder’s father had lived as close neighbours in Russia, that Peter Harder’s gent demands on our foreign policy. uncle – the I am not going to suggest a single, husband of the clear answer. But more than any other widow – had been country, Canada has gone down the mul- his father’s best ticultural path with eyes wide open. We friend. have overcome a number of difficulties, Back in Ottawa, and will undoubtedly face many more in Mr. Thiessen called the future. We have made mistakes, and Mr. Harder to tell there have been false starts and wrong him the story. The steps. two men shared But I also think we have probably done dinner together better than any other country to continu- the same night. ally remake ourselves, to expand our no- But then Peter tions of what it means to be a good Harder’s mother Canadian, to meet demands for inclusion had been a and resist calls for exclusion. More than Thiessen herself. The Harder family in revolutionary Russia, 1923. any other country, we have taken up the Born Maria Petrova challenge of shaping our political com- Tiessen in November, 1913, she was old enough to remember the bandits, anarchists munity to the emerging realities of the fu- and soldiers who pillaged and raped the Mennonite communities in southern Ukraine ture. after the Russian Revolution in 1917. The single biggest political challenge She told the story of one winter raid. of the 21st Century will be the effort to “Mom would tell the story of a raid when her father was forced to stand against the knit together political communities out of wall to be shot,” Peter Harder recalled in a memorial he wrote for his mother. “Mom’s diverse populations that draw on very oldest sister, Aunt Betty, then about 10, jumped at the soldier and said that he different traditions and hold very differ- shouldn’t shoot her father. She had some money, one or two rubles from Christmas. ent beliefs. Look around the world, and The would-be killer picked her up, kissed her and left. reflect on how unusual it is that Jews vote “The family fell to their knees and gave prayers of thanks.” for Sikhs to represent their interests, that Life became extraordinarily difficult during these years for all of the Mennonite Muslims vote for Jews, that Christians communities in Russia. Eventually, more than 20,000 Mennonites, one-sixth of the vote for Buddhists. And yet there are still Russian Mennonite population, emigrated to Canada, a country that promised religious parts of the developed world where it is freedom – where the doors remained open to them until slammed shut in the Great almost unthinkable for a Protestant to Depression. vote for a Catholic. Peter Harder’s grandfather, with members of the Tiessen and Harder families, got Perhaps it is in this sense that my son’s out in 1924 – and made it safely to Manitoba. Gordon Thiessen’s grandfather got out observation that religion and politics do the same year – and made it safely to Saskatchewan. Seven decades later, in Ottawa, not mix, or that Mr. Niebuhr’s distinction Gordon Thiessen and Peter Harder celebrated a serendipitous re-connection of family, between moral and social behaviour of friends and faith. individuals and social and political groups, tells us something important. By Neil Reynolds So this brings me to my final point, the need for greater public integrity. And

DIPLOMAT AND INTERNATIONAL CANADA 19 THE HARDER FILE DISPATCHES|

here, frankly, I’ve learned a tremendous amount from His Highness, the Aga Khan, Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, and someone I’ve had the privilege of knowing for more than 18 years. In his convocation address at Colum- bia University last year, His Highness spoke to this issue with his customary eloquence. He observed that expanding the number of people who share social power is only half the battle. The critical question is how such power is used. How can we inspire people to reach beyond rampant materialism, self-indulgent indi- vidualism and unprincipled relativism? The Aga Khan goes on to suggest that one answer is to focus on personal pre- rogatives and individual rights. He ob- serves that people’s desire for a better life – for a better life for their children – is personal and private. This desire, he sug- gests, must become a public value. His Highness argues that this change in thinking will be difficult to nurture with- out a strong religious underpinning. In the Islamic tradition, after all, the conduct of one’s worldly life is inseparably inter- With Peter Harder nearby, Prime Minister Paul Martin chats with rock star and celebrity fund-raiser Bono twined with the concerns of one’s spiri- at the G8 Summit in Scotland in 2005, one of three G8 Summits that Mr. Harder helped to stage. tual life. You cannot talk about integrity without also talking about faith. Let me quote: “For Islam, the importance of this in- tersection is an item of faith, such a pro- found melding of worldly concerns and spiritual ideals that one cannot imagine one without the other. The two belong to- gether. They constitute ‘a way of life.’ “From that perspective, I would put high among our priorities, both within and outside the Islamic world, the need to renew our spiritual traditions. To be sure, religious freedom is a critical value in a pluralistic society. But if freedom of religion deteriorates into freedom from religion – then I fear we will soon be lost on a bleak and barren landscape with no compass or roadmap, no sense of ulti- mate direction. “I fully understand the West’s historic commitment to separating the secular from the religious. But for many non- Westerners, including most Muslims, the realms of faith and of worldly affairs can- not be antithetical. If ‘modernism’ lacks a spiritual dimension, it will look like mate- rialism. And if the modernizing influence of the West is insistently and exclusively a secularising influence, then much of the Islamic world will be somewhat dis- tanced from it.” Peter Harder with Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. A deeply-rooted sense of public in- tegrity means more than integrity in gov-

20 SEPTEMBER—OCTOBER 2007 THE HARDER FILE |DISPATCHES

ernment, important as that must be. Ethi- resentative to the G8 over the past three cal lapses in medicine and education, years, I have been involved in the major malfeasance in business and banking, dis- issues of development assistance, infec- honesty among journalists, scientists, en- tious disease, climate change, energy, re- gineers, or scholars—all of these gional conflicts (Darfur, the Middle East, weaknesses can undermine the most Haiti and Afghanistan), and in the post- promising democracies. 9/11 world, the challenge of counter-ter- A central element in any religious out- rorism. look, says the Aga Khan, is a sense of hu- These are all issues of heated discus- man limitations – a posture of profound sion among concerned citizens and humility before the Divine: “In that sensi- church activists, and rightly so. I want to bility lies our best protection against divi- assure you that for me, and for many of sive dogmatism and our best hope for my colleagues in the government of creative pluralism.” Peter Harder and Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the Canada (and in governments and interna- For me, the Imam of the Ismaili com- fifth prime minister he served as a deputy minister. tional organizations around the world), munity has pretty well summed up my dealing with these issues is an expression Mennonite/United Church understand- CHURCHES SHOULD, OF of their values, of their faith. ing of faith and public life. Government is by definition not an But let me share three examples. COURSE, ADVOCATE THEIR NGO, not a church. But the public ser- First, take refugee and immigration vants with whom I’ve worked don’t park policy. I was both the founding executive CAUSES. BUT I SOMETIMES their values or their faith at the door. director of the Immigration and Refugee FEEL THAT THE ADVOCACY They strive for the civic virtue of Aristo- Board and subsequently deputy minister tle. Within the appropriate accountability of immigration in various departmental CAN OCCUR WITHOUT A FULL structures of our democracy, they animate structures from 1987-1995. The Supreme their actions with their beliefs, with their Court had just ruled that the previous UNDERSTANDING OF THE faith. refugee determination process was con- Churches should, of course, advocate stitutionally flawed and had determined CONTEXT OF A PROBLEM, their causes. But I sometimes feel that the that there was a large backlog of THAT IT MERELY DIMINISHES advocacy can occur without a full under- claimants. It was exhilarating to put in standing of the context of a problem, that place the new system and to see this THE PEOPLE WHO ARE ACTU- it merely diminishes the people who are backlog disappear. But it was also chal- actually doing something to address the lenging when refugee advocates and ALLY DOING SOMETHING TO problem at hand. One of my mentors, church groups would advocate against himself an active Anglican, once told me: ADDRESS THE PROBLEM AT the removal from the country of failed “Beware of the meanness of church ac- claimants. My role was to bring credibil- HAND. ONE OF MY MENTORS, tivists.” ity and integrity to the determination Over the past 29 years, I have had the process. If “yes” meant stay and “no” HIMSELF AN ACTIVE ANGLI- pleasure (mostly) of working for three meant stay, we would soon have no sys- leaders of the opposition and one Deputy tem and no public support for refugee CAN, ONCE TOLD ME: “BE- Prime Minister. As Deputy Minister, I protection. WARE OF THE MEANNESS OF have served five Prime Ministers and The issues around immigration en- twelve ministers in five departments. forcement, by definition, involve real peo- CHURCH ACTIVISTS.” More importantly, I have worked beside ple. Mr. Niebuhr’s dichotomy was alive thousands of public servants seeking to in my soul. build a better Canada, a more just world Second, as secretary of the Treasury and, if not the Kingdom of God, at least a Board for five years, I was involved in the I will confess to you that I also believed it bit of the new Jerusalem. implementation of program review. These was the right thing to do. I want to end by reminding us all of were tough times for the public service, Third, as deputy minister of Industry the wonderful poetry of the new creed. but also the best of times. I believed then, and later Foreign Affairs, I was privileged We are not alone. We live in God’s world. and believe now, that unless governments in being able to help shape Canada’s ap- We believe in God. We trust in God. We live within their means, we risk the col- proach to globalization. I believe in free are called to be the Church. We are not lapse of public support for needed gov- trade. I believe that economic space is alone. Thanks be to God. ernment programs and interventions. greater that political space. High produc- There followed a whole series of cut- tivity, competitiveness, innovation, open As a top-ranked deputy minister, V. Peter backs, pay freezes, pension reforms and markets – all these are necessary and are Harder served five prime ministers. He privatizations – all measures which many good public policy. now works as a senior policy advisor at people in the social action committees of In this period, I was able to chair the Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP. the United Church were decrying. G8 Digital Opportunity Task Force and As a deputy minister, I was, of course, work on global solutions to the “digital This is an edited version of a public address professionally bound to carry out the will divide” between haves and have-nots. given by V. Peter Harder at Ottawa’s South- of the elected government of the day. But And as the Prime Minister’s personal rep- minster United Church.

DIPLOMAT AND INTERNATIONAL CANADA 21 TRAVEL DIARY DELIGHTS|

Susan Wilkins and her M.O.B. squad hit Italia this summer. From left: Jeannie Bouton, Judy Mardre, Becky Bouton, Susan Wilkins, Wyline Holder and Harriet Johnson.

Under the Tuscan sun

Susan Wilkins, wife of U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins, goes to Italy on a dream vacation with the M.O.B. squad

By Susan Wilkins

he plan was hatched when the graduation traveling Europe together, we tour, where we saw the underpinnings of TM.O.B. paid me a visit from South decided to splurge on hiring a tour com- the Basilica. The artifacts are fascinating, Carolina last spring (M.O.B. as in pany, Sunny Tuscany (info.sunnytus- but don’t try this tour if you’re claustro- “Mothers of the Boys,” as we refer to our- cany.com). It turned out to be one of our phobic. At the suggestion of Mrs. Spogli, selves.) Six women, all good friends, better decisions. The guides from Sunny we had dinner at Pierluigi on Piazza de bound by the lifelong friendships of our Tuscany are personable and professional Ricci. It was a terrific recommendation. 30-year-old sons. Some are now parents – notMay to 11mention – very good-looking. We had the best waiter, Georgio, who en- themselves. When you’ve spent hours sit- Our second day in Rome tertained us with his praise for Southern ting together at soccer, baseball, basket- found us touring the beautiful villa and women and served us the most delicious ball, tennis and football games, you get to seven-acre estate of the U.S. Ambassador antipasti and pasta dishes. A drink on the know one another pretty well. to Italy, Ambassador Ronald Spogli and rooftop of the Eden Hotel ended our full The “plan” was a dream trip to Italy. his wife, Georgia. The grounds were envi- day. This last location is a must – the view And our sons were as excited about this able, filled with roses, bougainvillea and is spectacular.May 12 – tripMay as we10 were.– – surprise – trellises of confederate jas- Our guide, Max, picked us up Our dream became reality as mine (a South Carolina staple). On the ve- at our hotel and we were off to Tuscany. Harriet Johnson, Becky Bouton, Jeannie randa, Ambassador Spogli, an On the recommendation of good friends, Bouton, Judy Mardre, Wyline Holder and Italian-American, has installed his own we rented two adjoining villas, Fattoria I arrived in Rome. After all the reading, brick pizza oven. The interior of the resi- La Gigliola, in Montespertoli. The ride up studying and planning, we couldn’t be- dence was lovely and ornate with amaz- into the Tuscan hills was breathtaking, lieve we were actually there. ing antique metal and crystal chandeliers. and once again, we were glad we had On the advice of our sons, who had all Next, we went to St. Peter’s Basilica, taken our sons’ advice to have a driver. spent the summer after their university the Sistine Chapel, and took the Scavi Everywhere we looked, we saw rolling

22 SEPTEMBER—OCTOBER 2007 TRAVEL DIARY |DELIGHTS

green hills, sheep and cows grazing, and Michelangelo, namely Pieta di Palestrina, church is filled with beautiful frescoes castles and mountaintop villages. Maneu- St. Matthew, and Prisoners. What a thrill to and several chapels. Outside and above vering skillfully around the narrow, see up close what I had only seen in pic- Santa Croce is a workshop where leather curvy roads, Max landed us safely at La tures. goods are hand sewn and sold to the pub- Gigliola where we were greeted royally From there, we moved on to the lic May– unique 17 –purses, wallets, belts, etc. by Alexandro, the rental agent, and Anna, Church of Santa Croce, the city’s largest, Thursday was one our theMay owner 13 of– this 600-acre estate. with a neo-gothic façade added in the favourite days. We arrived at the villa, ac- We toasted one another for 19th Century. Here we saw the funeral tually an 800-year-old farmhouse, which Mother’s Day – our day to visit the capi- monument of Michelangelo (1564). The the owner, Julietta, had restored. Ab- tal of Tuscany, Florence, or Firenze. We met our guide, Sylvie, and walked straight to the Boboli Gardens which were lush and manicured, mostly green vegetation with the exception of two knot gardens which were in bloom with pe- onies and roses. Our entire visit there seemed to be infused with the fragrance of Joy perfume. The Pitti Palace, which was the residence of the Medici family, one of the most powerful families in Italy’s history, is also on the acreage of the Boboli Gardens. The Pitti was too opulent and too grand to even begin to describe. From here, we went to the Uffizi Gallery, where we marveled at the works of the Renaissance painters, Botticelli, Michelan- gelo and Raphael. After a full day of culture and beauty, we treated ourselves to gelato for our ride back to our villa. At every turn, our breath was taken away by the scenery. Our guide Ricardo said “only God’s hand could have painted the Tuscan land- scape.” We agreed. The view as the ladies approached the first seaside village of the Cinque Terra in Liguria province on Italy’s We had heard and read so much about northwest coast. Cinque Terre (Five Lands), that we de- cided to get an early start on Tuesday for theMay three-hour 15 – drive from Montespertoli. Cinque Terre is such a unique area, steep cliffs, 20-foot waves, with each of the five villages built on what seemed to be the side of a mountain. This is where you can find some great seafood, which is exactly what we did for lunch. We hiked two of the five trails (each trail gets progressively harder) and then rode with Ricardo in the van to tour the rest of the villages. One can also see the villages by train or boat. On our way back from Cinque Terre, Ricardo took us to an American cemetery where more than 30,000 U.S. soldiers who fought in Italy during WWII were laid to rest. It was an emotional visit for six Baby Boomers whose fathers all fought in the EurMayopean 16 Theatr– e. This was a great day in Flo- rence. Sylvie, our experienced guide, took us to the Academia Museum to view the original statue of David (1501-1504), re- The 800-year-old villa near Florence where the owner gave the ladies hands-on cooking lessons for a four- cently restored. Leading up to the spa- course lunch. cious Tribune are other works of

DIPLOMAT AND INTERNATIONAL CANADA 23 TRAVEL DIARY DELIGHTS|

SUSAN WILKINS’ TIPS ON TRAVELING WITH FRIENDS

1. Be flexible and go with the flow. 2. Have a good sense of humour. 3. Go with people you really, really like. 4. Don’t be ashamed to wear your running shoes. I searched for and brought nice-looking walking shoes. In the end, running shoes were the best. Don’t care if they think you’re a tourist. 5. Know that your trip is going to cost a lot more than you thought.

solutely charming. We truly felt like Di- really needed to drink more wine, we evening, our new friends told us we had ane Lane in Under the Tuscan Sun. Upon traveled on to Greve where we tasted and restored their faith in America. Maybe be- arriving, Julietta presented us with bought Barolo – a rich, bold and hardy ing open and friendly could change the aprons and introduced us to the chef, red. Our caloric count this day probably world. Stephanie, who gave us hands-on lessons exceeded what is recommended for one May 18th was a glorious Tuscan spring on making fresh pasta, pork loin, stir-fry week’s food consumption. day and I decided I could really get into matchstick vegetables and custard cake. When we returned to our villa, a wine this life. Our first stop was at an exquis- We sat around Julietta’s large table and and pasta party was being hosted by the itely-restored 15th Century villa owned thoroughly enjoyed the fruits of our owners. The M.O.B. was seated with a by a well-known jewelry designer, Or- labour. lovely German couple. At two other ta- lando Orlandini. We spent two whole Next, even though we were waddling bles, there was 10 or 12 Serbians who be- hours looking at the designs Orlando and by this point, we visited a balsamic vine- gan to sing folk songs in their native his female artisans create. We tried on gar factory where we taste-tested 20- to language. Not to be outdone, we harmo- everything and oohed and aahed over 50-year-old vinegar, so much thicker and nized on “Nothing Could be Finer than to each piece. I succumbed to the encour- sweeter than store-bought. And, as if we be in Carolina.” At the end of the agement of my friends and bought a necklace which will have to count for my next anniversary, Christmas, birthday, and Mother’s Day gifts. (For the record, David wasn’t too upset.) After this major purchase, we moved on to Florence for more shopping in the market area. I ad- mit I became a more subdued spender at this point. The market is a bustling, lively spot where really good bargains can be found including beautiful leather purses, jackets, gloves, nice linens and Murano glass. This is the spot to buy gifts to take home to family and friends. Then, Ricardo took us to the most wonderful spot. High on a hilltop, over- looking all of Florence is the Church of San Miniato. We went inside and listened to the afternoon vespers, returned to once again take in the magnificence of Flo- rence, and bid a teary farewell to our ex- cellent guide. We spent our last night at a terrace restaurant next door to our villa where we raised our Chianti glasses to toast our friendship, an unbelievable trip and to the sun as it set behind the Tuscan hills.

Susan Wilkins is married to U.S. Ambas- sador David Wilkins.

24 SEPTEMBER—OCTOBER 2007 WINE |DELIGHTS Are you sure that’s Canadian wine in your glass?

ou’re walking through the LCBO 2003 and 2005 in On- They wouldn’t risk losing their best cus- Yand feeling keen on this country tario. Severe winters tomers – restaurants – by selling them so you head right for the Cana- and spring frosts “Canadian” wines made with imported dian section. You pick out your favourites damaged many grapes. E T T E

but when crack them, you think “Hey, R vines and vineyards To my knowledge, no other quality wine- V U this doesn’t taste the same as usual.” You O resulting, in some producing region in the world does this. Of- C

L U check the label. It’s the same wine you’ve A cases, in yields that ten, Chablis producers will be hit hard by P

: O been buying for years. T were only a quarter hail for years in a row, not ever seeming to STEPHEN BECKTA O H What’s changed? Well, you could say P their usual size. So, get a reasonable harvest. Do you see them the wine’s nationality has – it might not in order to help the importing California Chardonnay and call- be Canadian. But how is this possible wineries, the Ontario government and the ing it “Made in France”? Not likely. No one when you’re sure you bought it from the LCBO have allowed wines that have a would stand for it. Canadian section of the liquor store? Well, minimum of 10 per cent Canadian juice to My wife, who knows her way around a did you look carefully? Was it in the qualify as “Made in Canada” in those wine list, recently came home with some Canadian or the “Cellared in Canada” years (in other years, it’s a minimum of wines for everyday drinking. When I section? One sure-fire way to tell if that 30% Ontario juice required to be called asked her why she bought some German wine is truly Canadian is the little VQA Canadian). In very small print, much Riesling, she said she didn’t. The bottle in emblem on the capsule on the top of the smaller than the typical back-label size, question was from a winery I have brought bottle. If it’s there, it’s home grown. If it’s they mention that imported grapes may home many times before. I pointed out the not, it’s most likely made from “imported be used in the wine. lack of VQA labeling on the capsule. Even and domestic grapes and cellared in Why, after fighting so hard to establish she was fooled by this and no wonder – it’s Canada.” the quality of their wines in consumers’ not easy to identify the imports from the Most people think only the bulk wine eyes, would they risk losing the confi- real Canadian wines. It looks to me as producers who put out cheap, generic dence of these fans by substituting im- though the producers, along with the product would do such a thing. After all, ported wines during hard years? They LCBO and provincial government, have haven’t the rest of the small, “quality” had no choice, argued some producers. pulled the wool over our eyes. producers spent years extolling the They couldn’t risk losing their shelf space I suggest avoiding any non-VQA wine virtues of Canadian wines to Canadian at the LCBO, the largest alcohol distribu- “Made in Canada” and supporting the drinkers and insisting Canada has real tor in the world. I don’t buy it. The LCBO wineries that endure the hard times and “terroir” or taste of the land that is special is owned by the Ontario government and sell out quickly in the lean years by stick- and unique? This used to be the case. But takes an extra layer of taxes when we buy ing to their principles. They didn’t get into now, many of the most respected names Ontario wines. It also has a mandate to the wine-growing business only to later in Canadian wines such as Hillebrand, In- promote Ontario product. start importing grapes and juice to stick niskillin, Jackson-Triggs, Cave Spring, Some Ontario producers who suc- their label on. Henry of Pelham and Pelee Island are im- cumbed to the government’s offer said porting and bottling imported grapes and they only sell their VQA wines (which Cheers! juice under their own labels as well. guarantees the wine is 100 per cent Cana- The catalysts for this move were two dian) to restaurants. Why? Is it because Stephen Beckta is owner and sommelier small to very small years of production in restaurants would know better? Probably. of Beckta dining & wine.

DIPLOMAT AND INTERNATIONAL CANADA 25 ENTERTAINING DELIGHTS| Trou Normand with a twist

t elaborate or formal dinners, a scented pomegranate liqueur. Of course, children must be in- Asorbet is often served before the seeds. When pome- cluded in the Trou Normand ceremony. main course. However, histori- granates are at the end They get juice or an alcohol-free version, cally, part way through a copious meal, a of their season in De- but with the same presentation. “shot” of high-proof alcohol, usually Cal- cember, I purchase ex- In our home, I deliberately use a Trou vados, was served to stimulate the ap- cessive quantities, Normand to my own advantage as well. petite. Calvados is a dry apple brandy squirreling them away While guests are enjoying their refreshing which is double-distilled before being in the bottom of the re- little “taste” and a petit pause in the MARGARET aged in Limousin oak barrels for at least DICKENSON frigerator. From De- menu, I excuse myself from the table and a year and even up to 40. The finest Cal- cember through June, get a head start on assembling the main vados comes from the “Pays d’Auge ap- our guests enjoy my innovative Trou Nor- course. Also, I believe that a formal din- pellation contrôlée,” a designation that mand creation (see hoarding tip at the ner must include at least four courses. A appears on the label. end of the recipe). It’s so easy and simple, Trou Normand is the easiest and most re- With Calvados native to Normandy, anyone can make it. It’s simply pome- warding way to extend a three-course France, the term “Trou Normand” has granate seeds bathed with Goldschlager menu into a four-course feast. A Trou

IN OUR HOME, I DELIBERATELY

USE A TROU NORMAND TO MY

OWN ADVANTAGE AS WELL.

WHILE GUESTS ARE ENJOYING

THEIR REFRESHING LITTLE

“TASTE” AND A PETIT PAUSE IN

THE MENU, I EXCUSE MYSELF

FROM THE TABLE AND GET A

HEAD START ON ASSEMBLING

THE MAIN COURSE.

evolved. Served at dinner (rarely at lunch), a Trou Normand is designed to cleanse the palate and prepare the diner for the array of dishes yet to come. Tech- nically, today a Trou Normand is alcohol served “straight” or poured over ice or a sorbet. But that is not always the case at our table. When I present a Trou Normand, the playful side of my character surfaces. Be- cause quantities are small, it’s fun to es- tablish a balance by amplifying the ceremony. I may serve the traditional shot of Calvados but glasses arrive with dried apple wafer lids. My signature Trou Nor- N O mand sorbet is nothing more than com- S N E K C mercial key lime sorbet, doctored with I D

Y chopped rosemary leaves and cinnamon R R A extract. Then, there are my cinnamon- L

26 SEPTEMBER—OCTOBER 2007 ENTERTAINING |DELIGHTS

for as long as six more months. Normand not only adds another entirely different dimension to a meal, but it is Basic Sugar Syrup chic. It knocks the dinner up a notch or Makes 3 cups or 750 mL thin syrup two. When planning your next dinner party, 2 cups (500 mL) granulated sugar think about serving a Trou Normand – 2 cups (500 mL) water perhaps the traditional shot of Calvados, a sorbet, or why not a personal creation? 1. Place sugar and water in a medium Bon Appétit. saucepan over medium-high heat; stir constantly until sugar dissolves. Margaret Dickenson is author of the in- 2. Bring syrup to a boil; reduce heat and

ternationally acclaimed book Margaret’s s

allow mixture to boil for a few minutes. t

Table – Easy Cooking and Inspiring En- n Remove from heat. e v tertaining (www.margaretssenseofocca- E

3. When cool, pour syrup into sterilized, l a sion.com). i

well-sealed glass jars and store refrigerated c e p

CINNAMON-SCENTED for up to a few weeks or frozen for months. S POMEGRANATE SEEDS Makes 1 cup or 250 mL (8 servings) APPLE BRANDY TROU NORMAND WITH DRIED APPLE WAFER 1 cup (250 mL) fresh pomegranate seeds* Makes 4 servings 3 tbsp (45 mL) cinnamon-flavoured liqueur** (e.g., Goldschlager) 1/2 cup (125 mL) apple brandy 4 dried apple wafers (recipe follows) a c .

Garnish (optional) l a t n e

8 thin cinnamon sticks (length: 3 1/2 inches 1. Pour apple brandy into four tall thin shot r e m i or 9 cm) glasses. t y t r a p

2. If desired, lay a single dried apple wafer . w w

1. At least several hours (but preferably a horizontally across rim of each glass to w day or two) before serving, mix represent a lid. 613.745.9400 pomegranate seeds and liqueur together. 3. Set each glass on a liner and serve. 2. Store refrigerated in an airtight plastic container, stirring occasionally to ensure DRIED APPLE WAFERS even flavouring of seeds. Makes about a dozen apple wafers 3. Serve chilled pomegranate seed mixture in liqueur glasses, dividing seeds and liquid 2 tbsp (30 mL) lemon juice evenly between glasses (e.g., 2 tbsp or 30 1 tbsp (15 mL) water www.rgb-group.com mL per serving). Poke a slender cinnamon 1 small whole apple (weight: 3 oz or 85 g), stick into each glass as a garnish. red skinned (e.g., Empire, McIntosh)

* You’ll need 1 1/2 to 2 fresh whole 1. Twist stem off apple. pomegranates. Cut the fruit in half and 2. Slice apple crosswise into paper thin, carefully remove the seeds. Discard the skin even, translucent slices using a sharp and absolutely all bits of white pulp. (Note: straight-edged knife (or mandolin). I choose leathery skin fruit of the darkest 3. Combine lemon juice and water in a small burgundy colour possible.) bowl; dip apple slices. Allow apple slices to ** For a non-alcoholic option, use a basic rest for a few minutes between paper sugar syrup (recipe below) and a pinch of towels before arranging slices in a single ground cinnamon (to taste). layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. 4. Place in a 225 °F (110 °C) preheated oven Make-ahead tip (Steps 1 to 3): The for 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack (or pomegranate seeds may be prepared and place directly on oven rack) and reduce soaked up to 3 or 4 days in advance. temperature to “warm” (e.g., 150 °F or 65 °C). Turning occasionally, bake apple wafers Hoarding tip: Pomegranates are usually until dry (another 30 minutes or longer). Westboro Elegant 4-storey available from October to December in Note of caution: Avoid over-baking as the Ottawa River-View House North America. However, I generally apple wafers will darken quickly. RGB GROUP purchase a half dozen or more at the end of 5. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and allow Rental property / Property Management the season, wrap them individually in paper to cool. General Construction towels and store them in the fruit drawer of 6. If not using promptly, arrange in a wax [email protected] the refrigerator. Although their leathery paper-lined airtight container and store in a Rolf Baumann 613-265-2700 Noshi Asangarani 613-262-4373 skins may shrink, I have juicy pomegranates cool dry place for up to several months.

DIPLOMAT AND INTERNATIONAL CANADA 27 BOOKS DELIGHTS| The roots of the nuclear dilemma

George Abraham

he prospect of nuclear terrorism has Tbrought new urgency to a debate that began almost from the moment that Little Boy rained down fire, destruc- tion and radioactivity on the hapless resi- dents of Hiroshima. But the questions remain timeless: Are nuclear weapons more effective as deterrents than as offen- sive weapons? How can we stop peaceful nuclear programs from becoming bomb factories? And, in one current, pointed in- stance, why could we accept bomb tech- nology in the hands of the Shah of Iran three decades ago, but not in the hands of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad today? Brian Buckley, a retired Canadian for- eign service officer, sets up these dilem- mas via the proverbial challenge “to pluck the rose while avoiding the thorn.” Ever since the atom was tamed to pro- duce the rose of energy “too cheap to me- ter,” nations have grappled with the Canada’s Early Nuclear Policy: Fate, Chance, temptation to possess the thorn of nuclear of Iran’s nuclear industry is now run by and Character, by Brian Buckley, McGill- weapons. Some nations such as Canada the military, that a lot of its installations Queen’s University Press (2000), 172 pages hardly skipped a beat in deciding against have been moved underground and that producing bombs, but others have spent the program has been accelerated in re- In a must-read classic among nuclear billions perfecting the art of triggering as cent years. historians, this former diplomat describes little as 25 kilograms of highly enriched However, he also reports that Iran’s Canada emerging from the Second World uranium or eight kilograms of plutonium nuclear program goes back to the days of War as a victor with major contributions to send tremours across the world. Terror- the Shah, who was one of the U.S.’s early to the Allied cause. It stood to gain in ists have yet to get their hands on this fis- “Atoms for Peace” recipients and who stature if it decided to build a nuclear sile material, but it’s not for want of approved a plan for 22 nuclear reactors in bomb. However, that was not to be, al- trying. 1974 after also being one of the first to though the government of Prime Minister Our book selections examine two con- sign the NPT. Interestingly, the Americans Mackenzie King was aware of American trasting responses to the nuclear question also helped the Shah’s regime to begin a plans to bomb Japan with a “certain very – Iran’s and Canada’s – and a timely re- laser-enrichment program for uranium in secret weapon” and had set up a joint An- view of the Non-Proliferation Treaty 1975. It is this historical aspect that gives glo-Canadian effort to help the Manhat- (NPT) by an acknowledged weapons ex- some credence to Tehran’s claim that its tan project. pert. nuclear program has continued on the Eventually, the bombs that were The Iran Threat: President Ahmadinejad and trajectory begun during the Shah’s reign. dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki the Coming Nuclear Crisis, by Alireza Yet, the author calls his native country were almost entirely the result of Ameri- Jafarzadeh, Palgrave Macmillan (2007), 284 the “most rogue nuclear state imagina- can ingenuity, although that did not stop pages ble.” While Iran and North Korea have the British from taking a measure of both manipulated and partially evaded credit. Mr. Buckley does a commendable This Iranian exile living in the U.S. has the IAEA, the author singles out the job trying to piece together the political done the world a favour by writing a Shi’ite Islamic nation because of its stresses unleashed in Canada following comprehensive account of Iran’s nuclear known support of terrorists and its ambi- the Allied victory, but is hard-pressed to journey and situating it within that coun- tions as a regional power. While these in- come up with a definitive statement of try’s political context. As the whistle- terpretations are valid, it is hard to Canadian nuclear abstinence. Calling it blower for much of the information that fathom why Mr. Jafarzadeh would use the “mystery of the dog that didn’t triggered the ongoing intrusive inspec- his thesis as justification for “regime bark,” the author finally speculates that tions by the International Atomic Energy change” in Tehran, especially after the ex- war fatigue led Canadians to favour Agency (IAEA), Mr. Jafarzadeh leaves no perience in Iraq and the dubious role “peacetime pursuits” and social safety doubt about Iran’s intentions. He cites played by whistleblowers with their own measures, rather than follow the lure of convincing evidence to show that much political agendas. the bomb.

28 SEPTEMBER—OCTOBER 2007 BOOKS |DELIGHTS

CIRINCIONE CAUTIONS He cautions against cutting deals with AGAINST CUTTING DEALS individual renegades such as Iran and North Korea and is skeptical of “regime change” as a practical solution. However, WITH INDIVIDUAL RENE- leaving these nations alone is also not a viable choice because each new nuclear GADES SUCH AS IRAN AND power sets off a “nuclear reaction chain” across its region. The weapons expert also NORTH KOREA AND IS SKEP- sees a close co-relation between national insecurity and using the bomb as a mili- TICAL OF “REGIME CHANGE” tary option. “[T]he states of proliferation concern are in an arc of crisis that flows AS A PRACTICAL SOLUTION. from the Middle East through South Asia up to Northeast Asia.” The author quotes IAEA director-gen- eral and Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBa- radei as saying that nuclear weapons are “widely considered one of the most suc- an “historic accident” and that they cessful security pacts in history” – citing should have “no role in our security.” its near-universal membership and its That prospect, however, is unrealistic Bomb Scare: The History and Future of normative influence over nations that even for a self-confessed optimist like Mr. Nuclear Weapons, by Joseph Cirincione, have given up the bomb while continuing Cirincione. The NPT has not prevented Columbia University Press (2007), 206 pages with civilian power reactors. Russia, the any nation from pursuing nuclear former Soviet states and Pakistan remain weapons, and as illustrated by Iran’s ex- Mr. Cirincione is a senior fellow at the on the author’s watch-list as potential ex- ample, has arguably provided convenient Center for American Progress in Wash- porters of fissionable bomb material, al- cover for regimes who will stop at noth- ington and a lecturer at Georgetown Uni- though, he says, there are about 40 ing to acquire them. versity's School of Foreign Service. His nations that have highly enriched ura- retrospective study is largely a celebra- nium guarded with about as much rigour George Abraham is Diplomat’s contribut- tion of the Non-Proliferation Treaty – as library books. ing editor.

DIPLOMAT AND INTERNATIONAL CANADA 29 BOOKS DELIGHTS| A Hunter S. Thompson for grown-ups

Ryszard Kapu´sci´nski’s padded last book is best read as travel writing

By George Fetherling

yszard Kapu´sci´nski, who died in RJanuary this year, liked to say that during his career he had witnessed 27 coups and been sentenced to death four times. He was one of Poland’s most famous writers and one of the world’s best-known foreign correspondents. Among certain readers – outward-look- ing liberals who somehow retain a soft spot for American cant phrases – he be- came a cult figure, though at first glance his list of books would hardly be ex- pected to provoke such success. The Emperor (1978) was an oral history (the genre elicits no respect) about the

“THAT IS WHY HERODOTUS IS A PASSIONATE ADVOCATE OF

FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY AND A FOE OF DESPOTISM, AUTHORITARIANISM AND TYRANNY

– HE BELIEVES THAT ONLY UNDER THE FORMER CIRCUMSTANCES DOES MAN HAVE A CHANCE TO ACT WITH DIGNITY, TO BE HIMSELF,

TO BE HUMAN.”

Ethiopian dictator Haile Selassie. Shah of Shahs (1982) described the Iranian revolu- tion of the late 1970s. He wrote most of- ten about Africa, both Saharan and sub-Saharan: The Soccer War, The Shadow of the Sun, Another Day of Life. He was forever insinuating himself as a witness into post-colonial squabbling. To place him between chronological is receiving an inordinate amount of at- the Great Wall of China (Penguin Canada). bookends for purposes of contextualisa- tention, reflecting his high status among Or, less strenuously, Victoria’s Empire tion, he was somewhat like Rebecca West stay-at-home journalists. It is a book that (McArthur & Co.) in which the British co- and somewhat like Robert D. Kaplan, comes with an interesting gimmick – er, median Victoria Wood girdles parts of the though not so intellectual and literary as framing device – borrowed from travel globe that were formerly British territory the former nor so measured and thought- narrative. We have become accustomed to – rather selectively (Newfoundland is the ful as the latter. One might almost see travel books whose authors, instead of only part of Canada she touches, for ex- him as a cosmopolitan Hunter S. Thomp- writing mostly about going to their desti- ample). Or else the author may follow in son for grown-ups. His critics, of course, nation or living there a while in order to the footsteps of some famous dead per- frequently argued that he was not claus- learn about it, do one of two quite differ- son. This is the type of travel writing at trophobically hemmed in by accuracy, but ent things. which Sir Christopher Ondaatje excels, as of course that wasn’t the point. The author may undertake some high- in his books on places associated with Sir His last book, Travels with Herodotus concept journey chosen for its arduous- Richard Burton and Leonard Woolf. (Knopf Canada), put into English by ness. One recent example is First Pass Knowing how travel narrative becomes Klara Glowczewska, his usual translator, under Heaven: A 4,000-Kilometre Walk along more popular as travel itself becomes in-

30 SEPTEMBER—OCTOBER 2007 BOOKS |DELIGHTS

creasingly impossible, Mr. Kapu´sci´nski His discontinuous comments on the Persians beginning in 547 BCE, which has picked up the scent of Herodotus, the Herodotus certainly approach eloquence Mr. Kapu´sci´nski calls the first clash be- Greek historian of the 5th Century BCE. at times: “There is no anger in him, no an- tween east and west and finds highly sig- The way he tells it, when he got his first imus,” he writes. “He tries to understand nificant on that score. reporting job in Warsaw in 1956, his editor everything, find out why someone be- Travels with Herodotus is actually the presented him with The Histories of haves in one way and not another. He author’s memoirs (selective memoirs – he Herodotus newly published in a Polish edi- does not blame the human being, but omits the recently revealed fact that he tion. There was little freedom of movement blames the system; it is not the individual was a police informer in the 1970s). Since under the Communists, though Mr. who is by nature evil, depraved, villain- being an impressionistic globe-trotting Kapu´sci´nski held out a young person’s ous – it is the social arrangement in which journalist is a sprawling and repetitive hope of a foreign assignment – possibly to he happens to live that is evil. way of existing in the world, the story Czechoslovakia – given that Stalin was well “That is why Herodotus is a passionate needed some device to impose order, and and truly dead. To his astonishment, he advocate of freedom and democracy and Herodotus was the ticket. The decision was sent to India instead. On that trip and a foe of despotism, authoritarianism and also allowed Mr. Kapu´sci´nski to quote his all subsequent ones, he says, he carried the tyranny – he believes that only under the hero at length in some places and explain book with him, not as a guide to his desti- former circumstances does man have a him in others. In this way, he padded nations (for Herodotus knew little beyond chance to act with dignity, to be himself, what would have been a short book into the Mediterranean) but rather as a guide to to be human. Look, Herodotus seems to one of marketable length. In any case, it’s the human spirit as it relates to politics. To be saying, a small handful of Greeks felt best read as travel writing. me at least, this doesn’t quite ring true, but free and for that freedom were willing to as they say in show biz, if you buy the sacrifice everything.” The last sentence George Fetherling's latest novel is Tales of premise you buy the punch line. refers to the wars between the Greeks and Two Cities: A Novella Plus Stories.

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DIPLOMAT AND INTERNATIONAL CANADA 31 CANADIANA DELIGHTS| True North, strong and free

James H. Marsh

t is largely due to Joseph-Elzéar ered, discovered lands, except Banks and Victoria. From his IBernier that the Canadian flag now by foreigners, or base on Melville Island in April 1909, he flies over the Arctic Archipelago. Cap- inhabited by the sent Jules Morin and 16 others across the tain Bernier was Canada’s greatest sea- Inuit. treacherous ice to Banks Island. Tortured man. Meanwhile, by extreme cold, snow blindness and star- Born into a seafaring family at L’Islet, Americans Adol- vation, and blocked by impassable ice and Que., in 1852, young Joseph went to sea phus Greely and Robert Peary were ac- blizzards, Mr. Morin returned to tell Capt. with his father at age two. He was master tive around Ellesmere Island. Between Bernier that he had left an affirmation on of the brigantine St. Joseph at 17, the 1898 and 1902, Otto Sverdrup claimed Banks Island but not on Victoria. Reluc- world’s youngest skipper. By 1895, he Axel Heiberg, Ellef Ringnes and Amund tantly, Capt. Bernier sent him back; his had crossed the Atlantic more than 100 Ringnes islands for Norway. mandate was to claim every island. Capt. Bernier tried unsuccessfully to As his crowning touch, on July 1, 1909 “THIS MEMORIAL IS persuade a reluctant Canadian govern- Capt. Bernier and the entire ship’s com- ment to support an expedition to secure pany trooped up to Parry’s Rock, on sovereignty in the Arctic. In 1903, a dis- Melville Island. The chief engineer car- ERECTED TODAY TO pute over the Alaskan/Canadian bound- ried a bronze plaque he had spent the ary, in which a long strip of land along winter engraving. Capt. Bernier read COMMEMORATE THE the British Columbia coast was awarded from it solemnly: “This memorial is to the U.S., raised sensitivities in Ottawa. erected today to commemorate the tak- TAKING POSSESSION FOR Finally, the prime minister, Wilfrid ing possession for the Dominion of Laurier, agreed to fund a polar expedi- Canada of the whole Arctic Archipel- THE DOMINION OF tion. Capt. Bernier purchased a ship, re- ago.” Canada claimed the entire territory named it Arctic and meticulously from Yukon to Baffinland, all the way to prepared for his journey. Finally, after a the North Pole. CANADA OF THE WHOLE last-minute diversion to a minor policing But flags and plaques were not expedition to Hudson Bay, on July 28, enough. The Canadian government estab- ARCTIC ARCHIPELAGO.” 1908, the Arctic slipped from its wharf in lished North West Mounted Police posts Quebec City. at Herschel Island, Craig Harbour, Pang- In many of the world’s most remote lo- nirtung and Dundas Harbour. In 1931, cations, Capt. Bernier and his crew an- Norway formally abandoned its claim. times. But it was the Arctic that captured chored Arctic as close to shore as possible The U.S. has not. In 1969, it sent the his imagination. and made their way ashore in a longboat. tanker Manhattan through northern wa- Ownership of the Arctic Islands was They found a high point on a hill or rise, ters without seeking permission and, in undetermined in the early 20th century. In and, under a cairn of stone, buried a 1985, the Polar Sea. While Canadians sing July 1880, the British government had metal box containing a proclamation that they stand on guard for the “true transferred its Arctic possessions to claiming the land for Canada. Finally, North, strong and free,” they have yet to Canada, including “all Islands adjacent to they erected a pole and raised the Union show real commitment to doing so. any such Territories,” discovered or not – a Jack. feeble claim, since Britain had only a dubi- By summer’s end, Capt. Bernier had James H. Marsh is editor-in-chief of The ous right to give Canada islands undiscov- claimed most of the remaining Arctic is- Canadian Encyclopedia.

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DIPLOMAT AND INTERNATIONAL CANADA 33 RESIDENCES DELIGHTS| Contemporary Berlin in Rockcliffe

German ambassador’s residence an interior decorating gem

By Margo Roston N O S L I W

E N N A Y D

The main floor of the residence of German Ambassador Matthias Höpfner and his wife, Christina, includes this formal salon area which combines the home’s traditional origins and contemporary German decor.

ecorating his residence was one cows grazing in open fields that house in 1955 for $80,000, and although Dof the first jobs for German Am- stretched as far as Elmwood School. the tennis courts are gone and many al- bassador Matthias Martin The couple was among the first of the terations have been made (there’s now a Höpfner when he arrived in Ottawa just lumber families to venture into Rock- new wing on the back, a patio, and a over a year ago with his wife, Christina, cliffe, commissioning the Georgian Re- porte-cochère over the front door), the and their daughter. vival house from Albert Hazelgrove, “a garden is still a place of beauty and im- And what a job he did. student of the Maxwell Brothers, consid- pressive size, stretching through to The grand red brick Rockcliffe man- ered the leading architects of Montreal Thorold Road. sion now combines its traditional origins society.” Ward Hughson, a native of Al- Alterations, “a major investment” in with an eye-catching contemporary Ger- bany, N.Y., made his mark by teaming Mr. Höpfner’s words, took place be- man interior and one of the largest and up in 1895 with John Gilmour, Jr. tween 1958 and 1961. most beautiful gardens in what locals “Gilmour and Hughson became one The main floor is the formal area with still call the “village.” of the most important of the area’s lum- a large salon, a study, a sitting room “I’ve seen a few residences and I ber companies with mill yards and vast overlooking the patio and garden, an en- would certainly say this is one of the timber limits in Ontario and Quebec.” trance hall, dining room and a profes- nicest,” says the proud diplomat. “The Aurelia Hughson, who had studied at sional kitchen. The family’s private lot is so lovely. I think we are quite fortu- a gardening institute, enhanced her gar- quarters are on the second and third nate.” den’s appeal with rock gardens flanked floors. According to Martha Edmond’s book, by herbaceous borders, while her hus- “When we arrived in July 2006, the Rockcliffe Park: a History of the Village, the band, a co-founder of the Rideau Tennis house was filled with old furniture,” Mr. house was built in 1923 under the guid- Club, added a clay court to the grounds. Höpfner says. “Part of my job was to ance of Aurelia Hughson, the daughter Montague Powell, a lawyer and one of pick some new furniture and discuss it of lumber baron Ward C. Hughson, and the first members of village council, died with the decorator. We chose producers her husband Montague Powell. In those 10 years later. from Germany with the exception of the days, its back windows looked out on The German government bought the chandelier, which is from Holland. This

34 SEPTEMBER—OCTOBER 2007 RESIDENCES |DELIGHTS N O S L I W

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Clockwise from top: The dining room, where the foreign ministers from East and West Germany met to ONE OF CANADA’S LEADERS discuss reunification in 1990; the patio, a perfect setting for garden parties; and Mr. and Mrs. Höpfner. WITH OVER 25 YEARS EXPERIENCE was the only piece the foreign office was tion. In February 1990, on the margins of not so sure about,” he says. the Open Skies Conference in Ottawa, The chandelier, a modern confection of the foreign ministers of both Germanies, metal and crystal way outside the norm as well as France, Britain, the Soviet for diplomatic residences, ultimately Union and the U.S. were sitting at its stayed. dining room table when they agreed to “The Dutch ambassador has one too,” start the historic “Two Plus Four” talks Mr. Höpfner points out. which ultimately led to the fulfillment What he and the decorator achieved is of Germany’s dream of reunification af- a delightful, bright and airy interior, a ter 40 years of division. “So there is juxtaposition of traditional English ar- something historic about this house,” he chitecture with the contemporary look of says. 21st-Century Berlin. The house is looked after by a part- Dr. Beaupré, M.D. The main floor formal rooms are each time manager, and a professional tends painted a slightly different shade of the beautifully landscaped garden. A beige to match the curtains. The salon chef, who knows the kitchen well, comes furniture is dressed in grey and white, a in when he is needed. 600-1335 Carling Avenue, colour scheme that carries through out- “When the furniture arrived, we set it Ottawa (613) 722- 0101 side where grey-and-white-striped up ourselves and made a few changes chairs of German design, and a table, from the drawings,” he says. “It worked 102-500 boul. de l’Hôpital, decorate the large patio, often used for out very nicely.” Gatineau (819) 561-0561 garden parties. Anyone lucky enough to visit will But the house is more than beautiful – agree. it’s also politically significant thanks to the role it played in German reunifica- Margo Roston is an Ottawa writer.

DIPLOMAT AND INTERNATIONAL CANADA 35 ENVOY’S ALBUM DELIGHTS|

1. 2.

3.

4. THIS PAGE 1. Bhupinder S. Liddar, Canada’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the UN Human Settlements Program in Nairobi, Kenya, was in Ot- tawa with his friend Meghie Brar for a visit July 7. (Photo: Jennifer Campbell) • 2. U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins and his wife Susan greeted guests at their Independence Day party July 4. The party, which was upbeat in spite of the rain, attracted some 3,500 guests. (Photo: Jennifer Campbell) • 3. A concert called the Sounds of Spain, took place after a lecture on re-inventing Spain through music at the University of Ottawa July 5. Shown left to right: Eugenio Matos, a guest violinist and counsellor of the Dominican Republic embassy; Canadian pianist Jacqueline Woods; Spanish Ambassador Mariano Alonso-Burón, Esmeralda Enrique, director of the Esmeralda Enrique Spanish Dance Company of Toronto, and Spanish pianist and singer José Hernández. (Photo: Oriana Romero) • 4. Mexican Am- bassador Emilio Rafael Jose Goicoechea paid a courtesy call on Mayor Larry O’Brien this summer. New heads of mission traditionally visit the mayor early in their posting. (Photo: City of Ottawa)

36 SEPTEMBER—OCTOBER 2007 ENVOY’S ALBUM |DELIGHTS

1. 2.

7. 3.

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5. THIS PAGE 1. A ceremony marking the 57th anniversary of start of the Korean War took place at the National War Memorial June 24. South Korean Ambassador Soo-dong Kim lays a wreath. • 2. Former Defence Minister Gordon O’Connor (left), and Mr. Kim at the event. (Photos: Korean embassy) • 3. Australian Ambassador Bill Fisher paid a courtesy call on Mayor Larry O’Brien this summer. (Photo: City of Ottawa) • 4. To mark Uruguay’s Independence Day, Ambassador Alvaro Moerzinger (right) and his wife Ana hosted a concert and reception July 18 at Library and Archives Canada. (Photo: Frank Scheme) • 5. The Ottawa Art Gallery hosted a golf tournament July 23 and diplomats took part. From left: Ken Loeb, Yemeni Ambassador Abdulla Nasher and Indonesian Ambassador Djoko Hardono. (Photo: Joanne Rycaj Guillemette) • 6. Seen at the Uruguayan Independence Day recep- tion are (from left): Lina Eugenia Ajoy, minister counsellor and consul general of Costa Rica; Costa Ri- can Ambassador Emilia Maria Alvarez Navarro; Bolivian minister-counsellor Luis Maria Kalaff; and Bolivian counsellor Virginia De la Quintana Ruiz of Bolivia. (Photo: Frank Scheme) • 7. India cele- brated 60 years of independence Aug. 15. Shown: High Commissioner Rajamani Narayan is flanked by his wife, Regina (left), and former external affairs minister Flora MacDonald. (Photo: Frank Scheme)

DIPLOMAT AND INTERNATIONAL CANADA 37 ENVOY’S ALBUM DELIGHTS|

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1. Italian Ambassador Gabriele Sardo and his wife Enrica hosted a fundraiser for Opera Lyra July 11 at their residence. Shown: NAC President Peter Herrndorf and Joanne Paterson, wife of Opera Lyra artis- tic director Ty Paterson.• 2. The Sardos at their elegant garden party. (Photos: Frank Scheme) • 3. Colombian Ambassador Jaime Giron Duarte hosted an Independence Day reception at Brewer Park July 22. From left: Mr. Duarte is joined by Alexandra Galindos; Rafael Arismendy Jimenez, consul at Colombian embassy; and Betty Arciniegas. (Photo: Danilo Velasquez) • 4. World-renowned Indian classical dancer Geeta Chandran, a relative of Indian High Commissioner Rajamani Narayan, and a young admirer, at her performance at the Museum of Civilization July 24. (Photo: Frank Scheme)

38 SEPTEMBER—OCTOBER 2007 AUCCIML58355 Diplomat number1 4/12/07 3:08 PM Page 1

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AU MBA. Today's way. 1-800-561-4650 www.mba.athabascau.ca LONDON’S TREASURES DESTINATIONS | K C O T S I Masterpiece gallery

By Sarah Close

etropolitan London is a stag- House (Tube stop: Charring Cross or carriage by the more affluent folk of West Mgering city of roughly 13 mil- Leicester Square). Once you’re in Trafal- London. lion people. It’s at once dirty, gar Square, the National Gallery is hard I suggest entering the gallery on the smelly, crowded and utterly irresistible, to miss. Salisbury side. It is less busy. If you want especially for people who love art. On The original location for the National to experience the full architectural effect, the premise that the nation’s art already Gallery, in 1824, was the home of a though, enter through the main portico belongs to the people, admission to mu- wealthy landowner in Pall Mall but the entrances and work your way over to the seums and galleries is free. So be sure to site was widely deemed inadequate for Salisbury wing. This wing holds the old- hit the Tate Modern and the British Mu- such an enormous collection. In 1838, it est pieces in the gallery’s inventory. A seum, too. Our trip today, though, is to moved to Trafalgar Square, at the cross- lovely medieval collection includes piv- the National Gallery, located in historic roads of London, easily reached by foot otal pieces in the history of art by Duccio Trafalgar Square, right next to Canada by the peasantry of East London or by and Masaccio.

40 SEPTEMBER—OCTOBER 2007 LONDON’S TREASURES | DESTINATIONS

The Salisbury wing also houses several furniture in the lavish fashion that was paintings by the 15th Century Flemish common during the Renaissance. master Jan van Eyck. He is noteworthy Continue through the Salisbury wing for his mastery of oil paints, using count- into the main gallery building. You will less layers, one on top of the other, to cre- enter a wing that holds paintings from ate shimmering jewels and luxurious 1500 – 1600. Here you will find some of fabrics. In his time, oil paints were used the National Gallery’s most prized pieces only in Northern Europe and the Italians – works by Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian, were stuck with the imprecision of tem- da Vinci, Tintoretto and Parmigianino. If pera paints. Oil paints lend themselves to you feel engaged, get yourself an audio intensely detailed work – a necessity for guide which, at the National Gallery, is the northern artists with a passion for excellent. And you get the bonus of the painting miniature scenes on thimbles. charming English accents. Take a close look at van Eyck’s The Virgin of the Rocks by Leonardo da Arnolfini Portrait, 1434. This is a portrait Vinci is one of the most valuable pieces in of a couple recently married. In the 13th the National Gallery’s collection, calcu- Century, this type of painting could serve lated either in historical or financial as a marriage contract. Here you can see terms. In da Vinci’s long life, he painted some these typical Northern characteris- relatively few works or at least few which tics. If you take a close look in the mirror have survived. This piece, painted in behind the couple, you can see the artist 1480, is especially significant. It demon- himself with his easel, in the reflection. In The Virgin of the Rocks by Leonardo da Vinci strates the technique developed by da the medallions around the outside of the Vinci called sufmato. This is a softening mirror you can make out a series of or blurring of the outline surrounding the scenes from the life of Christ. Symbolism THE VIRGIN OF THE figures, dulling the usually sharp defini- was a fashionable trend throughout 13th tion between figure and background. If Century for the artists of Northern Eu- you look closely at the figures among the rope. Symbols of fidelity and fertility can ROCKS BY LEONARDO rocks, you will discern this technique. be seen throughout this piece – the dog Also demonstrated here is the artist’s use for fidelity, the fruit for fertility, shoes for DA VINCI IS ONE OF THE of chiaroscuro, a sharp contrast between fidelity, the bed for fertility. light and dark spaces within the canvas. After checking out the art of the North, MOST VALUABLE PIECES Typical of da Vinci, the figures are set in a continue through the Salisbury wing to dramatic scene with an almost mythical see what Italy was doing at the same IN THE NATIONAL landscape in the background. Landscapes time. This wing contains mostly altar- of this type can also be seen in many of pieces but be sure to examine more GALLERY’S COLLECTION, da Vinci’s portraits, including Mona Lisa. closely Sandro Botticelli’s Venus and Mars, The Virgin of the Rocks is actually the 1485. Botticelli was the darling of the CALCULATED EITHER second version of this work. The first can Medicis in Florence in the late 15th Cen- be found in the Louvre and is a popular tury and decorated palaces all over Italy. IN HISTORICAL OR stop on the Louvre’s Da Vinci Code (the The artist had his own style, which dif- Dan Brown book) tour. The artist was fered from other leading artists of the FINANCIAL TERMS. IN commissioned by the Confraternity of the time. His figures are never firmly stand- Immaculate Conception in Milan to paint ing on the ground nor are they anatomi- DA VINCI’S LONG LIFE, it; why a second was needed remains a cally precise; but he brings an intense mystery. Some say that da Vinci had an romance to his work which is why he is HE PAINTED RELATIVELY argument over money with the Confra- adored to this day. ternity and that he sold off the first to The best examples of Botticelli’s work FEW WORKS OR AT spite them. Others say the Confraternity are at the Uffizi in Florence. Pieces such was unhappy with the amount of work as Primavera and Birth of the Venus are da Vinci’s assistants were doing and pop culture icons; Venus and Mars, LEAST FEW WHICH thought he should paint the entire thing though, is characteristically Botticelli. himself. I prefer the suggestion that the Here we see Mars, who has fallen asleep, HAVE SURVIVED. THIS King of France saw the work, was over- leaving his lover, Venus with a distinctly come by its beauty and whisked it off to unsatisfied look on her face. Venus is a PIECE, PAINTED IN his palace. perfect example of Botticelli’s tall, red- Another interesting fact about this headed women. Around the central fig- 1480, IS ESPECIALLY piece is that, a couple of years ago, the ures some fat cherubs are playing with National Gallery discovered an under- Mars’ armour – adding humour and a SIGNIFICANT. drawing of an entirely different piece be- sense of mischief to an already suggestive neath The Virgin of the Rocks. Using work. This particular piece was intended infrared reflectography, a technique that to be used as a headboard, as decorative allows you to see beneath the paint, the

DIPLOMAT AND INTERNATIONAL CANADA 41 LONDON’S TREASURES DESTINATIONS |

National Gallery revealed that da Vinci’s first idea was to depict the Virgin in ado- ration of the Christ Child. Why he chose to abandon this idea and re-work it is not known. It is common for galleries to scan old and important art; in this case, there was more to this work than the naked eye could ever see. Proceed through the Italian Renais- sance wing where, among the 1,600 or 1,700 paintings, you will find the master statesman, scholar, and painter that was Peter Paul Rubens. Rubens came from Northern Europe when it was ruled by the Spanish Hapsburgs —specifically from Antwerp in what is now Belgium. Rubens was one of the first northern painters to travel to Italy to study the Classical Masters. Take one look at Ruben’s work and you will swear that he is a High Renaissance Italian painter. Look a little closer and you will see he has in- corporated Italian traditions with his own. Rubens painted all manner of subjects but is celebrated for his grand and pas- sionate mythological works. In the Na- tional Gallery, there are many fine examples. One of them, The Massacre of the Innocents, 1611, will go on display at the Art Gallery of Ontario upon the com- pletion of its new building. Purchased at Sotheby’s auction in 2002 for $77 million (USD) by Kenneth Thomson, it is the most expensive “old master” ever sold. I recommend taking in the pandemo- nium of The Rape of the Sabine Women, 1635-40. Classically the term rape was used to mean abduction. The story be- hind the work is legendary. Rome, a mili- tary stronghold, lacked women. Sabine, a neighbouring town, had women. The Jan van Eyck’s Arnolfini Portrait, 1434 King, Romulus, invited the people of

42 SEPTEMBER—OCTOBER 2007 LONDON’S TREASURES | DESTINATIONS

LONDON IS ONE OF THE MOST Sabine to Rome for friendly gladiator toriously bad cooks. Unless you’re dining games. When the Sabine men were suit- at four-star restaurants (such as EXCITING CITIES IN THE WORLD. ably occupied, the Roman soldiers ab- Hakkasan or Asia de Cuba), you are not ducted the Sabine women. This is the going to get much for your money. IT IS ALSO ONE OF THE MOST moment that Rubens has chosen to cap- But everyone has to eat. Fortunately, ture. when you have had your fill of culture, EXPENSIVE, ESPECIALLY WHEN Rubens tends to be over-the-top when you can dine defensively, relatively it comes to frenzied passion but that is speaking, at one of London’s many lunch IT COMES TO FOOD. I HAVE why we love him. His figures twist and places (such as Pret A Manger and Marks scream while still maintaining a sense of & Spencer), which specialize in small NEVER FELT MORE RIPPED OFF supple sensuality. He uses colour and take-out meals. The closest to the Na- movement to create the required sense of tional Gallery is right across the street BY MEAL PRICES ANYWHERE IN panic. Note that Rubens sets this mytho- from the National Portrait Gallery at the THE WORLD THAN I HAVE IN logical scene in front of Classical Roman top end of the square. architecture – but the figures all wear con- If you prefer to dine inside, and have LONDON. THE BRITISH ARE NO- temporary 17th Century Flemish dress. 20 pounds (Canadian $45), try the chain The National Gallery does have works called Ping Pong. (The closest one to TORIOUSLY BAD COOKS. UNLESS by Britain’s own artists – Constable, Trafalgar Square is at Oxford Street.) It is Turner and Gainsborough – but remember a trendy, dim sum experience, quite busy YOU’RE DINING AT FOUR-STAR the Tate Britain is devoted exclusively to but lineups move quickly. artists from the United Kingdom. It has an For something more upscale, walk into RESTAURANTS (SUCH AS entire wing dedicated to Turner, with ex- St. James Park (towards Buckingham amples of his work throughout his career. Palace) to the Inn The Park restaurant, HAKKASAN OR ASIA DE CUBA), London is one of the most exciting which has a sit-down, full-service patio cities in the world. It is also one of the (as well as a place to buy food to go). It is YOU ARE NOT GOING TO GET most expensive, especially when it comes a lovely little oasis in the sprawling city. to food. I have never felt more ripped off MUCH FOR YOUR MONEY. by meal prices anywhere in the world Sarah Close is an avid traveler with an than I have in London. The British are no- honours degree in fine art history.

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DIPLOMAT AND INTERNATIONAL CANADA 43 NEW ARRIVALS DIGNITARIES|

New Heads of Mission

Ahferom Berhane Ghebremedhin Ambassador of Eritrea ing to this country. The 60-year-old diplomat, who studied law at the Uni- versity of Athens, worked at Greek con- sulate general in Toronto in 1980 and in Montreal, as permanent representative to the International Civil Aviation Organi- zation for three years starting in 2001. Mr. Matsis’ varied postings have taken him to Turkey, Brazil, Australia, and Ukraine. Although he served as con- sul-general in both Australia (Melbourne and Victoria) and Ukraine (Mariupol), this is his first posting as ambassador. Mr. Matsis is married to Katherine OPEN HOUSE at Matsis and they have a son and a daugh- Elmwood School ter. Mar`gers Krams Ottawa’s only all girls, K -12 school Ambassador of Latvia Special guest speaker, Mary Pipher, After studying at Haile Sellassie I Uni- Clinical Psychologist and author versity, Mr. Ghebremedhin started his ca- of the revolutionary bestseller reer as a high school teacher. He then REVIVING OPHELIA spent 16 years with the Eritrea Peoples’ October 24, 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm Liberation Front (EPLF). In 1991, after Er- itrea successfully fought for independ- 261 Buena Vista Road ence from Ethiopia, he became a For more information: 613-749-6761 manager at the interior and defence min- www. elmwood.ca istries. He then worked as a manager in the economic department of the Peoples’ Front for Democracy and Justice, the EPLF’s successor. In 2001, he joined the ministry of foreign affairs as director- general of the foreign minister’s office. He spent the last five years as a liaison with the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission. Mr. Ghebremedhin, 60, speaks Mr. Krams, who has a PhD from the Lat- Tigringa, English and Amharic. He is vian University of Agriculture, comes to married with a daughter and two sons. Canada from the World Trade Organiza- tion where he’s worked for six of the past Nikolaos Matsis seven years. He was a senior economist Ambassador of Greece first, then returned to Lativa as under- secretary of state for the ministry of agri- culture for just less than a year before becoming a counsellor and head of Latvia’s permanent representation to the World Trade Organization. He has also served as parliamentary secretary to the ministry of agriculture and as advisor to the prime minister. Mr. Krams speaks Latvian, English, Russian and French. He is married and has three children. Brendon Browne High Commissioner for the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States

Mr. Browne’s posting to Ottawa repre- For Mr. Matsis, the appointment as am- sents his first as head of mission and it’s bassador to Canada marks his third post- a return to Canada for him. He studied

44 SEPTEMBER—OCTOBER 2007 NEW ARRIVALS | DIGNITARIES Non-Heads of Mission

Algeria Seyed Mohammad Russia United Kingdom Mohamed Hadj Jozi Kirill Kalinin Stephen Butt Mohamed First Secretary Attaché Counsellor Attaché Seyed Ali Alavi Nia Mara Fiona Second Secretary Saudi Arabia Goldstein Armenia Yousuf Rashad A. Deputy High Hripsime Iraq Abuaish Commissioner Arzrumtsyan Raid S. Mahdi Counsellor Joseph Vincent Second Secretary Attaché Fogarty Slovak Republic First Secretary Australia Japan Pavol Svetik United States Of Eric Justus Van Der Mitsuhiro Teraoka Counsellor America Wal First Secretary Robert Daniel Deputy High Norikazu Tamura South Africa Doherty Commissioner and Second Secretary Sibongile Rubushe Assistant Attaché Counsellor First Secretary Elizabeth Ann in Windsor, Ont., and completed a bache- Republic of Korea Walsh lor degree in international relations from China Younggoog Park Spain Second Secretary the University of Windsor in 1980 and a Chen Wenshen Counsellor Jacobo Juan Thomas Edmund master’s the following year. He started Minister-Counsellor Dongkyun Kim Gutierrez Blanchard his career as a teacher then moved on to Lianjie Xu Defence Attaché Rodriguez-Moldes Assistant Attaché First Secretary Attaché Alexander David government where he worked as assis- Kuwait Schrank tant secretary of such departments as for- Ethiopia Hamad Al Shatti Switzerland Second Secretary eign affairs, tourism, and education. He Belay Gebreselassie Attaché Daniela Christina and Vice-Consul was also head of culture department for Kidane Abdulnaser Mueller Stephan Wasylko the government of St. Vincent. Counsellor Alrashidi Attaché Minister-Counsellor Mr. Browne, 54, is married and has First Secretary Paul Hans Schirduan Finland Abdulaziz Al-Zuabi Syria Attaché three children. Markku Tuomo Attaché Luay Qarqout Glenn Martin Peter Kallaghe Tapio Virri Meshal Alhubail Attaché Bellefeuille High Commissioner for Tanzania Minister-Counsellor Third Secretary Assistant Attaché Tunisia Wayne Paul France Lebanon Nejmeddine Lakhal Molstad Mariano Antonio Massoud Maalouf Counsellor Minister-Counsellor Jordan Chargé d’Affaires Third Secretary Turkey Venezuela Lise Marie Emilie Malaysia Yavuz Sinan Yamile Del Carmen Talbot Barre Rozalah Binti Yildirim Guerra Brito Second Secretary Hashim Defence, Military, Third Secretary Thierry Guy Emile Second Secretary Naval and Air Saint-Oyant Attaché Counsellor Mexico Jorge Cicero Germany Fernandez Hannsgeorg Beine Minister and Counsellor Deputy Head of Matthias Friedrich Mission Reibold Defence Attaché Netherlands Karl Holgar Kolley Ellen Van Driel First Secretary Attaché Mr. Kallaghe is a career diplomat who Hans Gunter Bernardus Sattler joined the foreign service in 1983 after Hermann Gnodtke Attaché completing a master’s and post-graduate Attaché diploma in international relations. Norway Holy See Jo Sletbak Mr. Kallaghe was posted to Rwanda Luca Lorusso Minister-Counsellor from 1991 to 1995 and Zambia from 1995 Counsellor to 1997. That year, he was appointed as- Pakistan sistant to the president of Tanzania and, Iceland Muhammad Saleem four years later, was promoted to deputy Olof Dogg Bhounr private secretary then ambassador in the Sigvaldadottir Counsellor Attaché Mamoona Amjed president’s office where he coordinated Malik meetings with foreign dignitaries and ac- India Counsellor companied the president to international Usha Venkatesan meetings. Last year, he became the presi- Attaché Peru dent’s director of communications. Gino Edmundo He is married to Joyce D. Kallaghe. Arciniega Luces Iran Counsellor They have two daughters and two sons.

DIPLOMAT AND INTERNATIONAL CANADA 45 Marketplace

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AFGHANISTAN AUSTRIA Embassy of the Republic of Benin CAMEROON C His Ex. Omar Samad His Ex. Otto Ditz 58 Glebe Avenue Mr. Martin Agbor Mbeng

Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Embassy of the Republic of Austria Ottawa, Ontario K1S 2C3 Chargé d’Affaires A

Afghanistan 445 Wilbrod Street TEL 233-4429 FAX 233-8952 High Commission for the Republic T 246 Queen Street, Suite 400 Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6M7 [email protected] of Cameroon

Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5E4 TEL 789-1444 FAX 789-3431 170 Clemow Avenue N TEL 563-4223 FAX 563-4962 [email protected] BOLIVIA Ottawa, Ontario K1S 2B4

[email protected] His Ex. Edgar Torrez Mosqueira TEL 236-1522 FAX 236-3885 O www.afghanemb-canada.net AZERBAIJAN Embassy of the Republic of Bolivia Mr. Farid Shafiyev 130 Albert Street, Suite 416 CHILE C

ALBANIA Chargé d’Affaires Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5G4 His Ex. Eugenio Ortega Riquelme

His Ex. Besnik Konci Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan TEL 236-5730 FAX 236-8237 Embassy of the Republic of Chile C

Embassy of the Republic of Albania 275 Slater Street, Suite 904-C [email protected] 50 O’Connor Street, Suite 1413 I 130 Albert Street, Suite 302 Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5H9 Ottawa, Ontario K1P 6L2 T Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5G4 TEL 288-0497 FAX 230-8089 BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA TEL 235-9940 FAX 235-1176

TEL 236-4114 FAX 236-0804 His Ex. Milenko Misic [email protected] A [email protected] BAHAMAS Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina www.chile.ca His Ex. Philip P. Smith 130 Albert Street, Suite 805 M ALGERIA High Commission for The Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5G4 CHINA His Ex. Smail Benamara Commonwealth of The Bahamas TEL 236-0028 FAX 236-1139 His Ex. Lu Shumin O Embassy of the People’s Democratic 50 O’Connor Street, Suite 1313 [email protected] Embassy of the People’s Republic of

Republic of Algeria Ottawa, Ontario K1P 6L2 www.bhembassy.ca China L

500 Wilbrod Street TEL. 232-1724 FAX 232-0097 515 St. Patrick Street P

Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N2 [email protected] BRAZIL Ottawa, Ontario K1N 5H3 I TEL 789-8505 FAX 789-1406 His Ex. Valdemar Carneiro Leäo TEL. 789-3434 FAX 789-1911 www.embassyalgeria.ca/eng.htm BANGLADESH Embassy of the Federative Republic www.chinaembassycanada.org D Mr. Syed Masud Mahmood of Brazil ANGOLA Khundoker 450 Wilbrod Street COLOMBIA His Ex. Miguel Maria N. Puna Acting High Commissioner Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6M8 His Ex. Jaime Giron Duarte Embassy of the Republic of Angola High Commission for the People’s TEL 237-1090 FAX 237-6144 Embassy of the Republic of Colombia 189 Laurier Avenue East Republic of Bangladesh [email protected] 360 Albert Street, Suite 1002 Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6P1 275 Bank Street, Suite 302 Ottawa, Ontario K1R 7X7 TEL 234-1152 FAX 234-1179 Ottawa, Ontario K2P 2L6 BRUNEI DARUSSALAM TEL 230-3760 FAX 230-4416 [email protected] TEL 236-0138 FAX 567-3213 Her Ex. Magdalene Chee Siong Teo [email protected] www.embangola-can.org [email protected] High Commission for Brunei www.embajadacolombia.ca www.bdhc.org Darussalam ARGENTINA 395 Laurier Avenue East CONGO (ZAIRE) His Ex. Arturo Bothamley BARBADOS Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6R4 Ms. Louise Nzanga Ramazani Embassy of the Argentine Republic His Ex. Glyne Samuel Murray TEL 234-5656 FAX 234-4397 Chargé d’Affaires 81 Metcalfe Street 7th Floor High Commission for Barbados [email protected] Embassy of the Democratic Republic 55 Metcalfe St. #470 Ottawa, Ontario K1P 6K7 of the Congo Ottawa, Ontario, K1P 6L5 TEL 236-2351 FAX 235-2659 BULGARIA 18 Range Road His Ex. Evgueni Stoychev [email protected] TEL 236-9517 FAX 230-4362 Ottawa, Ontario K1N 8J3 www.argentina-canada.net [email protected] Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria TEL 230-6391 FAX 230-1945 325 Stewart Street ARMENIA BELARUS Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6K5 COSTA RICA Mr. Arman Akopian Her Ex. Nina Mazai TEL 789-3215 FAX 789-3524 Her Ex. Emilia Maria Alvarez Chargé d’Affaires Embassy of the Republic of Belarus Navarro Embassy of the Republic of Armenia 130 Albert Street, Suite 600 BURKINA FASO Embassy of the Republic of Costa Rica 7 Delaware Avenue Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5G4 Her Ex. Juliette Bonkoungou 325 Dalhousie Street, Suite 407 Ottawa, Ontario K2P 0Z2 TEL 233-9994 FAX 233-8500 Embassy of Burkina Faso Ottawa, Ontario K1N 7G2 TEL 234-3710 FAX 234-3444 [email protected] 48 Range Road TEL. 562-2855 FAX 562-2582 [email protected] Ottawa, Ontario K1N 8J4 [email protected] www.armembassycanada.ca BELGIUM TEL 238-4796 FAX 238-3812 www.costaricaembassy.com His Ex. Jean Lint [email protected] AUSTRALIA Embassy of Belgium www.ambaburkina-canada.org CÔTE D’IVOIRE His Ex. William Fisher 360 Albert Street, Suite 820 Her Ex. Dienebou Kaba Australian High Commission Ottawa, Ontario K1R 7X7 BURUNDI Embassy of the Republic of 50 O’Connor, Suite 710 TEL 236-7267 FAX 236-7882 Her Ex. Appolonie Simbizi Côte d’Ivoire Ottawa, Ontario K1P 6L2 [email protected] Embassy of the Republic of Burundi 9 Marlborough Avenue TEL 236-0841 FAX 236-4376 www.diplomatie.be/ottawa 325 Dalhousie Street, Suite 815 Ottawa, Ontario K1N 8E6 www.canada.embassy.gov.au Ottawa, Ontario K1N 7G2 TEL. 236-9919 FAX 563-8287 BENIN TEL 789-0414 FAX 789-9537 [email protected] Mrs. Awahou Labouda [email protected] www.ambaci-ottawa.org Chargé d’Affaires http://ambabucanada.le-site.info

| EMBASSIES | HIGH COMMISSIONS | OTHER INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES DIPLOMAT AND INTERNATIONAL CANADA 47 S T

C CROATIA ETHIOPIA GUATEMALA [email protected] Her Ex. Vesela Mrden Kora´c His Ex. Getachew Hailemariam His Ex. Manuel Estuardo Roldán www.indonesia-ottawa.org

A Embassy of the Republic of Croatia Embassy of the Federal Democratic Embassy of the Republic of T 229 Chapel Street Republic of Ethiopia Guatemala IRAN Ottawa, Ontario K1N 7Y6 151 Slater Street, Suite 210 130 Albert Street, Suite 1010 Seyed Mahdi Mohebi N TEL. 562-7820 FAX 562-7821 Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5P2 Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5G4 Chargé d’Affaires [email protected] TEL. 235-6637 FAX 235-4638 TEL. 233-7237 FAX 233-0135 Embassy of the Islamic O www.croatiaemb.net [email protected] [email protected] Republic of Iran www.ethiopia.ottawa.on.ca www.embaguate-canada.com 245 Metcalfe Street C

CUBA Ottawa, Ontario K2P 2K2 His Ex. Ernesto Antonio Senti EUROPEAN UNION GUINEA TEL. 235-4725 FAX 232-5712

C Embassy of the Republic of Cuba His. Ex. Dorian Prince His Ex. Aly Diané [email protected] I 388 Main Street Delegation of the European Embassy of the Republic of Guinea www.salamiran.org

T Ottawa, Ontario K1S 1E3 Commission to Canada 483 Wilbrod Street TEL. 563-0141 FAX 563-0068 45 O’Connor Street, Suite 1900 Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N1 IRAQ

A [email protected] Ottawa, Ontario K1P 1A4 TEL. 789-8444 FAX 789-7560 His Ex. Howar M. Ziad www.embacuba.ca TEL. 238-6464 FAX 238-5191 [email protected] Embassy of the Republic of Iraq

M [email protected] 215 McLeod Street CZECH REPUBLIC www.delcan.ec.europa.eu GUYANA Ottawa, Ontario K2P 0Z8

O His Ex. Pavel Vosalik His Ex. Rajnarine Singh TEL. 236-9177 FAX 236-9641 Embassy of the Czech Republic F.Y.R. OF MACEDONIA High Commission for the Republic [email protected] L 251 Cooper Street His Ex. Sasko Nasev of Guyana www.iraqembassy.ca

P Ottawa, Ontario K2P 0G2 Embassy of the Former Yugoslav 151 Slater Street, Suite 309

I TEL. 562-3875 FAX 562-3878 Republic of Macedonia Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5H3 IRELAND [email protected] 130 Albert Street, Suite 1006 TEL. 235-7249 FAX 235-1447 His Ex. Declan Kelly D Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5G4 Embassy of Ireland DENMARK TEL. 234-3882 FAX 233-1852 HAITI 130 Albert Street, Suite 1105 His Ex. Poul Erik Dam Kristensen Ms. Marie Nathalie Menos-Gissel Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5G4 Royal Danish Embassy FINLAND Chargé d’Affaires TEL. 233-6281 FAX 233-5835 47 Clarence Street, Suite 450 His Ex. Pasi Mikael Patokallio Embassy of the Republic of Haiti [email protected] Ottawa, Ontario K1N 9K1 Embassy of the Republic of Finland 130 Albert Street, Suite 1409 TEL. 562-1811 FAX 562-1812 55 Metcalfe Street, Suite 850 Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5P2 ISRAEL [email protected] Ottawa, Ontario K1P 6L5 TEL. 238-1628 FAX 238-2986 His Ex. Alan Baker www.ambottawa.um.dk TEL. 288-2233 FAX 288-2244 [email protected] Embassy of Israel [email protected] 50 O’Connor Street, Suite 1005 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC HOLY SEE Ottawa, Ontario K1P 6L2 Mr. Luis Maria Kalaff Sanchez FRANCE His Ex. The Most Rev. Luigi Ventura TEL. 567-6450 FAX 567-9878 Chargé d’Affaires His Ex. Daniel Jouanneau Apostolic Nunciature [email protected] Embassy of the Dominican Republic Embassy of France 724 Manor Avenue www.embassyofIsreal.ca 130 Albert Street, Suite 418 42 Sussex Drive Ottawa, Ontario K1M 0E3 Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5G4 Ottawa, Ontario K1M 2C9 TEL. 746-4914 FAX 746-4786 ITALY TEL. 569-9893 FAX 569-8673 TEL. 789-1795 FAX 562-3704 His Ex. Gabriele Sardo www.drembassy.org www.ambafrance-ca.org HONDURAS Embassy of the Italian Republic Her Ex. Beatriz Valle 275 Slater Street, 21st Floor ECUADOR GABON Embassy of the Republic of Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5H9 His Ex. Fernando Ribadeneira His Ex. Joseph Obiang Ndoutoume Honduras TEL. 232-2401 FAX 233-1484 Fernández-Salvador Embassy of the Gabonese Republic 151 Slater Street, Suite 805 [email protected] Embassy of the Republic of Ecuador 4 Range Road, P.O. Box 368 Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5H3 www.italyincanada.com 50 O’Connor Street, Suite 316 Ottawa, Ontario K1N 8J5 TEL. 233-8900 FAX 232-0193 Ottawa, Ontario K1P 6L2 TEL. 232-5301 FAX 232-6916 JAMAICA Her Ex. Evadne Coye TEL. 563-4286 FAX 235-5776 [email protected] HUNGARY His Ex. Pál Vastagh Jamaican High Commission EGYPT GERMANY Embassy of the Republic of 275 Slater Street, Suite 800 His Ex. Mahmoud F. El-Saeed His Ex. Matthias Martin Höpfner Hungary Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5H9 Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt Embassy of the Federal Republic of 299 Waverley Street TEL. 233-9311 FAX 233-0611 454 Laurier Avenue East Germany Ottawa, Ontario K2P 0V9 [email protected] Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6R3 1 Waverley Street TEL. 230-2717 FAX 230-7560 TEL. 234-4931 FAX 234-4398 Ottawa, Ontario K2P 0T8 www.docuweb.ca/Hungary JAPAN [email protected] TEL. 232-1101 FAX 594-9330 His Ex. Tsuneo Nishida www.mfa.gov.eg [email protected] ICELAND Embassy of Japan His Ex. Markus Örn Antonsson 255 Sussex Drive EL SALVADOR GHANA Embassy of Iceland Ottawa, Ontario K1N 9E6 His Ex. Mauricio Rosales Rivera Her Ex. Margaret Ivy Amoakohene 360 Albert Street, Suite 710 TEL. 241-8541 FAX 241-2232 Embassy of the Republic of El Salvador High Commission for the Republic Ottawa, Ontario K1R 7X7 [email protected] 209 Kent Street of Ghana TEL. 482-1944 FAX 482-1945 www.ca.emb-japan.go.jp Ottawa, Ontario K2P 1Z8 1 Clemow Avenue [email protected] TEL. 238-2939 FAX 238-6940 Ottawa, Ontario K1S 2A9 JORDAN [email protected] TEL. 236-0871 FAX 236-0874 INDIA His Ex. Nabil Ali Barto [email protected] His Ex. Rajamani Lakshmi Narayan Embassy of the Hashemite Kingdom ERITREA www.ghc-ca.com High Commission for the Republic of Jordan His Ex. Ahferom Berhane of India 100 Bronson Avenue, Suite 701 Embassy of the State of Eritrea GREECE 10 Springfield Road Ottawa, Ontario K1R 6G8 75 Albert Street, Suite 610 His. Ex. Nikolaos Matsis Ottawa, Ontario K1M 1C9 TEL. 238-8090 FAX 232-3341 Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5E7 Embassy of the Hellenic Republic TEL. 744-3751 FAX 744-0913 TEL. 234-3989 FAX 234-6213 80 MacLaren Street, Suite 76 [email protected] KENYA Ottawa, Ontario K2P 0K6 www.hciottawa.ca Her Ex. Judith Mbula Bahemuka ESTONIA TEL. 238-6271 FAX 238-5676 High Commission for the Republic Rasmus Lumi [email protected] INDONESIA of Kenya Chargé d’Affaires www.greekembassy.ca His Ex. Djoko Hardono 415 Laurier Avenue East Embassy of the Republic of Estonia Embassy of the Republic of Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6R4 260 Dalhousie Street, Suite 210 Indonesia TEL. 563-1773 FAX 233-6599 Ottawa, Ontario K1N 7E4 55 Parkdale Avenue [email protected] TEL. 789-4222 FAX 789-9555 Ottawa, Ontario K1Y 1E5 www.kenyahighcommission.ca [email protected] TEL. 724-1100 FAX 724-1105 www.estemb.ca | EMBASSIES | HIGH COMMISSIONS | OTHER INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES 48 SEPTEMBER—OCTOBER 2007 S T

KOREA, REPUBLIC TEL. 232-1501 FAX 232-7429 NORWAY PORTUGAL C His Ex. Soo-dong Kim [email protected] His Ex. Tor Berntin Naess His Ex. Joao Pedro Silveira Carvalho

Embassy of the Republic of Korea www.ambamalicanada.org Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway Embassy of Portugal A

150 Boteler Street 90 Sparks Street, Suite 532 645 Island Park Drive T Ottawa, Ontario K1N 5A6 MAURITANIA Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5B4 Ottawa, Ontario K1Y 0B8 TEL. 244-5010 FAX 244-5034 His Ex. Mahfoud Ben Deddach TEL. 238-6571 FAX 238-2765 TEL. 729-0883 FAX 729-4236 N www.emb-korea.ottawa.on.ca Embassy of the Islamic Republic of [email protected] embportugal@embportugal/ottawa.org Mauritania www.emb-norway.ca O KUWAIT 121 Sherwood Drive ROMANIA C

His Ex. Musaed Rashed Al-Haroun Ottawa, Ontario K1Y 3V1 O/OF EASTERN CARIBBEAN Her Ex. Elena Stefoi Embassy of the State of Kuwait TEL. 237-3283 FAX 237-3287 STATES Embassy of Romania

333 Sussex Drive His Ex. Brendon Browne 655 Rideau Street C Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 1J9 MEXICO High Commission for the Countries Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6A3 I

TEL. 780-9999 FAX 780-9905 His Ex. Emilio Rafael Jose of the Organization of Eastern TEL. 789-3709 FAX 789-4365 T Goicoechea Caribbean States [email protected]

LATVIA Embassy of the United Mexican 130 Albert Street, Suite 700 http://ottawa.mae.ro A His Ex. Mar`gers Krams States Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5G4

Embassy of the Republic of Latvia 45 O’Connor Street, Suite 1000 TEL. 236-8952 FAX 236-3042 RUSSIA M 350 Sparks Street, Suite 1200 Ottawa, Ontario K1P 1A4 [email protected] His Ex. Georgiy Mamedov

Ottawa, Ontario, K1P 5G8 TEL. 233-8988 FAX 235-9123 www.oecs.org/ottawa/index.html Embassy of the Russian Federation O TEL. 238-6014 FAX 238-7044 [email protected] 285 Charlotte Street [email protected] www.embamexcan.com PAKISTAN Ottawa, Ontario K1N 8L5 L His. Ex. Musa Javed Chohan www.ottawa.mfa.gov.lv TEL. 235-4341 FAX 236-6342 P

MONGOLIA High Commission for the Islamic [email protected] I LEBANON His Ex. Gotov Dugerjav Republic of Pakistan www.rusembcanada.mid.ru

Mr. Massoud Maalouf Embassy of Mongolia 10 Range Road D Chargé d’Affaire 151 Slater Street, Suite 503 Ottawa, Ontario K1N 8J3 RWANDA Embassy of Lebanon Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5H3 TEL. 238-7881 FAX 238-7296 Mr. Déo Nkusi 640 Lyon Street TEL. 569-3830 FAX 569-3916 [email protected] Chargé d’Affaires Ottawa, Ontario K1S 3Z5 [email protected] Embassy of the Republic of Rwanda TEL. 236-5825 FAX 232-1609 PALESTINE 153 Gilmour Street [email protected] MOROCCO Mr. Amin Abou-Hassira Ottawa, Ontario, K2P 0N8 www.lebanonembassy.ca His Ex. Mohamed Tangi Head of the General Delegation Tel. 569-5424 Fax 569-5421 Embassy of the Kingdom of 45 Country Club Dr., [email protected] LESOTHO Morocco Ottawa, Ontario www.ambarwaottawa.ca Her Ex. Mots'eoa Senyane 38 Range Road K1V 9W1 High Commission for the Kingdom Ottawa, Ontario K1N 8J4 TEL: 736-0053 SAUDI ARABIA of Lesotho TEL. 236-7391 FAX 236-6164 FAX: 736-0535 His Ex. Abdulaziz Bin Hussein Al- 130 Albert Street, Suite 1820 [email protected] Sowayegh Ottawa, ON K1P 5G4 MYANMAR Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia Canada Mr. Maung Maung PANAMA 201 Sussex Drive TEL: 234-0770 FAX: 234-5665 Chargé d'Affaires Her Ex. Romy Vásquez de González Ottawa, ON K1N 1K6 Embassy of the Union of Myanmar Embassy of the Republic of Panama TEL 237-4100 FAX 237-0567 LIBYA 85 Range Road, Suite 902 130 Albert Street, Suite 300 His Ex. Ahmed Ali Jarrud Ottawa, Ontario K1N 8J6 Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5G4 SENEGAL Embassy of the Great Socialist TEL. 232-9990 FAX 232-6999 TEL. 236-7177 FAX 236-5775 His Excellency Issakha Mbacke People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya [email protected] [email protected] Embassy of the Republic of Senegal 81 Metcalfe Street, Suite 1000 57 Marlborough Avenue Ottawa, Ontario K1P 6K7 NETHERLANDS PARAGUAY Ottawa, Ontario K1N 8E8 TEL. 230-0919 FAX 230-0683 His Ex. Karel de Beer His Ex. Juan E. Aguirre Martinez TEL. 238-6392 FAX 238-2695 [email protected] Embassy of the Kingdom of the Embassy of the Republic of [email protected] Netherlands Paraguay LITHUANIA 350 Albert Street, Suite 2020 151 Slater Street, Suite 501 SERBIA Her Ex. Siguté Jakstonyté Ottawa, Ontario K1R 1A4 Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5H3 Embassy of the Republic of Serbia Embassy of the Republic of TEL. 237-5030 FAX 237-6471 TEL. 567-1283 FAX 567-1679 17 Blackburn Avenue Lithuania [email protected] consularsection@embassyof- Ottawa, Ontario K1N 8A2 130 Albert Street, Suite 204 paraguay.ca TEL. 233-6289 FAX 233-7850 Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5G4 NEW ZEALAND [email protected] TEL. 567-5458 FAX 567-5315 Her Ex. Kate Lackey PERU www.embscg.ca New Zealand High Commission His Ex. Guillermo Russo MADAGASCAR 99 Bank Street, Suite 727 Embassy of the Republic of Peru SLOVAK REPUBLIC His. Ex. Simon Constant Horace Ottawa, Ontario K1P 6G3 130 Albert Street, Suite 1901 His Ex. Stanislav Opiela Embassy of the Republic of TEL. 238-5991 FAX 238-5707 Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5G4 Embassy of the Slovak Republic Madagascar [email protected] TEL. 238-1777 FAX 232-3062 50 Rideau Terrace 65 Macnabb Place, Rockcliffe Park www.nzembassy.com/home.cfm?c=38 [email protected] Ottawa, Ontario K1M 2A1 Ottawa, ON K1L 8J5 TEL. 749-4442 FAX 749-4989 TEL: 567-0505 FAX 567-2882 NIGER PHILIPPINES [email protected] [email protected] Her Ex. Nana Aicha Foumakoye His Ex. Jose S. Brillantes www.ottawa.mfa.sk www.madagascar-embassy.ca Embassy of the Republic of the Embassy of the Republic of the Niger Philippines SLOVENIA MALAYSIA 38 Blackburn Avenue 130 Albert Street, Suite 606 Ex. Tomaz Kunstelj His Ex. Dennis Ignatius Ottawa, Ontario K1N 8A3 Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5G4 Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia High Commission for Malaysia TEL. 232-4291 FAX 230-9808 TEL. 233-1121 FAX 233-4165 150 Metcalfe Street, Suite 2101 60 Boteler Street [email protected] Ottawa, Ontario K1P 1P1 Ottawa, Ontario K1N 8Y7 NIGERIA TEL. 565-5781 FAX 565-5783 TEL. 241-5182 FAX 241-5214 Mrs. Ifeoma Jacinte Akabogu- POLAND [email protected] [email protected] Chinwuba His Ex. Piotr Ogrodzinski Acting High Commissioner Embassy of the Republic of Poland SOUTH AFRICA MALI High Commission for the Federal 443 Daly Avenue His Ex. Abraham Sokhaya Nkomo His Ex. Mamadou Bandiougou Republic of Nigeria Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6H3 High Commission for the Republic Diawara 295 Metcalfe Street TEL. 789-0468 FAX 789-1218 of South Africa [email protected] Embassy of the Republic of Mali Ottawa, Ontario K2P 1R9 15 Sussex Drive 50 Goulburn Avenue Tel. 236-0521 Fax 236-0529 Ottawa, Ontario K1M 1M8 Ottawa, Ontario K1N 8C8 TEL. 744-0330 FAX 741-1639

| EMBASSIES | HIGH COMMISSIONS | OTHER INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES DIPLOMAT AND INTERNATIONAL CANADA 49 S T

C [email protected] Ottawa, Ontario K1N 8J3 VENEZUELA Ogilvie Motors www.southafrica-canada.ca TEL. 238-5916 FAX 235-6425 Jose Antonio Manlio Rodriguez de (613) 745-9000

A la Sierra Llerandi T SPAIN TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO Chargé d’Affaires St-Laurent Volvo His Ex. Mariano Alonso-Burón Mr. Garth Andrew Lamsee Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic (613) 749-VOLVO N Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain Acting High Commissioner of Venezuela Southbank Dodge Chrysler Jeep 74 Stanley Avenue High Commission for the Republic 32 Range Road (613) 731-1970 O Ottawa, Ontario K1M 1P4 of Trinidad and Tobago Ottawa, Ontario K1N 8J4 TEL. 747-2252 FAX 744-1224 200 First Avenue, Third Level TEL. 235-5151 FAX 235-3205 Star Motors C

[email protected] Ottawa, Ontario K1S 2G6 www.misionvenezuela.org (613) 737-7827 www.embaspain.ca TEL. 232-2418 FAX 232-4349 DENTIST C [email protected] VIETNAM

I Associated Dental Care SRI LANKA His Excellency Duc Hung Nguyen (613) 737-4944

T His Ex. W.J.S. Karunaratne TUNISIA Embassy of the Socialist Republic of High Commission for the His Ex Abdessalem Hetira Vietnam DRY CLEANERS A Democratic Socialist Republic Embassy of the Republic of Tunisia 470 Wilbrod Street Hillary’s of Sri Lanka 515 O’Connor Street Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6M8 (613) 733-3070

M 333 Laurier Avenue West, Suite 1204 Ottawa, Ontario K1S 3P8 TEL. 236-0772 FAX 236-2704 Ottawa, Ontario K1P 1C1 TEL. 237-0330 FAX 237-7939 FOREIGN EXCHANGE

O TEL. 233-8449 FAX 238-8448 [email protected] YEMEN Accu-Rate www.srilankahcottawa.org His Ex. Dr. Abdulla Abdulwali (613) 596-5505 L TURKEY Nasher HEALTH AND BEAUTY P SUDAN His Ex. Aydemir Erman Embassy of the Republic of Yemen Feelbest.com I Her Ex. Dr. Faiza Hassan Taha Embassy of the Republic of Turkey 54 Chamberlain Avenue (613) 234-4643 ext. 230 Armousa 197 Wurtemburg Street Ottawa, Ontario K1S 1V9

D 1-888-689-9890 Embassy of the Republic of the Sudan Ottawa, Ontario K1N 8L9 TEL. 729-6627 FAX 729-8915 354 Stewart Street TEL. 789-4044 FAX 789-3442 www.yemenincanada.ca INSURANCE SERVICES Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6K8 [email protected] Oegema Nicholson & Associates TEL. 235-4000 FAX 235-6880 ZAMBIA His Ex. David Clifford Saviye (613) 224-1455 UGANDA His Ex. George Marino Abola SWEDEN High Commission for the Republic KITCHEN AND CABINET Her Ex. Ingrid Maria Iremark High Commission for the Republic of Zambia DESIGN Embassy of Sweden of Uganda 151 Slater St., Suite 205 Triple AAA 377 Dalhousie Street 231 Cobourg Street Ottawa, Ontario 613-288-0447 Ottawa, Ontario K1N 9N8 Ottawa, Ontario K1N 8J2 K1B 5H3 TEL. 244-8200 FAX 241-2277 TEL. 789-7797 FAX 789-8909 TEL: 232-4400 FAX: 232-4410 LEGAL SERVICES [email protected] [email protected] Alicia Natividad www.swedishembassy.ca www.ugandahighcommission.ca ZIMBABWE (613) 566-7045 Her Ex. Florence Zano Chideya SWITZERLAND UKRAINE Embassy of the Republic of OFFICE FURNITURE AND His. Ex. Ihor Ostash His Ex. Werner Baumann Zimbabwe PRODUCTS Embassy of Switzerland Embassy of Ukraine 332 Somerset Street West SIM 5 Marlborough Avenue 310 Somerset Street, West, Ottawa, Ontario K2P 0J9 613-247-0505 Ottawa, Ontario K1N 8E6 Ottawa, Ontario, K2P 0J9 TEL. 237-4388 FAX 563-8269 TEL. 235-1837 FAX 563-1394 Tel. 230-2961 Fax 230-2400 PARTY RENTALS [email protected] www.ukremb.ca Diplomat Magazine Contacts Party Time (613) 745-9400 SYRIA UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Jennifer Campbell Editor PHOTOGRAPHY His Ex. Jamil Haidar Sakr His Ex. Hassan Al-Suwaidi Jana Chytilova Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic Embassy of the United Arab Emirates (613) 231-8476 (613) 447-8323 151 Slater Street, Suite 1000 45 O’Connor Street, Suite 1800 [email protected] Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5H3 Ottawa, Ontario K1P 1A4 Dyanne Wilson Neil Reynolds TEL. 569-5556 FAX 569-3800 TEL. 565-7272 FAX 565-8007 (613) 274-7029 www.syrianembassy.ca [email protected] Publisher www.uae-embassy.com Frank H. Scheme TAIPEI Economic & Cultural office Donna Jacobs (613) 327-1968 David Tawei Lee, Representative UNITED KINGDOM Associate Publisher His Ex. Anthony Cary SEAFOOD 45 O’Connor Street, Suite 1960 Lapointe’s Ottawa, Ontario K1P 1A4 British High Commission Phone: (613) 259-3038 (613) 789-6221 TEL. 231-5080 FAX 231-7112 80 Elgin Street Fax: (613) 259-5481 [email protected] Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5K7 REAL ESTATE AGENTS TEL. 237-1530 FAX 237-7980 Website: Marilyn Wilson TANZANIA www.britainincanada.org www.diplomatonline.com (613) 238-2801 His Ex. Peter Kallaghe High Commission for the United UNITED STATES OF AMERICA RESTAURANTS Republic of Tanzania His Ex. David Wilkins Carleton Grill 50 Range Road Embassy of the United States of Sheraton Ottawa Ottawa, Ontario K1N 8J4 America Directory of (613) 238-1500 TEL. 232-1509 FAX 232-5184 490 Sussex Drive Advertisers [email protected] Ottawa, Ontario K1N 1G8 Signatures www.tanzaniahighcommission.ca TEL. 238-5335 FAX 688-3080 (613) 236-2499 ACCOMMODATION www.usembassycanada.gov TRAVEL AGENCY Les Suites Hotel THAILAND Accu-Rate Travel (613) 232-2000 His Ex. Snanchart Devahastin URUGUAY (613) 544-4114 The Royal Thai Embassy His Ex. Alväro M. Moerzinger Sheraton Ottawa 180 Island Park Drive Embassy of the Eastern Republic of UNIVERSITIES (613) 238-5000 Ottawa, Ontario K1Y 0A2 Uruguay University of Ottawa TEL. 722-4444 FAX 722-6624 130 Albert Street, Suite 1905 APPLIANCES (613) 562-5700 [email protected] Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5G4 220 Volt Depot 1-877-868-8292 TEL. 234-2727 FAX 233-4670 (613) 746-4777 www.report.uottawa.ca TOGO His Ex. Bawoumondom Amelete AUTOMOBILES Atahabasca University Embassy of the Togolese Republic Elite BMW 1-800-561-4650 12 Range Road (613) 749-7700 www.mba.athabascau.ca

| EMBASSIES | HIGH COMMISSIONS | OTHER INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES 50 SEPTEMBER—OCTOBER 2007 THE LAST WORD | DESTINATIONS

(continued from page 52) one bit of morbid charm aside, the room was true to its roots in the era, lasting into the late 1980s, when design and con- struction projects in Laos where under-

NO, THE SHOP WAS CHOCK-

A-BLOCK WITH BROKEN

PICTURE FRAMES AND

PURPORTED SILVER FLAT-

WARE MADE OF

ALUMINUM. WHEN WE

ENTERED, THE TWO

APPARENT CO-PROPRIETORS

WERE IN THE BACK WATCH-

ING TELEVISION CARTOONS,

ONE ON THE SOFA, THE

OTHER ON THE FLOOR, BUT

THE LATTER BESTIRRED HIM- minum. When we entered, the two ap- beginning the next day. In Laos, the parent co-proprietors were in the back young people know English, their par- watching television cartoons, one on the ents know Russian, their grandparents SELF TO WELCOME US. sofa, the other on the floor, but the latter know French. “Listen,” I said to my bestirred himself to welcome us. He was friend, “when it looks like we’re getting Vietnamese, ethnically if not by national- into trouble—and we will—I’ll find a kid ity. His eyes were mournful. He was in and you look round for a grandmother.” taken routinely by experts from the his 20s and had some English whereas I pass along this travel tip. It worked Soviet Union. The Soviet way of doing his much older partner (they’re cousins, every time. things is also preserved in the system of we discovered) spoke a little Russian. vouchers, chits and receipts employed at This is the practical lesson we learned George Fetherling is a Vancouver poet, every opportunity, such as in what in the city and took with us far upriver novelist and cultural commentator. should be the simple matter of getting breakfast in the auditorium-like dining hall (“Performance from 0600 hrs”). Riverfront roosters had ensured that we Besfobmjofpgepxoupxo/Tfsfojuzpgbtvjuf/ were there in plenty of time. While waiting for our connection to ¦ Epxoupxo mpdbujpo- dmptf up tipqt ' buusbdujpot the north, we found a tiny antiques and ¦ Tqbdjpvt tvjuft xjui gvmm ljudifot- fotvjuf mbvoesz handicrafts shop called Indochine, a term ¦ Gjuoftt dfousf xjui joepps qppm- fyfsdjtf sppn now becoming current again, shucking ¦ Dpnqmjnfoubsz 35.ipvs cvtjoftt dfousf off decades of negative connotation. No ¦ Gsff mpdbm dbmmt ' xjsfmftt ijhi.tqffe Joufsofu doubt, we thought, we’ll find the detritus Jefbm gps tipsu boe mpoh ufsn tubzt" of colonialism there and thus enjoy a tac- tile relationship with the empire for a few moments. No, the shop was chock-a- block with broken picture frames and Sftfswf po.mjof; xxx/mft.tvjuft/dpn 0 241 Cfttfsfs Tusffu ¦ 724.343.3111 ¦ 2.911.378.2:9: purported silver flatware made of alu-

DIPLOMAT AND INTERNATIONAL CANADA 51 THE LAST WORD DESTINATIONS | When in doubt in Laos, find a kid, or a grandmother

By George Fetherling

ientiane, the capital of Laos, is a high despite not being well hoed. We Vfading one-time French colonial saw no commercial or passenger traffic outpost on a spot where a bend in whatever on the river. the Mekong makes room for a large tear- We strolled the length of the town, shaped island directly opposite the cen- river on our left, commercial strip—with tre-ville, which only runs far enough the inevitable massage parlour, mini- back from the riverbank to allow a few mart and open-air Chinese restaurant— commercial streets. The new bridge to on the right. More subtly so than the Thailand is a short distance away. Thai- Patuxai, the buildings reveal the long style wats and other temples, minor and war between opposing traditions that major, are everywhere. Otherwise, bar- never quite reconciled but only declared ring the usual joint-venture hotels and a truce. There are ornate French grilles on such, the architecture is either Chinese- windows that have never looked out on style shop-houses, many of them quite France of course but only on what their elderly, or French buildings left over builders must have seen as the steady en- from the old days. The latter include the croachment of native ideas. My friend, Presidential Palace, formerly called the who has spent time in West Africa, said Royal Palace, and large French villas, ex- that the streetscape would fit perfectly propriated at Independence but left to into the Côte d’Ivoire. But the faces of ruin because no money was available to course are Asian, except for the French maintain them—or even find a use for faces, which are the same on either conti- them. They stand in overgrown lawns, nent. their windows shuttered or punched out. The hotel room had a strange old The most bizarre architectural remem- piece of wooden furniture about four feet brance of the French century is the high. The top third of it was a glass- Patuxai or Victory Gate, a copy of the Arc fronted box with a decorative handle for de Triomphe but with enormous Bud- opening the glazed door. It suggested a dhist spires on top. It stands at the end of shoreline in the distance. This was in July cabinet of curiosities or perhaps a place the local equivalent of the Champs when the dry season was still playing it- to exhibit a wreath made from the hair of Elysées, which is badly in need of self out, though the monsoon rains of late a deceased loved one, or some other repaving beneath a thick crust of reddish afternoon and early evening brought proof of lachrymose 19th Century sensi- dirt. temporary relief from the humidity while bilities. In fact, it turned out to be the My traveling companion and I got a softening the rugged clay soil for tilling. primitive forerunner of the mini-bar. This room in a Russian-built hotel with a view So the water still being low, the bank was (continued on page 51) of the river’s south channel with the Thai planted in corn, which was about chest-

52 SEPTEMBER—OCTOBER 2007

University of Ottawa

It starts here. North America’s premier bilingual university is a place where languages, cultures and diverse perspectives come together to create a truly unique educational experience. The University of Ottawa sets the standard for language leadership with initiatives like French Immersion Studies, the rst university program of its kind in Canada. Here, students are free to study in one or both ocial languages. Greater choice, greater opportunities: that’s Canada’s university.

Kate Stokes. Second-year student in French immer- sion, history and Canadian studies. Passions: languages, politics, current events. Career aspirations: journalist, documentary lm maker. One of 34,000 reasons why It starts here.

www.Report.uOttawa.ca

54 SEPTEMBER—OCTOBER 2007