Ottawa, 2002

By Joanna Kocsis

 

“The world will never be the same after September 11^th”, everyone said. As thirty-two students and five teachers from the Niagara region discovered this May, business on Ottawa’s Parliament Hill proceeds relatively unhindered.

            After intensified security checks which included dissembling cell phones and emptying purses, we were rushed into the private dining room of the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Honourable Peter Milliken. The room was set up for a dinner with a group of foreign dignitaries. As we looked around, we were pleased that our government supports the Canadian farm industry, as the main course was “Grilled Alberta Beef”. 

            Mr. John Maloney, Liberal MP for the Erie-Lincoln riding shared an hour with our group discussing life as an MP and issues that affect Canadians. Mr. Maloney seemed comfortable when questioned about all of the issues raised by our inquisitive group including the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol and Canadian involvement in the Afghan-American situation.

            “Because the United States hasn’t agreed to the Protocol,” Maloney began, “we have to consider the effects of adopting the protocol on Canadian industry”. A group of well-informed debaters doesn’t blandly accept information; Mr. Maloney realized this when he was challenged on the health risks involved with the growing greenhouse effect and government priorities.

            The Speaker arrived for a photo op. The Honourable Mr. Milliken found time for us before his next meeting and preparation for the night’s dinner. The Speaker was cheerful and welcoming. Unfortunately, our third listed speaker for the sports fans in the group, Senator and former Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs player, Frank Mahovlich was not able to appear and we did not hear the end of it from the faction of the group that insisted we be back at the Carleton University residences for the play-off games at night.

            After dinner we crossed the river to tour the Museum of Civilization in Hull. The building was designed by architect Douglas Cardinal. The outside resembles a face as it would be found on a native mask; no corners can be seen as the building is rounded. In native culture, the spirits of evil lurk in dark corners.

            The detail continues inside the Manitoba limestone building. The ceiling of the main gallery is in the design of a canoe and the ceiling to floor windows that open onto the river and provide a spectacular view of the Parliament buildings especially the Library are supported by stones shaped like paddles.

            This first space, which often hosts weddings and conferences, is home to the permanent exhibit of the Native Homesteads from coast to coast. The museum contains information about the origins of the country including the story of the Vikings and even the history of Canada Post! Our group focuses mostly on international issues but the first step to understanding other cultures is to learn about our own. This museum was definitely the place to do it!

Friday morning, we headed for the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) where we were met by Project Officer Mari-Carmen Charbonneau. Ms. Charbonneau gave us a tour and history of the Lester B. Pearson Building which houses the department that began its life above a barber shop. The building, designed after the Sphinx, is home to the Nobel Prize won by former Prime Minister, Mike Pearson for his effort in peace keeping during the Suez Crisis in 1957.

It is also the workplace of COWAC alumni Shannon-Marie Soni. Ms. Soni was a participant in some of the first events arranged by Mike Keenan and Ward Kramer for Niagara students and gave us all hope that our extensive work with international politics at a young age will pay off in our future.

            The first of three speakers was Mr. Kevin O’Shea, the Director of the United States General Relations Division. Mr. O’Shea spoke of the challenges involved in living next to the world’s “only undisputed super-power”. How do you deal with something so big? “You learn to pick your fights,” Mr.O’Shea advised. “Although 40% of our GDP is tied up in trade with the U.S., only 1% of theirs comes through Canada”..  For bearing such a large responsibility O’Shea was surprisingly easy-going. He taught us a new word that buzzes around his office: “intermestic” relations, how he describes the U.S.-Canada relationship. We are separate countries and the issues are international but due to our close ties to the U.S., they also seem somewhat domestic, hence the hybrid term.

            When asked about the seemingly fading bonds between Prime Minister Chretien and new President Bush and the closeness between Mexico’s president, Vincente Fox, and Bush, O’Shea explained that there had been, over the years, a shift in demographics in the U.S. that may account for the change. While Mr. O’Shea did not agree that our Prime Minister had a bad relationship with Bush, he demonstrated with visual aides that the point around which the population of the U.S. is centered has moved from the East Coast to the South West. This increased concentration near the border with Mexico has created a higher demand for ties with the country.

            I asked Mr. O’Shea how Canada maintains its independence from American foreign policy on the world stage. “Our foreign policies are different”, he explained “but we don’t often directly offend them because they aren’t that different.”  There was a time, he told us, when New Zealand declared that the U.S. could not keep nuclear subs at their ports in New Zealand. This offended that U.S. government and New Zealand is yet to be forgiven. This was his explanation of the sort of punitive ramifications that U.S. allies face when they go against US wishes.

            It surprised many of us to learn that Canada has an economy equal to that of Texas. The mass of information from Mr. O’Shea came in handy that afternoon when we met with Ambassador Cellucci from the United States.

            Our second speaker was Marcia Burdette, Deputy Director of the Eastern and Southern Africa Division. Ms. Burdette spoke on the difficult topic of the Commonwealth and its functions in relation to Africa. She introduced a new acronym, CHOGM, which stands for Commonwealth Heads of Governments Meeting. Ms. Burdette painted a picture of the situations dealt with by the Commonwealth.  “On the eve of a CHOGM (they take place every two years in different Commonwealth countries),” it became clear that Nigeria had broken all of the “Harare Principles” the most recent offense, the hanging of political prisoners. The method used to respond by the Commonwealth is similar to that of peer pressure on a playground. In attempts to bring Nigeria to order, the member countries spotlighted the problem and tried to convince Nigeria to adhere to more reasonable human rights standards.

            The most recent Commonwealth action was March 19^th when Jean Chretien announced Zimbabwe’s suspension from the Commonwealth to a satisfied House Commons which received the information with a standing ovation. The decision to suspend Zimbabwe from the Commonwealth for a year was made by a sub-committee composed of three CHOGM hosts.

            What Ms. Burdette told us next made the world of diplomacy seem much more intriguing. At every CHOGM there is a private meeting between only heads of state from each country. They have no clerks or staff and no one takes notes. The goings-on of the meeting are kept secret and there is no record of any statements made. This was the kind of information that we really wanted, items that only experienced diplomats knew. Ms. Burdette told us that the Commonwealth had been pushing to get the situation in Zimbabwe on the UN agenda for quite some time but the idea had been ignored until it escalated to its present status.

            Our third speaker seemed to be what we are all aiming for. Mme. Marie-Lucie Morin had just hopped off a plane when she took the podium and spoke about the life of a diplomat with poise and intellect. Former Ambassador to Norway and current Director General of the International Business Development Policy and Planning Department of Canada, Mme. Morin spoke about the human side of diplomacy and quenched our thirst for the knowledge we had come to learn: How do I become part of the Foreign Service?   She discussed the process of taking the Foreign Service exam and training at DFAIT for one year in, among other things, the French language before leaving the country. She told us, the government trains one in language skills appropriate for where you work. The Pearson building houses a protocol office for when you meet with foreign dignitaries or to host them. Ms. Charbonneau had also mentioned with a surprising amount of seriousness, that the Resource Office at DFAIT dealt mostly with getting citizenship for the new wives or husbands of returning diplomats. “About 90% of the young male diplomats leaving Canada return with a wife. So if you want to marry an Italian try to get posted in Italy; it helps!”

            Speaking of spouses, how does a globetrotting diplomat deal with family life?

“I have been married to the same man for 20 years!” bragged Mme. Morin, “That’s really something nowadays!” Luckily for Mme Morin, her husband and four children have followed her all over the world. This is not true of all government officials, as Mr. Maloney told us the night before, “You miss a lot when you work here so you have to work hard to keep things together, but it’s the best job in the world.”

            Mme. Morin spoke about the obstacles that women face in her line of work. Having worked at the embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia she said she was often asked where her “boss” was because it was assumed that a female would not hold a position of authority. Other posts for Mme. Morin included Moscow in the early 90’s, which presented obvious challenges and San Francisco. Of her post in the United States Morin said, “I really learned to understand Americans. We all think we understand why they think and act the way they do, but we really don’t until we live there ourselves”. The difference between Canada and the U.S. is quite clear overseas, explained Shannon-Marie Soni. “My father was visiting Norway a few years ago and he went to the U.S. Embassy on business. They asked him to present 3 pieces of photo ID and then he had to go through metal detectors. The next night he went to the Canadian Embassy for dinner. He walked up to the house, rang the doorbell and Ambassador Morin herself answered the door!” “What can I say?” replied Mme. Morin, “It’s Canada!”

            After lunch at the bustling DFAIT cafeteria, we sped over to the U.S. Embassy on Sussex Dr. The Mackenzie St. Entrance to the Embassy may not be the main passage for traffic but they definitely did not skimp on the security measures there. We called through an intercom to announce our arrival and the gate buzzed open. The doors were electronically controlled; I wondered why handles had been installed because they had no function. We squeezed 37 people in the small space between two doorways and waited for the second door to open which allowed one person through at a time. The door slammed shut and the security guard had me empty my pockets and confiscated everything, except my photo ID which I had to present to prove that I was the person that they had done background checks on. (A list was sent before we visited.) Then I went through a metal detector and found myself standing in front of tinted, bulletproof glass with a speaker squawking “Welcome to the U.S. embassy Ma’am”. On the other side, as I squinted through the glare on the glass I could see two men: one officer and one Marine in full camouflage gear. Between the foyer where we assembled and the inside of the embassy was another bullet-proof, electronic door through which arrived the assistants to Ambassador Cellucci and Pat Delvechio, his political advisor. 

            Mr. Delvechio led us through the hall decorated with photos of past Ambassadors. Mr. Delvechio seemed pleased with a group of young people eager to learn about his country. Little did he know that we were well-versed in US foreign policy from local MUN’s.  Soon, hands started shooting up. “Why haven’t you ratified the Land Mine Treaty?” “Do you see no connection between U.S. actions in Afghanistan during the 1980’s and the attacks in September?” Why did your government give the Taliban $47 million last year?”, “What about our softwood lumber and NAFTA?”

            A highlight was the appearance of Ambassador Cellucci. In mid conversation, Mr. Delvechio quieted and stared towards the door. I turned to see a grey, pinstriped suit and a pink striped shirt strut, not walk, down the aisle toward the front of the room. We waited for Mr. Delvechio to finish his statement but he did not. The silence was obviously not protocol because Cellucci looked un-amused as we waited for him to speak. Frantic and embarrassed by our quietude, Delvechio began clapping for his boss and slowly we followed suit. Only after sustaining the applause for a minute did the Ambassador put his hand up to quiet us and begin to speak. I’m not so sure what he said because I was mesmerized by his Soprano’s style Boston accent and pinkness. With not much warmth, he called us forward for a photo and then (without a fanfare only because they didn’t allow trumpets) swept out of the room. Mr. Delvechio finished a long session of difficult questions by explaining that the U.S. is not in favour of Canada adopting the U.S. dollar.

            Our next stop was the Israeli Embassy, which exists on the 11^th floor of a high rise full of corporate offices. We couldn’t reach the eleventh floor due to security reasons, but in a conference room, we met David Cooper, Montreal born, Israel raised director of Media relations for the Embassy. He was a surprisingly young man but notice of age or anything else in the room vanished once we became absorbed in a discussion of the Mid-East crisis.  We were surprised to hear him say that Israel claims the settlements would not be a problem if they kept the ones close to the “green line” and relinquished the rest. Cooper also told us that the Golan Heights could be negotiated back to Syria, but he did not say for what. The only issue not up for debate was the Palestinian refugees. They could not be allowed back into Israel because their numbers would impair Israeli political control. As for Arafat, Cooper said that the Palestinian people must re-evaluate his effectiveness as a leader. “They need to ask themselves, ‘has he brought us any closer to having a Palestinian state?’” Mr. Cooper explained that the best solution to the problem was the deal drawn-up in the Camp David Accord and that Arafat lost a good deal for himself and his people and never told the Palestinians what he had passed-up. It was easy to see the exasperation in Cooper’s eyes. He concluded by saying that a resolution will be reached only when the terrorism has stopped, no sooner.

            After a full day of absorbing information we unwound with a nighttime ghost walk of the city. Our guide, Jenny, provided much-needed relaxation, until the tour started! I won’t ruin it for anyone who plans to visit but I will say that if we hadn’t been tense after a day of listening to politicians and staff, we were after her tour. If I had ever planned to stay at the Chateau Laurier I have now changed my mind thanks to the ghost of Sir Robert Hayes.

            Saturday morning, we toured the Supreme Court and held a mock trial. I’m positive that the “Case of the Glittery Pants” was more interesting than any other case heard in the federal courts since they were built. Our guide for this tour was a law student from Ottawa University as are all of the tour guides. She explained how a case comes to the Supreme Court. She also said that we could come to spend time at the Court as a clerk to one of the nine judges. These clerks are chosen because they earn the highest marks in all of Canada.

            Next was our tour of Parliament. Having visited Ottawa and Parliament Hill many times I opted to skip the visit of the House of Commons and the climb up the Peace Tower. I checked out something that you can’t see every time you visit the capital: the 50^th Anniversary of the Tulip Festival. The purpose of our trip to the park was really just to grab lunch and relax but there was no time for that. As we ate we overheard a woman telling her 3 year-old daughter that she’d better not ruin her Tulip crown because she had to wear it for the show. The woman laughed when I asked who was performing. “Sharon, Lois and Bram” she said unenthusiastically. I did not share her disinterest! Amy & I ran straight to the Shopper’s Drug Mart craft tent and made our own Tulip crowns and then we planted ourselves (pun) at the front of the stage and prepared to dance. Having caught Skinna-Merinki-Dinki-Dink in its prime 15 years ago we were much more excited than most of the 4 year olds and much better dancers as well! After their encore, Lois and Bram (Sharon hasn’t performed since she suffered from breast cancer) made way for Princess Margriet who received a gift, red velvet and gold embroidered tulips, from the organizers of the festival. While it was interesting for us to see the Princess whose birth was the origin of the traditional gift of bulbs from the Dutch, there was definite disappointment on the faces of the little girls awaiting a Cinderella-like character in a gown and glass slippers. They learned much though from the grace with which the Princess accepted the gift and spoke of the kindness of Canada through the years.

            That afternoon our group was let loose in the busy ByWard Market for some much needed shopping and dining.           

            Before departing for the six hour bus journey home on Sunday morning we visited the National Art Gallery where we saw originals by Picasso, Degas, Leduc and Tom Thompson and the Group of Seven along with other Canadian artists. From there we visited Rideau Hall, the residence of the Governor-General of Canada, Her Excellency Adrienne Clarkson. Coincidentally it was also the 50^th Anniversary of the Governor-General living at Rideau Hall and so the art room was filled with photos of important moments from its history. My favourite has always been the tent room. One of the Governor-Generals wanted to build a tennis court and a dining room but would only be dispensed enough money for one of the two. He decided to build a tennis court where he would entertain visiting dignitaries during the day and then at night a tent would be erected inside the structure and it would be decorated as a dining room. The room is now permanently furnished in the motif of the original tent and is kept as a dining room. Her Excellency wasn’t at home to receive us. She was on an official visit to Kullik Ilihakuik, in Nunavit.

            During our four-day trip we were hosted in the Speaker of the House’s private dining room, conference rooms of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, the Supreme and Federal Courts, the halls and offices of the Parliament buildings and the residence of the highest official and Monarch’s representative in Canada; all without full-body cavity searches. Why are people allowed to roam the halls of our government buildings alongside the most powerful and important figures in our country? In the words of Mme. Morin “Hey! It’s Canada!”