Viceregal Diplomacy
Nowadays state visits of the Governor General to other countries are generally accepted as normal instruments of Canadian foreign policy. It was not ever so.
Free Trade, 1911 and All of That
Draw near to the fire this stormy windswept night, and bout de papier will tell you a Canadian ghost story.
1854: Plus ça change plus c’est la même chose
As Simon Reisman and his team enter the final laps of the current free trade marathon we might remember the first time Canada entered into a free trade deal with the United States. Like today, the free trade move was sparked by…
Just Right for the VIP Who Has Everything
When Brian Mulroney makes his official visits abroad as Prime Minister, his planners in Ottawa find that not the least of the diplomatic problems they have to confront is what gifts Canada’s PM should bestow on his foreign hosts.
Letters to the Editor
The Guest Column entitled “Ethnics and Foreign Policy” in the spring 1987 issue of bout de papier, is offensive in tone and oversimplistic to the point of being prejudiced.
The Day That the Rains Came Down
As usual, Ottawa officials had all scheduled their visits to sunny climes to coincide with the lingering depths of the Canadian winter. We had had, in succession, an inspection team, a group of MP’s, the SSEA and now, at the tag end…
Changing the Constitution
By the time this appears in print, the Meech Lake Accord will probably have become a body of actual amendments to the Constitution. These may make obsolete many statements that otherwise could have been made about the existing Constitution and about what…
Asleep at the Wheel
More crucially, they fooled themselves through a tragic misunderstanding of the issues… and a misguided faith in the prowess of their own diplomacy.
Editor’s Notebook
Stephen Lewis, the self-declared socialist Excellency, held forth to a packed breakfast meeting of PAFSO the other day. Renowned for his grasp of the English language, he delivered a lively polemic on the plight of Africa. He is convincing even when he…
