Panditji Pearson in Colombo: the View from Headquarters
The Conference of Commonwealth Foreign Ministers which took place in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) was the first such gathering to take place in Asia and it undoubtedly was a new and interesting experience for the members of the Canadian Delegation, which…
Kilomètres sur les chemins de compostelle
Pour reprendre l’expression développée par Gail Sheehy dans ses livres sur la vie et ses cycles, la retraite constitue pour la plupart d’entre nous un « passage », un tournant qui nous marquera. Nous anticipons, chacun à sa propre façon et selon…
Model Forests: A Diplomatic Vignette
Canada has long been involved in the Model Forest Project on Chiloe Island in Southern Chile that Rolando Ramirez mentions. In May of 2001, then Governor General Clarkson and her multidisciplinary delegation of distinguished Canadians made a State Visit to Chile. She…
Model Forests and Model Volunteers, CUSO-VSO in Latin America
Chilean native, Canadian citizen and long-term Saskatchewan resident Rolando Ramirez was CUSO’s Regional Director for Latin America for over a decade. As Canada’s best known standard bearer for volunteering in the developing world, CUSO (now CUSO-VSO) has a proud tradition of tackling…
Defending Democracy in Honduras
When I became Head of Mission in Costa Rica in the fall of 2007 (cross-accredited to Honduras and Nicaragua), Honduras hardly seemed a likely setting for Canadian diplomatic activism. This was to change dramatically.
A Milestone in Canada’s Foreign Relations and an International First
NOTE DE LA REDACTION : L’aide au développement international (ADI) canadienne est cruciale pour la diplomatie canadienne et indispensable pour atteindre les objectifs de notre politique étrangère, mais on ne pourrait nous blâmer de penser autrement, compte tenu du peu de cas…
Summer Review
The summer of 2011 is an interesting one for PAFSO and its members for many reasons. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has gone on record saying that international affairs will play a key role in his new government as it faces its new…
Prenez garde – Why Severance Pay Matters…
A year after our interview with PAFSO Executive Director Ron Cochrane on challenges facing the membership, bout asked if there was anything new on the horizon. There is. He warns that severance pay (an important part of our overall compensation package payable…
