bout de papier, Vol. 5, No. 3 (1987) — Fall 1987 // Automne 1987, pp. 52–53
At 10:00 a.m. on July 10, PAFSO President John Lobsinger went to Room 130S of the Centre Block and gave the Association’s first press conference in protest over the proposed appointment (subsequently realized) of Mr. Pat MacAdam to our High Commission in London. The conference and subsequent reaction by the Prime Minister and SSEA Clark generated considerable response by the nation’s pundits. We sample some of it:
“Too often now the foreign service is used as a dumping ground for pals and cronies and as a means of taking care of political debts or defeated politicians… if the government continues to appoint former politicians and aides to key diplomatic posts, Lobsinger warned Canada’s international reputation abroad will suffer.” Stephen Bindman, The Citizen
‘Foreign service officers are worried that their profession is becoming the Mulroney Senate’ and it’s hurting Canada’s image abroad” from the standard CP story which ran in Calgary Herald, Vancouver Province, Winnipeg Free Press, Regina Leader Post and other papers.
“The Mulroney government is putting Canada’s foreign service in jeopardy by its appointing its pals to diplomatic posts says PAFSO. Qualified candidates are being passed over so cronies of the prime minister can be given top postings for which they have little experience or training…” Paul McKeague of the Windsor Star
“Two native Bluenosers are giving new meaning to the trendy practise of job sharing” and concludes that a lot of the PM’s pals are falling like flies. “MacAdam is the latest to go to his reward”. Don MacDonald of the Halifax Chronicle Herald
“Le Service extérieur dépotoir des compères et amis de Mulroney — une attaque virulente”. Michel Vastel in Le Devoir
Jeff Simpson “External affronts” wrote that the SEA’s “nasty shot” reaction to our “quite brave deed” had more to do with protecting his credibility with the PM”. “Rather than criticize departmental officials” the Globe columnist wrote he “should have praised them”. Simpson concluded that he may be naive “but I choose to believe that Mr. Clark believes a lot in which PAFSO is saying”.
Pierre Tremblay in Le Droit “un objet obéissant” was more circumspect but in that paper’s lead editorial he concluded that while the government had the right to make such appointments, “cela ne calmera pas pour autant la méfiance qu’entretiennent les fonctionnaires à l’endroit d’un gouvernement qui les considère comme sa chose, objet obéissant”
The Saskatoon Star Phoenix leader “PM’s patronage fouls Clark plan” noted that MacAdam was a direct challenge to Clark as SSEA because of his past. “Moreover, he is yet another in a strong of non-diplomats whose slotting into foreign postings has so demoralized career foreign service employees — morale Clark was aiming to revive with Noble’s selection”.
“Career foreign service officers have good reason to be upset by rumours of the imminent appointment of a friend of PM Mulroney… Mulroney obfuscates… he knows well that the issue is one of the continued politicization of the corps… the only thing fresh about Mulroney’s approach to patronage is the vigour with which he has tackled it in practise. “The London Free Press “Undermining morale of diplomatic corps”.
The Citizen leader It’s time minister defended External” argued that the “PM has made too many political appointments, too fast. Too many of these were bad appointments… It’s time Clark started defending the integrity of the service.”
Another Citizen editorial “London is for Pat (as in patronage)” wrote: “Mulroney has lumbered the diplomatic corps with more patronage dead wood than any other prime minister in Canadian history. The effect of all these partisan appointments is uniformly destructive. They dilute the professional quality of Canadian representation abroad, and weaken the morale and energy of the foreign service itself.
The Windsor Star’s leader “Brian’s buddy system” said that “we consider that career diplomats are professionals with carefully developed skills and training, then the PM has been playing fast and loose with the rules of the game by often appointing his cronies and hangers-on… The PM is extremely naive if he does not think his patronage record will be thrown into the ring of the next election campaign. After all, Brian Mulroney knows better than anyone what a terrific punching bag the issue makes.
The Halifax Chronicle Herald is more circumspect, it shares our concern about “far too many of the government’s friends” being appointed to post for political ties but goes on to say that some appointments are not a bad thing.
Bill Fox, the PM’s former press secretary, sounded the only discordant note in his Sunday Toronto Star column with the claim that the PAFSO ’crusade is really self-serving’.
Don MacGillvray, the national Southam correspondent, wrote that Mulroney is being underdone by the little things and writes that the appointment of MacAdam is “a reminder of the whole story of patronage under Mulroney, including his pointed finger at John Turner and his subsequent Tory appointments.”
John Best, syndicated across the country, wrote in the Regina Leader Post and other papers that PAFSO “has good reason to be upset… A person would like to think that the PAFSO blast will bring Mulroney to his senses and induce him to finally call a halt to what has become an increasingly invidious practise.
On CBC Radio’s Commentary John Starnes said “Shunting aside foreign service officers to make room for persons who are being rewarded mainly for supporting the party in power, hardly seems the way to maintain the standards of professionalism so characteristic of our foreign service… one would have hoped the government would have acquired a better appreciation of the foreign service. It took years to build, it would take far less time to damage it, perhaps irreparably, for crass political reasons.
Joe Clark’s Letter to the Globe and Mail, July 16, 1987
In his article of July 14, 1987, Jeffrey Simpson insinuates that I agree with the crude and unprofessional declaration of the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers. On the contrary, I consider their action to be a betrayal of the professional standards they pretend to defend. Fortunately the great majority of foreign service officers share better judgment than the current executive of their Association. That is one reason why the vast majority of foreign service appointments will continue to come from professional ranks.
Five points deserve to be made about the PAFSO outburst.
First, their complaint is about an appointment that has not been made and, in any event, would not displace or replace a foreign service “professional” In fact their Association represents only the two most junior levels of the foreign service and none of its members would be senior enough to be considered for any of the positions in question.
Second, they distort history, deliberately ignoring the significant role in Canada’s diplomatic history of “nonprofessionals” like Georges Vanier, George Drew, E.L.M. Burns and countless others including today Ambassadors Bouchard, Lewis, McMurtry, and others I have been proud to recommend.
Third, their flagrant discourtesy is counterproductive. PAFSO knows that I have deliberately placed “professionals” in positions where appointments had previously been made from outside the service. Lisbon is the most recent example. I have discussed that process personally with the former President of PAFSO, and the new executive is aware of this. The new President’s response was to issue a partisan attack without ever speaking to me.
Fourth, any government in our system has the right to ensure that its appointments abroad reflect the whole country, and that the skills and qualifications that exceptional Canadians have derived from other walks of life be put to use abroad on behalf of Canada. For example, when the government took office less than three years ago, only two women represented Canada as Head of Post abroad. Today, there are thirteen. It is relevant to note that PAFSO has remained silent over the years in the face of this grave injustice to women.
Finally, the Public Service of Canada is strengthened and enriched by the inclusion of individuals of significant accomplishment in other areas of endeavour. The recent addition to the Public Service of people like Stanley Hartt, Deputy Minister of Finance; Judith Maxwell, Chairman of the Economic Council of Canada; Frank lacobucci, Deputy Minister of Justice; Wendy Dobson, Associate Deputy Minister of Finance; Bruce Howe, Secretary of the Ministry of State for Science and Technology; and Norman Spector, Secretary to the Cabinet for Federal-Provincial Relations has been beneficial to Canada. While the numbers remain small when viewed against the total Public Service complement their contribution has been enormous.
The Prime Minister and I work daily with foreign service officers who are professionals in every sense of the word They have our full confidence and respect, and they know that. Neither they, nor the excellent reputation of Canada’s foreign service should be judged or diminished by the outburst of the newly-elected executive of the Foreign Service Association.
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Originally published in bout de papier, Vol. 5, No. 3 (1987) — Fall 1987 // Automne 1987, pp. 52–53. Read the rest of this issue →
