bout de papier, Vol. 9, No. 2 (1992) — Spring 1992 // Printemps 1992, pp. 39–41
In a move that has caught many observers off-guard, the Department of External Affairs and International Trade and the Canadian Ice Skating Federation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding exchanging their rating systems.
Jonathan Sowcow, President of the Canadian Ice Skating Federation, explains: “Judging at ice skating competitions has been the target of criticism for years. The 1992 Olympics was the last straw. We therefore looked at different systems for judging performance. The appraisal system at External just seemed to be the most appropriate for us.”
Sowcow leans back in his chair and puts his skates on the top of his mahogany desk. “At the next Canadian championship, all judges will fill out a five-page narrative report on each competitor’s performance. Once all the reports are done, we will hold a Promotion Board. This may be six months or a year later. So, we may not be able to crown our champions until quite late in the year, hopefully before the next championship. I don’t think it will cause morale problems. It doesn’t in External, does it?”
Meanwhile at External Affairs and International Trade, former international ice-skating judge, Petra Walkonov is the new Assistant Deputy Minister of Personnel, brought in to implement the new system for promoting Foreign Service officers. “Jaa, I feel good to be here,” beams Walkonov. “Good job, good currency, and a bureaucracy which, how do I say, reminds me of good old days in Moscow.”
She shrugs at suggestions that she may be introducing a system as unfair as critics have said the old one was at External. She chuckles at accusations that she systematically gave high marks to Soviet bloc skaters and low marks to Western skaters. “Hey loosen up, will ya. At least I was consistent under pressure. Ice judging always gave good results, provided you rigged it, er I mean, figured it out properly.”
Walkonov continues, “The introduction of the new judging system in External is going smoothly. Believe me. Here listen to the tapes of this year’s Promotion Board.” With that, she hands over a cassette and bout de papier is pleased to present the transcript below.
THE COMPULSORY PROGRAM: The Briefing Note
Don: Don Whitman here for the Public Service Commission. And with me is two-time highflyer Marie-Louise Fernand- Baguette. Marie-Louise, this is the start to an exciting promotions competition for Foreign Service officers. Perhaps you can explain what to expect during the competition?
M.L.: Don, we will see a lot of top-notch performers in this competition which has two distinct parts — the Compulsory and Free Programs. Under the Compulsory Program, each officer will submit their best pieces of work in the four primary disciplines of the Department — the Briefing Note, the Question and Answer (QandA) for Question Period in the House, the Telex and the Memo to File. Only two out of the four disciplines will be judged at the original competition. Then there is the longer Free Program based on a Memorandum to the Minister.
Don: Thanks, Marie-Louise. This year the two compulsory disciplines on which the officer will be judged are the Briefing Note and the QandA.
M.L.: There is really not much room for creativity here, Don. What the Promotion Board judges will be looking for is technical merit and the ability to follow the classic prescriptions of each of the disciplines.
Don: Our first competitor is Martine Godsworth, Korea Desk Officer in the North Asia Division. She’s been knocking at the door for the last six years but has never quite made it. The rap against her is that she’s not good under pressure. We all remember her disastrous Briefing Note on Canada-Korea Relations for the Delegation to the ASEAN Ministerial in 1989. It had at least five typos in the “Background” Section and a major substantive error in the “Canadian Position” section, which got the Minister into big trouble.
M.L.: Yes Don, and Martine was quite depressed after that performance. She almost gave up on promotions. But she’s back. The “Briefing Note” she has submitted, Korea and Women in Development for the Minister of International Trade’s visit to the country is not overly complicated. It is clear-cut and well-executed. There is a good, concise definition of the issue in the “Issue” section, the “Background” has straightforward information, the “Canadian Position” is adequately spelled out; and the “Talking Points” are not heavy-handed or lecturing.
Don: Here are the scores. Martine should be reasonably happy with these marks — 5.4 for technical merit, 5.3 for creativity.
Marie-Louise, can you tell us something about the next competitor, François Tascherterre?
M.L.: Don, Tascherterre has everything going for him. He’s a big, strong lawyer, a solid officer and definitely a crowd pleaser. He’s landed some good positions in the past. What may hurt his chances this time, however, is his decision to spend the year in Montreal training for private practice. This will hurt his ability to do a “Briefing Note” which is a very peculiar discipline typical of a foreign ministry. Let’s see how this goes.
Don: Tascherterre has picked an extremely difficult subject to present in the “Briefing Note” format – National Sovereignty and the Montreal Protocol on Ozone Protection. Marie-Louise, this will be difficult to cover in two pages.
M.L.: Don, this is exciting. Yes, yes, I think he’s done it!! He has! Tascherterre had delivered a superb definition of the “Issue”; a “Background” section which could be understood by a grade school class; a “Canadian Position” section that flows so fluidly that one could almost believe he is making it up as he goes, and my goodness, how did he come up with those “Talking Points”! A 5.9! What a gritty performance!!
Many hours later.
Don: The final contestant is Harrison Ridley Calderwell III.
M.L.: Don, Calderwell III has been struggling at the same level for the last twenty years. I don’t expect much here today. Indeed, the choice for this “Briefing Note” North-South Dialogue, is the same one he has re-done for each of the last five years.
Don: You’re right, Marie-Louise. The judges really sense a stale policy issue here. There is no crispness in the “Background” or in the “Canadian Position” sections. As for the “Talking Points”, I doubt any Minister would use those “Canada has taken a leadership role” lines even if a conversation was about to run dry. Even a discussion of the weather or deep-sea fishing would have made for more exciting talking points. A 4.1 score. No surprise there.
THE COMPULSORY PROGRAM: The QandA
Don: As we move into the second part of the Compulsory Program, Marie-Louise, what can we expect?
M.L.: Don, I don’t think Tascherterre can maintain his lead here. The Legal Bureau does not have many opportunities to prepare QsandAs. If there are questions in the House, the answers inevitably refer to “recourse to international tribunals” or “international arbitration”. That is pretty dry stuff and certainly nothing to excite the public or more importantly the Promotion Board.
Don: And there are some really skilled performers in this discipline.
M.L.: That’s right, Don. The Middle East Bureau has consistently produced superb QandA artists, as have the Latin America and the USA Bureaux. Let’s face it — it’s their specialty. They don’t do much policy, but no-one can rival their QandA expertise.
Don: Marie-Louise, our first competitor. comes from one of the Bureaux you mentioned. It’s the wily veteran Scotty Maclean. He’s going for broke today. His program is a QandA on the Canada-USA Free Trade Agreement. This should be fun, Marie-Louise.
M.L.: Scotty is a master of this discipline. There has been criticism in the past that he has spent too much time living in Paris, Geneva and Washington and that this has affected his ability to lay down OsandAs. But don’t believe it for a moment. Let’s look at his performance. He is showing excellent anticipation in the “Source” section of the QandA. He obviously knows that a phone call from the Toronto Star on possible plant closures at GM may mean trouble in the House. He has laid down a great “Suggested Reply” — a double axel policy turn. It’s beautiful! He has put in a wonderful counterattack for a supplementary question — the new jobs the FTA created in Longueuil at Pratt and Whitney. Don, what a performance! And, what courage to suggest such a daring policy sowcow at the end of the “Suggested Reply” when the Minister may be tiring.
Don: No doubt about it, Marie-Louise. That performance has vaulted Scotty to the top of the promotion list.
Here’s another seasoned and strong competitor — Barbie Gibson-Gibson.
M.L.: Don, Gibson-Gibson is putting forward an extremely difficult QandA on the Middle East Negotiations following violent incidents on the Israeli-Lebanese border. This will require a masterful performance. This issue is a minefield, figuratively and literally.
Don: The Promotion Board is holding its breath. You are too, I expect.
M.L.: Don, the trick here is not the “Source of the Question”. We all know she got it from T.V. The key part of the QandA will be the “Assessment” and the “Suggested Reply”. Don, I think she’s laid down a good assessment. What the judges are looking for is a balanced analysis, one that does not tilt too far one way or the other and one that does not put the Minister in hot water. The “Suggested Reply” must be nuanced. It must be an artistic tour de force; there can be no spectacular leaps or policy turns here.
Don: I think she’s done it! Yes, yes, the Promotion Board is giving her a 5.9!! A great score for a seasoned performer.
Many hours later.
THE FREE PROGRAM: Memo to the Minister
Don: We are now entering the Free Program which really separates the men from the women; the majority from the visible minorities; the FSIs from the FS2s; and the EX(FS)1s from the EX(FS)2s.
M.L.: You are quite right, Don. Many of us have long argued that the creativity one finds in the Free Program should count for more. This is now happening. This part of the program counts for sixty percent of the total rating, and I except we will see some fireworks during the competition.
Don: The first competitors will be the formidable duo in the pairs competition — Johnny Diyantzse and Rodwina Iwon, a lovely couple of Chinese-Canadian origin. This is a delightful policy couple. They are putting forward their fanciful “Memo to the Minister” on the Recognition of the Countries of the Former Soviet Union.
M.L.: This is a fun memorandum, full of twist and turns. We can expect to see lots of double turns, triple axels, and fancy footwork.
Don: As with all the Free Programs, the “Memo to the Minister” starts off with the “Recommendations”. Marie-Louise, I sense a little wobbling on this section, not the clear edges the Promotion Board likes to see.
M.L.: You’re right, Don, neither Johnny or Rodwina seem that sure of themselves. They seem to be tying themselves in knots as they try to execute the same stunning combination on the Armenian portion of the “Recommendation” as they did on the Ukrainian Leap of Faith. As we move to the “Considerations” section, their Memo does seem to be settling down. The “Considerations” are put down, beautifully, simply and without pretensions, which is the hallmark of this team. Oh, a bit of wobble on their Criteria for Recognition. But, Don, the “Communication Strategy” part of the program looks good — clean lines, straight message, defendable positions. The Board should like this performance.
Don: The mark 5.6 shows the judges were more impressed with the creativity of the Memo as compared to the technical merit. Nevertheless, I believe that performance may be good enough for a promotion.
The next contestant, Marie-Louise, I know you know him well – Leff Unced.
M.L.: Leff is a gutsy performer and has a lot of potential. And you are going to see him in this competition deliver a very difficult performance. His “Memo to the Minister” will look at the Canadian Objectives and Negotiating Position at the Rio Earth Summit. He has been working on this for the last two years.
Don: The “Recommendations” part of the program appears complex, intricate and multi-faceted.
M.L.: You’re right Don. I think Leff, at the start of the performance, is trying to lay down some clean recommendations, but, I sense the Promotion Board has some scepticism. Leff is taking a gamble with the objectives he is setting out for the government. The Memo just may be too complex and dense. Leff has always been an innovator — he’s the only man I know who has adoption papers on fifty trees in the Amazon rain forests. I just hope he has not gone too far for the judges.
For immediate attention contact:
Admissions, Albert College 160 Dundas St. West Belleville, Ontario K&P 1A6 Tel: (613) 968-5726 Fax: (613) 968-9651 Don: It looks like trouble! The Board may not be ready to swallow the “Considerations” section. Leff’s presentation about environmental catastrophe and ecological blackmail by the Third World is raising eyebrows. His pirouettes on huge financial provisioning in the Fiscal Framework of Canada appears to have made some judges very queasy.
M.L.: Don, there is no doubt as we come to the end of this very original Memo, that it is certainly breaking new ground, but frankly it looks like the judges are not ready for this. Perhaps, he can pull it off in the “Communication Strategy” section.
Don: The question here, Marie-Louise, is did the judges see a clear press strategy?
M.L.: I did, Don but whether the Promotion Board did is another matter. I liked the Memo. But the Department may not be ready for the scope, the innovation, and above all the resource implications, not to forget the new intellectual paradigm implicit in the Memo.
Don: The marks are mixed. I see some high marks for creativity and technical merit from the E-Branch judge; but look how the Consular Branch judge had given Leff a 5.0 for creativity and a 4.9 for technical
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The Promotion List
Don: Marie-Louise, what a competition! I don’t think we have seen this much excitement in the Department since Lester Pearson won the Nobel Peace Prize and Ken Taylor became the toast of the USA during the Teheran hostage situation.
M.L.: It’s really a pity we cannot name the winners. The Department has not decided how many promotions it wants to make. And more importantly, it hasn’t decided how many of the newly promoted it wants to release as part of the EX (FS) downsizing.
Don: Well, as they say, Marie-Louise, the agony of victory and the thrill of defeat.
That’s the way it is in Ottawaville. See you next year, no doubt with the same competitors.
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Originally published in bout de papier, Vol. 9, No. 2 (1992) — Spring 1992 // Printemps 1992, pp. 39–41. Read the rest of this issue →
