bout de papier, Vol. 9, No. 4 (1992) — Fall 1992 // Automne 1992, pp. 40–41
Senior management at External Affairs and International Trade Canada has embraced a “back to basics” approach to foreign policy. This means that frivolous add-on overseas programs, such as immigration, sports, culture and wine-tasting, which do not correspond to the Department’s core function (i.e. the provision of sober foreign policy advice) are to be transferred back to other departments.
Through the provisions of the Access to Information Act, bout de papier has discovered that this “back to basics” strategy has resulted not so much from new management peccadillos, or from new philosophical approaches, but from a remarkable marketing study commissioned by the Department last January.
Faced with the gradual erosion of its former monopoly position over foreign policy making and besieged by new competitors, including the PCO, the PMO, parliamentary committees and Stephen Lewis, EAITC requested the management consulting firm of Tory, Tora, Tora and Applebaum (T.T.T. and Applebaum) to undertake an extensive marketing study aimed at devising a strategy to restore the Department’s market share of foreign policy.
The TT.T. and Applebaum study, Doing Less with Less, was a comprehensive survey of the attitudes of Canadians, government departments and Foreign Service employees on what External Affairs was now and what it should be in the future. The survey results led to the “back to basics” movement. In the interests of our readers, we interviewed Izzy Applebaum on the methodology of the survey.
The Public Perception of External Affairs
Izzy Applebaum is a large obese man who sits uncomfortably on his desk, one leg hanging over the edge in a very informal manner. He acknowledges that his only experience with foreign relations are his annual trips to Las Vegas.
Applebaum explains, “Yeah, the study was quite a challenge. We thought the best way to formulate our own original thoughts was to ask other people for their thoughts. That methodology is common in the management consulting game, you know. We started with the general public. We set up a sample group of fishermen, stockbrokers and nuclear scientists in a typical Canadian city, Lethbridge, and asked some questions, like the following:
1. What name do you most associate with the functions of EAITC?
a) Lester B. Pearson;
b) C.D. Howe; c) Anne Murray; or d) Al Mashat?
2. If a bloody and violent civil war broke out in country Xand your elderly mother was on an Air Canada Suntour of that country, what would you see as the most appropriate role for EAITC?
a) Provision of exhaustive political and economic reporting allowing the Canadian government to take a reasoned, independent position;
b) Provision of exhaustive political reporting on what the American embassy was saying, so that we could follow the American line;
c) Promotion of a trade mission to capitalize on new-found Canadian interest in the region; or d) Save my mom?
3. In your view, the Canadian embassy in a foreign country is:
a) An essential source for political and economic analysis on foreign developments necessary for government decisionmaking;
b) A locale for the promotion of Canadian trade; c) A potential substitute for a non-elected
Senate; or d) A place to pick up mail while on holidays?
Applebaum explains, ’In these questions and others, most respondents replied d). We therefore concluded that the public had “an erroneous and unbalanced view of EAITC which magnified the consular/immigration functions, thus distorting the essential political, economic and trade functions of the Department.”
The Government Perception of External Affairs
“To get an overall sense of the Ottawa pol- ¡cy scene, “ Applebaum continues, “our firm held a B.B.Q. at Major Hill Park and invited a wide range of officials from various departments and central agencies to come and explain their feelings on the role of EAITC in an informal session. Twelve of them came: eight if you don’t count spouses. Here are some of the questions we asked.”
4. What is the most appropriate role for EAITC in the Ottawa policy arena?
a) Central agency;
b) Delivery of government programs overseas;
c) Coordination of the international activities of all departments; or d) Minding its own bloody business?
5. What foreign policy initiative do you believe has most preoccupied EAITC management over the last few years?
a) Gorbachev challenge: the disintegration of the USSR;
b) Balkan tinderbox: the disintegration of Yugoslavia;
c) Maastricht matrix: the disintegration of the EC; or d) Al-Mashat affair: the disintegration of EAITC?
6. What is the most pressing international foreign policy issue facing the Canadian government in the coming decade?
a) Extension of NAFTA to Honduras and Belize;
b) Renegotiation of bilateral mixed commissions with Denmark on science and technology, foot apparel and inflatable adult dolls;
c) Opening of diplomatic missions in the countries of the former Soviet Union (including Yerevan, Alma Ata, Tashkent) and in the wonderful world of Disney (Orlando, Anaheim, and Orly sur Seine);
Or d) Rapid world population and mass migration of peoples and the implications for Canadian immigration and economic policy?
Applebaum notes, “Most responses were d). Our firm concluded in its report that this demonstrated an overwhelming consensus in Ottawa that EAITC should return to basics (i.e. mind its own business). Unfortunately, we noted that “for much of the Ottawa policy community, External’s business in recent years and in the coming decade seems to be related essentially to immigration issues. This is distorting the essential political, economic and trade functions of the Department.”
The Perception of External Affairs from Within
“Finally, we thought it might be useful to canvas Foreign Service Officers to discover what their perception is of the proper role of External Affairs. “ Applebaum continues. “We did this by putting up questionnaires on the bulletin board outside the External cafeteria. We got about 7 replies, but we believe these were broadly representative. Some of the questions were:
7. On a foreign posting, what do you believe is the least productive use of your time?
a) Inviting a representative of the host government to a five-star Michelin Guide restaurant to talk about things;
b) Being invited by a Canadian exporter to a five-star Michelin Guide restaurant to talk about things;
c) Conferring about things with representatives of other embassies at the local golf course; or d) Interviewing 100 applicants daily for immigration in a small, cluttered and dusty office, with no air conditioning and a backed-up toilet, and then sneaking home to avoid a lynch mob of the remaining 200 applicants who did not get to an interview, but are burning your effigy at the front of the Embassy?
8. In Ottawa, as a Foreign Service Officer, I least like to:
a) Write a Memorandum to a Minister on a foreign policy issue; b) Rewrite a Memorandum to a Minister
32 times after consultations with sister divisions, DGs, ADMs, other government departments, Stephen Lewis, etc.; c) Bet my life that the Minister will ever get to see the memo; or d) Have a Member of Parliament pillory me in the House and on The National as the unfeeling bureaucrat who is blocking family reunification of someone from a region in southern Asia with a voting constituent, located somewhere in Canada.
9. On Sunday, on a posting, I least like to:
a) Go to see the shoe collection of the President’s wife;
b) Discuss chances of EDC financing for vacuum cleaners at the pool of the hotel where a Canadian exporter is staying; c) Issue emergency visas at the airport for an unannounced 35-person ballet troupe going to Canada; or d) Visit a morgue to pick up a dead taxpayer?
Applebaum stands up from the desk. “Most answers were again d). Our firm concluded that “the majority of Foreign Service Officers had a well-balanced appreciation of the difficult political, economic and trade functions of the Department, and downplayed enthusiasm for the immigration/consular functions.”
Applebaum draws the interview to an end by opening the door of his office and indicating, with an open hand, the way out. “So you see, faced with the extensive results which can only result from a $250,000 survey, T.T.T. and Applebaum concluded that External could solve its most recent identity crisis by getting rid of the Social Affairs Stream, which most Canadians erroneously thought important, and doing the things it liked doing anyway. Bye and have a nice day.”
Back to Basics
So, in sum, Doing Less with Less will remain an important document in the evolution of the Department of External Affairs.
The report will have two major consequences. One, brutally recommend the elimination of the Social Affairs stream. Two, this recommendation however will mean more office space for those who remain. Oh well, you win some, and you lose some.
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Originally published in bout de papier, Vol. 9, No. 4 (1992) — Fall 1992 // Automne 1992, pp. 40–41. Read the rest of this issue →
