{"id":50114,"date":"2018-09-25T15:44:37","date_gmt":"2018-09-25T19:44:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/?post_type=cu_story&p=50114"},"modified":"2025-10-18T16:32:36","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T20:32:36","slug":"boot-camp-for-new-diplomats","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/story\/boot-camp-for-new-diplomats\/","title":{"rendered":"Carleton Hosts Boot Camp for New Diplomats"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Carleton Hosts Boot Camp for New Diplomats\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/path>\n <\/path>\n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

Each fall, they come to Carleton University from all over the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Members of the diplomatic community, including newly appointed ambassadors and high commissioners, attended the eighth annual Welcome to Ottawa Orientation for Newly Arrived Diplomats<\/a> on Sept. 24, 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Representatives from more than 60 countries took the crash course on life and legislature in the nation\u2019s capital, part of Carleton\u2019s effort to maintain and strengthen links with the diplomatic community by introducing new arrivals to the city and the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Carleton
Carleton President Benoit-Antoine Bacon speaks during the annual Orientation for Newly Arrived Diplomats.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can\u2019t tell you how happy we are to be in Ottawa,\u201d said President Benoit-Antoine Bacon. \u201cWe call it ‘the capital advantage’ and the presence of your embassies is a big part of that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over morning coffee, diplomats in cultural, political, military and economic roles networked with MPs and Carleton executives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organizer Maureen Boyd, director of the Initiative for Parliamentary and Diplomatic Engagement<\/a>, offered a special welcome to the spouses in the room, noting their importance in successful diplomatic postings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After an introduction of Canadian politics by the House of Commons Clerk Charles Robert and Speaker Geoff Regan, Boyd moderated a panel with MPs Andrew Leslie and Erin O\u2019Toole. They touched on the Canada-U.S. negotiations of the North American Free Trade Agreement, as well as the Columbia River Treaty and the softwood lumber agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"International<\/figure>\n\n\n
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An Introduction to Life in the Capital<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Practical information about life in the capital was interspersed throughout the morning sessions. Most presenters, in anticipation of the fall foliage, recommended a trip to Gatineau Park in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou will soon find out that Ottawa, while a capital city, is a small place and the diplomatic community is very close,\u201d said Liberal MP for Ottawa Vanier, Mona Fortier, who encouraged attendees to experience Ottawa\u2019s many art, cultural and family festivals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Catherine Cano, CEO of Cable Public Affairs Channel<\/a> (CPAC), also recommended the city\u2019s thriving arts scene as a good way to integrate into Ottawa\u2019s political community. Cano, a former House of Commons page, was joined on a panel by Kristen Shane, managing editor of The Hill Times<\/a><\/em>, and James Baxter, founding editor and publisher of iPolitics<\/a><\/em>. The trio suggested ways in which diplomats could meet and interact with parliamentarians, and identified several media outlets and reporters who consistently cover political beats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
From left to right: Kristen Shane, managing editor of The Hill Times; James Baxter, publisher of iPolitics; Catherine Cano, president and general manager, CPAC; and Colin Robertson, vice-president, Canadian Global Affairs Institute.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Offering deep insight into complicated Canadian values, Nik Nanos, chief data scientist of Nanos Research<\/a> and chair of Carleton\u2019s Board of Governors, presented trends from more than 14 years of polling. Although the rest of the world saw the 2015 federal election as a counter-trend to creeping populism around the world, Nanos warned that things in Canada aren\u2019t quite so sunny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He compared the populist undercurrents in France, Holland and Germany to independent MP Maxime Bernier\u2019s creation of the People\u2019s Party of Canada. That news of the day that the world economy has never been better seems to miss the point that many people are still struggling to make ends meet, he said. There\u2019s a palpable sense that everything done right \u2014 going to school, getting a job, buying a house, starting a family \u2014isn\u2019t enough to live comfortably anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe should not confuse the fact that we currently have a progressive government with how people feel,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Diplomats<\/figure>\n\n\n
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A Chance to Connect with Newly Arrived Diplomats<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Local organizations and associations were keen to connect with newly arrived diplomats. Among them were the Ottawa Diplomatic Association<\/a>, the National Capital Commission<\/a>, Volunteer Ottawa<\/a>, Library of Parliament<\/a> and the non-partisan Parliamentary Centre<\/a>, which works in developing countries to bolster legislature and parliamentary practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are very conscious of the fact that you bring a lot of knowledge and experience to the table, so the Parliamentary Centre hopes that we will be able to continue the dialogue,\u201d said the non-profit\u2019s CEO Jean Paul Ruszkowski.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Geoff
Geoff Regan, speaker of the House of Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In informing international diplomats how Canadian govern themselves, the popular orientation opened with a crash course from high-ranking parliamentary officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robert gave an overview of the Canadian parliamentary system. He explained the processes of the Senate, the House of Commons and the various standing committees where most legislative work is completed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are four Cs that guide the life of MPs: chamber, committees, caucus and the constituency,\u201d said Robert. \u201cIf you remember those, you can pretty well define the life of a parliamentarian.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regan explained his work in keeping the Commons in order during question period, and touched on the parliamentary officers\u2019 study program. Parliamentarians from around the world can join the program to engage with senior government officials like Robert to share best procedural and administrative practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an opportunity for Canada to share its experience and to learn from others,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Each fall, they come to Carleton University from all over the world. Members of the diplomatic community, including newly appointed ambassadors and high commissioners, attended the eighth annual Welcome to Ottawa Orientation for Newly Arrived Diplomats on Sept. 24, 2018. Representatives from more than 60 countries took the crash course on life and legislature in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":410,"featured_media":50121,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_story_type":[28,1917],"cu_story_tag":[1921,1926,1929],"class_list":["post-50114","cu_story","type-cu_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","cu_story_type-community-partnerships","cu_story_type-the-new-economy","cu_story_tag-faculty-of-public-and-global-affairs","cu_story_tag-international","cu_story_tag-president"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":"blueprint"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/50114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cu_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/410"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/50114\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98443,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/50114\/revisions\/98443"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_story_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_type?post=50114"},{"taxonomy":"cu_story_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_tag?post=50114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}