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Canadian Heritage committee Thank you very much, Mr. Chair and honourable members of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. My name is Margaret Huber, and I have the honour of acting as the Chief of Protocol of Canada. The Office of Protocol is located within the Department of Foreign Affairs and Int
May 8th, 2012Committee meeting
Margaret Huber
Canadian Heritage committee Well, I'm just lucky, I guess.
May 8th, 2012Committee meeting
Margaret Huber
Canadian Heritage committee I am a career diplomat. In previous incarnations I worked closely with the Office of Protocol. For example, as a geographic director general responsible for our relations with north Asia and the Pacific, I had close collaboration on high-level visits to and from that area of the
May 8th, 2012Committee meeting
Margaret Huber
Canadian Heritage committee We're very conscious that the details are exceedingly important. Any successful visit or event is made up of a million and one details—doing proper advances, thinking of all the possibilities, and being alert to unavoidable last-minute changes, which happen all the time. We are v
May 8th, 2012Committee meeting
Margaret Huber
Canadian Heritage committee First of all, prior to a high-level visit we would be consulting with a broad range of partners. We'd also be looking at our records of previous visits made either by that individual or by the person holding the office the individual represents. We would be consulting with our mi
May 8th, 2012Committee meeting
Margaret Huber
Canadian Heritage committee That's a very interesting question. Thank you. The way you phrase it, “set in stone”, is something that we, operating on the protocol side, on the visits, on the logistics side.... Setting in stone is not something that would come naturally, because we are governed by very fluid
May 8th, 2012Committee meeting
Margaret Huber
Canadian Heritage committee We do indeed, and although it wasn't covered earlier, among the responsibilities we have, for example, is working with Rideau Hall on the presentation of credentials by foreign ambassadors—it's a good illustration of the point you raise—in which we aim for a mix of tradition, of
May 8th, 2012Committee meeting
Margaret Huber
Canadian Heritage committee We make sure that briefings are available. For example, on visits by His Excellency the Governor General to various parts of the world—his trips to Asia most recently, to Brazil and the Caribbean—we make sure that he is aware of any possible local sensitivities. But since he's a
May 8th, 2012Committee meeting
Margaret Huber
Canadian Heritage committee I was not chief of protocol at the time, but I'm sure that the then chief of protocol consulted with the provincial authorities and various others about that visit, which as you know did not take place. Are you from Newfoundland, may I ask, Mr. Simms?
May 8th, 2012Committee meeting
Margaret Huber
Canadian Heritage committee May I take this opportunity to thank Newfoundland, because just 10 days ago there was an economic mission of nearly 50 ambassadors based in Canada who visited Newfoundland for an economic mission and were wonderfully received. It's part of our outreach program. Thank you very muc
May 8th, 2012Committee meeting
Margaret Huber
Canadian Heritage committee As I mentioned earlier, our office works very closely with our provincial and territorial colleagues across Canada. We make a point of getting together once a year to compare notes on best practices, new approaches—for example, the use of iPads rather than large briefing books—wh
May 8th, 2012Committee meeting
Margaret Huber
Canadian Heritage committee I can't speak for the previous period, but I can tell you, in all honesty, that they are excellent now. From time to time, we also exchange staff for short periods for secondments. For example, just in the short time that I've been chief of protocol, we've had two secondments fro
May 8th, 2012Committee meeting
Margaret Huber
Canadian Heritage committee It would be through consultation—for example, with the office of the Governor General. It would be consultation as well with, say, our legal colleagues to make sure that whatever change we were proposing did not conflict with our obligations under the Vienna convention—not that i
May 8th, 2012Committee meeting
Margaret Huber
Canadian Heritage committee With the willing and enthusiastic consent of all concerned.
May 8th, 2012Committee meeting
Margaret Huber
Canadian Heritage committee That's right.
May 8th, 2012Committee meeting
Margaret Huber