Mr. Chairman, thank you for the invitation to appear before the committee to discuss the consular services provided to Canadians by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
Mr. Chair, I am Lillian Thomsen, Director General, Consular Policy and Advocacy, and I am joined today by my colleague Patricia Fortier, Director General of Consular Operations, and Paul Roué, Director General of Emergency Management.
The concept of a consul as an official representative of a government, stationed in the territory of another state, with the responsibility of giving assistance and protection to the consul's fellow citizens, dates to the 1100s, when the wealthy city state of Genoa began to station officials known as consuls in various Mediterranean ports where it had significant interests. Until the early 20th century, consular assistance was provided to Canadians by British representatives.
However, with the growing establishment of Canadian institutions in the early twentieth century Canada gradually began to build its own consular representation abroad. These early Canadian consular representatives were largely focused on trade promotion, with the protection of Canadian nationals seen as a secondary but necessary adjunct.
It was only with the growth in mass tourism in the latter half of the twentieth century that the provision of consular services developed the profile it has today, whereby the bulk of consular services are provided to Canadians outside the country on vacation.
Canadians have wholeheartedly embraced the concepts of the global village and the global economy. Approximately 2.7 million to 2.8 million Canadians reside outside Canada, and each year Canadians make more than 49.9 million trips abroad, including 1.5 million trips to popular tourist destinations such as Mexico and the Dominican Republic. While most Canadians living or travelling abroad do not encounter problems, various factors, some of them new, can pose challenges and risks. Canadians have a role to play in preparing themselves to travel, and we in consular services have a responsibility to assist them with that preparation.
We encourage all Canadians to start their trip preparations with a visit to our website, www.travel.gc.ca, which offers travel reports for over 200 countries. These invaluable reports provide overviews of the security situation of the country, official travel warnings applicable to the country or specific regions within the country, contact information for the nearest Canadian mission, and much more.
Mr. Chair, we also offer a wide range of publications for Canadian travellers to assist them prior to leaving the country, including "Bon Voyage, But...", a guide to safe international travel. Canadians may order, via our web site, other publications related to cruise ship travel tips, dual citizenship, advice for adventure travellers and hurricane season tips.
Canadians are encouraged to inform us of their travel plans by registering online via our ROCA--registration of Canadians abroad--service, thereby allowing us to contact and assist them in an emergency or inform them of a family emergency at home.
The profile of Canadian travellers has changed significantly over the last decade. More and more Canadians are undertaking adventure travel, often in remote or dangerous areas. This, along with the pursuit of business opportunities in regions that pose greater risks on political and economic levels as well as a rise in natural disasters have a significant impact on the Consular program.
We engage in regular outreach with the travel industry and travel industry educators to ensure they have the necessary tools to help Canadians as they book their vacations. We understand that every travelling Canadian is a potential consular client that the Government of Canada may have to serve efficiently and courteously.
I will now turn to my colleague, Ms. Fortier, to speak to the provision of consular services abroad.