Your appointment to both the EU and Germany provoked outspoken and widespread criticism from retired Canadian diplomats, and I am well aware of some seething frustration within the Global Affairs department today. We've also experienced in our meetings with the EU delegation here in Ottawa an awful lot of head shaking in trying to understand exactly what this concept was meant to deliver in terms of a message. It turns out in the end, unfortunately for you, that critics of this double appointment have been proven correct.
For those of us who have been around for a while—and I haven't been around as long as some on this committee have—it was a real head-shaker that anyone would have made this bizarre appointment and that no one with experience had raised concerns before it was made.
What are your thoughts?